Dietary Intake Quality Is Affected by Knowledge and Dietary Intake Frequency among Pregnant Women in Muntinlupa, Philippines: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Improving the nutrition of pregnant women is essential in reducing maternal and child mortality, which is one of the global nutritional goals of 2025. This study evaluated the factors related to the quality of dietary intake among pregnant women in Muntinlupa, Philippines. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 280 pregnant women at a hospital in Muntinlupa from March 2019 to August 2019 using questionnaires. After the primary aggregation, multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with the quality of dietary intake in pregnant women. Approximately half of the women (46.4%, n = 130) had a low dietary diversity during pregnancy. Less than 30% of the respondents consumed beans, soybean products, and nuts. In the logistic regression analysis, poor maternal knowledge of nutritional sources to prevent anemia (odds ratio (OR) 4.25, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.47-12.32, p = 0.01) and less frequent meal consumption (OR 2.15, 95% CI 1.08-4.29, p = 0.03) were significantly associated with poor dietary diversity. Our findings are crucial because they suggest that increasing the knowledge of pregnant women about good nutrition and ensuring that dietary intake is frequent and adequate through antenatal care can improve the nutrition of pregnant women.

Factors associated with the progression and prevention of noncommunicable diseases in community-dwelling Filipino adults: A cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are an important cause of disability and death in Muntinlupa, Manila, Philippines. However, there is little community-based research on lifestyle behaviors that affect the progression of NCDs or on the hindrances to NCD prevention.This cross-sectional study investigated the lifestyle behaviors associated with the progression and prevalence of NCDs and clarified factors associated with health promotion for the NCDs prevention among 168 Filipino adults aged 50 years and above in the community setting.The prevalence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, hypertension, and overweight/obesity found 13.1%, 8.9%, 1.8%, 4.2%, 59.5%, and 36.9%, respectively. Of 63 adults who underwent blood tests, high blood glucose and abnormal lipids found 20.6% and 80.9%, respectively. Filipino adults ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner more than 5 days a week, Merienda 4.2 days a week, and a midnight snack 1.7 days a week. The mean frequencies of physical activity at vigorous, moderate, and light intensity levels were 2.6 times a week, 1.9 times a week, and 3.8 times a week, respectively. Men were more likely to be smokers than women. Mean frequencies of alcohol consumption were 0.6 days a week. Filipino adults who practiced diet control, regular physical activities, no smoking, limited alcohol intake, stress control, and regular health checkups were 68.3%, 34.1%, 35.9%, 35.3%, 32.9%, and 24.6%, respectively. Hypertension was positively associated with the duration of tobacco use and frequency of salt intake. Overweight/obesity was positively associated with the frequency of Merienda. Diet control was positively related with internal Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scale. Smoking and alcohol control were significantly related with income level.Community-dwelling Filipino adults in this study had a high prevalence of NCD progression and insufficient awareness of preventative behaviors. Diet control is associated with self-awareness of health and smoking and alcohol control are associated with economic status. These findings ought to contribute to develop the effective strategies for NCD prevention in community-dwelling Filipino adults.

A qualitative study on the stigma experienced by people with mental health problems and epilepsy in the Philippines.

BACKGROUND: Stigma towards people with mental health problems (PMHP) is known to have substantial negative impacts on their lives. More in-depth exploration of the stigma and discrimination experienced by PMHP in low- and middle-income countries is needed. Previous research suggests that negative attitudes towards PMHP are widespread among the Filipino general public. However, no study has investigated PMHP's own experiences of being stigmatised in the Philippines. METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted on the stigma experienced by PMHP (including people with epilepsy) and its related factors in the Philippines, employing the constructivist grounded theory approach. We analysed data on 39 PMHP collected through interviews with PMHP, their carers, and community health volunteers who know them well. RESULTS: The findings highlight the culturally and socio-economically specific contexts, consequences, and impact modifiers of experiences of stigma. Participants emphasised that PMHP face stigma because of the cultural traits such as the perception of mental health problem as a disease of the family and the tendency to be overly optimistic about the severity of the mental health problem and its impact on their life. Further, stigma was experienced under conditions where mental health care was not readily available and people in the local community could not resolve the PMHP's mental health crisis. Stigma experiences reduced social networks and opportunities for PMHP, threatened the economic survival of their entire family, and exacerbated their mental health problems. An individual's reaction to negative experiences can be fatalistic in nature (e.g. believing in it is God's will). This fatalism can help PMHP to remain hopeful. In addition, traditional communal unity alleviated some of the social exclusion associated with stigma. CONCLUSIONS: The study indicates that existing stigma-reduction strategies might have limitations in their effectiveness across cultural settings. Therefore, we propose context-specific practical implications (e.g. emphasis on environmental factors as a cause of mental health problems, messages to increase understanding not only of the possibility of recovery but also of challenges PMHP face) for the Philippines.