Integrating COVID-19 Vaccination in Primary Care Service Delivery: Insights From Implementation Research in the Philippines.

BACKGROUND: In 2019, the Philippines enacted a universal health coverage law that aimed to establish an integrated health system centered around robust primary care as a core strategy of its health system reform agenda. Although the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted initial progress in the reform process, it also presented an opportunity to pilot interventions to demonstrate integration in various ways. METHODS: We conducted a participatory implementation research study to integrate selected public health interventions into the implementation of the primary care benefit package funded by public health insurance. The study was conducted from October 2022 to April 2023 in the Province of Iloilo, Philippines. Entry points within the primary care service delivery process were identified, and interventions related to COVID-19 vaccination and family planning were implemented and monitored. We used the RE-AIM (reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance) framework to organize the results and present the analysis. RESULTS: The intervention showed substantial improvement across the 5 dimensions of the RE-AIM framework, including enhanced access to health care services, as indicated by improvements in primary care patient registration, family planning services, and COVID-19 vaccination processes, as well as an increase in registrations and first patient encounters. These improvements corresponded to sustained primary care facility participation throughout the study period. Additionally, emergent factors that either impeded or facilitated the integration process were identified, providing insights for effectively integrating COVID-19 vaccination within the primary care health system. CONCLUSION: Our study provides evidence of the feasibility of integrating public health interventions into primary care settings. It highlights the potential of using existing primary care service delivery and financing mechanisms as entry points for integration. However, further iteration of the model is required to identify specific conditions for success that can be applied in other contexts and settings.

Improving the quality of family planning services in the Philippines: Barriers and opportunities.

We conducted qualitative research with family planning clients, potential clients, and service providers on barriers and opportunities for improving the quality of family planning services in the Philippines. The family planning service providers included the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of the health system. Our goal was to aid in developing more effective family planning quality improvement (QI) programs. Our methods included focus groups, key informant interviews and thematic content analysis of the qualitative data. We found four themes: the components of quality of family planning care; factors influencing quality; challenges for improving quality; and provider bias in the types of family planning services offered to clients. We identified five implications for QI, including: reduce provider bias; level off the understanding of QI concepts and roles among the different family planning service providers; involve men more actively; design new digital communication strategies for reaching clients and potential clients; and explore collaborations with private sector pharmacies. The findings from this study can guide the development of a pilot family planning QI programme in the Philippines. The findings provide themes and practical insights for an intervention-focused theory of change on how to improve current programs, design new programs, be more responsive to the needs and concerns of clients and potential clients and be well-accepted and sustained by providers. This can lay the groundwork for improving family planning outcomes and reducing teenage pregnancy rates and the unmet need for family planning throughout the Philippines.

Utilization of adolescent health services during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence on impact and adaptations from a rapid assessment survey in the Philippines.

BACKGROUND: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many challenges in adolescent health have been exacerbated including increased cases of early marriages, domestic violence, higher rates of anxiety and depression, and reduced access to sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents. This study examines the impacts of the pandemic on adolescent health services utilization and potential adaptations in the Philippines. METHODS: The data used in this study was from a rapid telephone assessment survey of 148 adolescent-friendly health facilities (rural health units) in the Philippines. We employed a mixed-methods research approach comprising both quantitative and qualitative analyses in three phases. First, we conducted a descriptive analysis of the status of adolescent healthcare access and utilization during COVID-19. Next, we examined using multivariate ordered logistic regressions how staff availability and adolescent health (AH) service provision modalities influenced AH service utilization in terms of the average number of adolescents served per week during compared to before the pandemic. We also conducted a complementing qualitative analysis of the challenges and corresponding adaptive solutions to ensuring continuity of AH services in facilities. RESULTS: We find that two months into the pandemic, 79% of adolescent-friendly trained staff were reporting for duty and 64% of facilities reported no staff disruptions. However, only 13% of facilities were serving the same number of adolescents or greater than before COVID-19. The use of more modalities for AH service provision (including telehealth) by facilities was significantly associated with increased likelihood to report serving the same number of adolescent or greater than before COVID-19 compared to those who used only one modality. CONCLUSION: Investments in multiple modalities of care provision, such as telehealth could improve AH services utilization and help sustain connection with adolescents during shocks, including future outbreaks or other stressors that limit physical access to health facilities.

Prevalence of Limited Health Literacy in the Philippines: First National Survey.

BACKGROUND: Health literacy (HL) is the ability to access, understand, appraise, and apply health information across the three domains of the health continuum: health care, disease prevention, and health promotion. It is needed for people to effectively manage their health. Information on population HL level is useful for crafting appropriate and targeted interventions to improve HL. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe the HL level of Filipino people at the national and subnational levels. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between 2018 and 2019 with 2,303 randomly selected Filipino people age 15 to 70 years, using an adapted Asia version of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire-47. Prevalence estimates for limited HL and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were computed at the national and subnational levels. KEY RESULTS: The nationwide prevalence of limited HL was 51.5% (95% CI, [49.5%, 53.6%]), while sub-national prevalence estimates ranged from 48.2% to 65.4%. The prevalence varied across HL dimensions, with difficulty in access to information having the highest level. Similarly, prevalence across domains was variable; health care-related HL had the highest prevalence of limited HL. The HL levels for different dimensions and domains also varied across subnational groups. CONCLUSION: Many Filipino people had limited HL, and prevalence estimates varied across HL dimensions, HL domains, subnational groupings, and sociodemographic characteristics. The results highlight the need for targeted interventions focusing on subgroups with limited HL and on dimensions and domains where Filipino people have limited HL. [HLRP: Health Literacy Research and Practice. 2022;6(2):e104-e112.] Plain Language Summary: The National Health Literacy Survey is the first nationwide survey on the prevalence of HL in the Philippines, involving 2,303 randomly selected Filipino residents age 15 to 70 years. Many Filipino people have limited HL, and the prevalence of HL varies across the components of HL, subnational groupings, and sociodemographic characteristics, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.