How healthy are the Filipinos?

When people resolve to work harder, live better, and spend more time on things that truly matter, health and well-being tend to become even more important concerns. Poor health, after all, inevitably curtails enjoyment of life. And coupled with the potentially financial crippling costs of healthcare, it is understandable that more Filipinos strive to increase their knowledge on key health issues, or adopt better lifestyle habits to avoid acquiring a disease.

To understand our attitudes, habits, and perceptions regarding health even better, Royal Philips Electronics conducted a survey called the Philips Index for Health and Well-being. The Philips health survey has been implemented in over 20 countries throughout the world.

“We are a company committed to health and well-being,” says Rico Gonzales, Philips Philippines chief executive officer. “We believe that an annual Philippines Health and Well-being Report will give individuals and other corporations a better understanding of how Filipinos think in terms of their health needs and wants. The intent was to identify key differences, similarities, trends, and themes as they relate to people’s sense of health and well-being. The report is one of many country reports being compiled, and will be part of a global index report.”

But understandably, local survey results are more interesting to us as Filipinos.

The survey group consisted of a nationally representative sample of 1,007 adult Filipinos, ages 18-65 and older, drawn from each of the country’s regions. The sample is representative of the Filipino population, and the study was administered via telephone (both landlines and cell phones) by Braun Research, Incorporated.

The latest 2010 results were presented by Dr. Joel Beltran, general manager of Philips Healthcare, to a panel that included health professionals and policymakers. “The goal is to encourage discussion of the results, and perhaps explain the gap between perception and reality,” says Dr. Beltran. The following are several key insights:

• About half of Filipinos believe they are in good health. A majority of the Filipino population (54%) rates their health and well-being as very good or good. Just a little over one in four Filipinos rate their health as somewhat good or not good at all. 

• Filipinos ages 18 to 24 are most likely to have a high opinion of their health and well-being, yet among those ages 25 to 34, that number drops significantly. Less than half of Filipinos in this latter age group rate their health and well-being as excellent or very good.

• Women (36%) are more likely than men (26%) to feel their health has improved in the last five years.

• Filipinos place a greater importance on their family’s physical health than their own. They are also more likely to be dissatisfied with the level of their family’s health than they are with their own. Stress, financial matters, and spousal relationships also account for factors where a large gap between stated importance and perceived satisfaction exists. 

• While Filipinos claim that weight does not have a significant influence on overall feelings of wellness, the Food and Nutrition Research Institute reports that in 2003, 90 percent of Filipinos had one or more of these health risk factors: smoking, obesity, hypertension, high blood sugar, and abnormal blood cholesterol levels

• Job, stress, appetite, and diet most affect wellness. Overall feelings of health and well-being affect Filipino job performance, stress levels, appetite, and diet the most. Spousal relationships and personal free time also impact feelings of health and well-being. Some gender differences also exist. Filipino men (64%) are more likely to say that job performance impacts their well-being than women (56%), whereas Filipinas (47%) are more likely than men (41%) to indicate that family/friends affect their wellness.

• On how Filipinos take care of their health: Older Filipinos are owning up to their own care.

• Oral health is important. Filipinos are visiting their dentists often, especially among the younger group. Almost 70 percent of Filipinos see their dentist at least once a year. Those aged 18 to 34 are more likely than other age groups to see their dentists at least every six months

• Filipinos do not rely on mood-altering medications. The vast majority of Filipinos do not rely on medication for anxiety, stress or mood stabilization. There are no differences by gender or age.

• Filipinos seem to trust their doctors. The majority of Filipinos (71%) are comfortable talking to their doctors about medical issues (71%) and about nearly an equal amount follow the advice of their doctors (68%). However, men seem to trust doctors and their advice more than women.

• Nearly half of Filipinos are not interested in losing weight, especially among men. But a third would try a host of tactics geared at eating better.

• Financial concerns are key stressors in Filipinos’ lives. Stress affects the majority of Filipinos with women (five percent) more likely to say they experience some level of stress than men.

• Filipinos are more worried about their family’s health than of their own and are only 59% satisfied with their family’s health.

• Most Filipinos believe technology will improve life in the future. The majority of Filipinos say that the Internet has improved their lives (75%). Six in 10 Filipinos feel that technological advances will fundamentally change their homes over the next 10 years. Also, nearly 70 percent feel that future medical technology advances will allow them to live longer.

But are Filipinos of this generation really healthier? In certain sectors, certainly. This privileged sector is more aware about health and wellness concerns, and is able to act to achieve optimum health.

However, the consensus among health experts is that so much more needs to be done because how to equitably access healthcare remains a problem for a significant sector of our population. This is aggravated by a dearth of facilities in certain areas of the country, and perhaps a lack of awareness. Moreover, while a public/private mix in the delivery of healthcare is the ideal, the greater need is to strengthen programs that will redound to better public health programs. Public health, after all, is a critical factor in national development.