Cebuanos More into Vices Than Most Filipinos –Philcare Study

Smoking and drinking are more widespread in Cebu than in the rest of the country, based on the findings of PhilCare, a leading health maintenance organization (HMO).

Researchers of the 2nd PhilCare Wellness Index, a nationwide study, revealed that 93% of Cebuanos drink alcoholic beverages, particularly beer. This is more widespread than the 88% Visayan rate and much more, the 69% nationwide rate.

However, Cebuanos only consume two bottles of beer a week, less than the 2.44 nationwide average.

As for smoking, 61% of Cebuanos light a cigarette to get relief. This is higher than the 49% incidence in the Visayas and 47% incidence throughout the country.

But things are opposite when it comes to frequency, as Cebuanos smoke only 1.5 sticks a day, less than half of the 3.8 national average.

Visayans, including Cebuanos, believe they feel less stressed compared to those based in the rest of the country.

The PhilCare Wellness Index is the only study in the country that measures the level of perceived health and wellness among Filipinos.

Lead researcher and University of the Philippines associate professor Dr. Fernando Paragas said that the PhilCare Wellness Index is composed of several wellness statements.

Respondents from key parts of the country were asked to rate themselves from a seven-point scale, with the score of one as “very good;” two as “good;” three and four as “somewhat good” range; five and six as “somewhat bad;” and a score of seven, which is “very bad.”

The wellness statements cover psychological, physical, medical, nutritional, financial, and lifestyle aspects. The index also asked respondents to rate their stress levels and satisfaction from sex, among others.

When asked about their stress levels, Cebu and Visayas respondents scored 4.92 and 5.08, respectively, compared to the national average of 3.88. This means that Visayans are somewhat unstressed compared to most Pinoys, who said that they were somewhat stressed.

While Cebuanos and Visayans appear to have less of the stress, the study also found that they’re less satisfied with their lives compared to the rest of the Filipinos. They rated themselves as having “somewhat good” psychological wellness with a score of 3.12 for Cebu and 2.93 for Visayas, respectively, as against the rest of the country, rating itself as “good” with a score of 2.71.

In terms of medical wellness, Cebuanos and Visayans also fared better than the national average with a score of 3.12 and 2.95, respectively, with a “somewhat good” self-rating for having regular check-ups and capacity to pay medical bills. This is higher than the national score of 4.02 or “neither good nor bad.”

Sex Life

Cebuanos have less sex compared to the result of the country. The survey says they do it once a week only compared to at least once a week for the Visayas and national averages.

When looking at the age groups, Cebuanos aged 41-50 have sex most frequently at nearly twice a week. The same thing goes for Visayans, in general, aged 31-50 and 41-50 years old.

Meanwhile, men of the Visayas region said they have more sex than women. The study found that they have sex almost twice a week, while the women only do it at least once weekly.

Hospitalization

Pneumonia and Dengue are the top two causes of hospitalization in the Visayas, with the former at 10.33 percent, closely followed by the latter at ten percent.

Incidentally, Cebu City has the greatest number of Dengue cases in Central Visayas, based on media reports.

A total of 1,350 respondents were interviewed face to face, 300 of which were from the Visayas. 300 respondents each were also interviewed for Mindanao and the National Capital Region, while 450 were interviewed for Luzon. They were selected from following a multi-stage cluster and regional sampling.

PhilCare President and CEO Jaeger L. Tanco said the results of the survey are very useful in helping the health sector come up with programs that address the needs of Filipinos, helping them attain a better state of wellness.

“There is more to health than just the absence of disease. Our vision is to help promote a brand of health that is holistic and inclusive. The PhilCare Wellness Index gives us a clear picture on where we are when it comes to wellness and, more importantly, it charts a clear path on how far we can go to promote health among Filipinos,” he said.

Nationwide Results

Filipinos nationwide were also self-rated as “somewhat good” with a score of 2.84. Despite this sense of optimism about their health, respondents admit that they lack the confidence to address medical needs. About 40 percent are unsure whether they can pay for their medical bills, while 35 percent are also unsure they could afford regular medical checkups.

The inability to finance their medical needs was also evident in the findings of the survey, which said that more than 60 percent of respondents have incurred up to P30,000 in medical bills.

About 37 percent managed to pay their bills using their savings, while 25 percent ended up seeking help from friends and relatives to pay what they owe. Only 15 percent were able to settle their bills using health insurance.

Among the respondents that were hospitalized in the previous year, the survey also revealed that only 63 percent of them managed to use their PhilHealth benefits to ease the burden of their medical expenses.

First done in 2014, the PhilCare Wellness Index allowed the HMO company to develop affordable and responsive medical insurance plans that provided coverage to thousands of uninsured Filipinos.

Dr. Paragas said this year’s PhilCare Wellness Index involved not just a survey, but also a series of focus group discussions, where participants from different sectors delved on problems and solutions relevant to the goal of inclusive health care.

The study was inspired by wellness and health indices in New Zealand (The Sovereign Wellbeing Index of 2015), Canada (The Canadian Index of Wellbeing), and the United States (The State of American Well-Being of 2017).

Apart from the self-evaluations of physical, nutritional, medical, psychological, lifestyle, and financial well-being, the study also measured stress, sex, vices, and health practices of Filipinos.

Former Health Secretary and Chairman of the 2019 PhilCare Wellness Index, Dr. Enrique T. Ona, said PhilCare intends to share more findings of the study to the public to raise awareness of the well-being of Filipinos.

“PhilCare will also forge partnerships with the government sector so they could use this proprietary study of PhilCare to craft relevant policies. We have findings in this study that may be very useful in the goal of the government to attain truly universal health care,” Dr. Ona said.