Jabar Presents Results of Population Media Center Study in Hong Kong

What is an effective yet popular mode for raising awareness about family planning?

It may come as a surprise to some that the soap opera, or t.v. drama, is seen as an ideal vehicle for generating people’s interest in reproductive concerns. This was one of the findings in the SDRC study entitled “Behavioral Modification Research on Reproductive Health, Marine Environment, and Plastics and the Environment” conducted by a team led by SDRC Research Fellow Dr. Melvin Jabar, through the support of the Population Media Center (PMC) in Vermont. The members of the team include co-proponents Dr. Luisa Delayco and Dr. Sarah de Los Reyes, research assistants Mr. Crisanto Regadio and Ms. Klarizze Valdoria, and consultant Dr. Exaltacion Lamberte.

A presentation of the study’s results was made by Dr. Jabar on November 29, 2016 at Harbour Plaza Resort City in Hong Kong.The study established that family planning remains a major concern, and that the teenage pregnancy rate in the Philippines is the highest in Asia—in fact it is still increasing. As gleaned in responses from focus group discussions and interviews, people are hindered from controlling family size and from caring for the environment due to poverty. It was found that developing a soap opera focusing on family stories with respect to the environment, reproductive health and poverty, supported by partnership with NGOs and government agencies in ensuring access to family planning goods, may help to foster a more positive behavior change in these areas.

In attendance during the results presentation were Dr. Kriss Barker of PMC and representatives of the organization’s NGO partner based in Hong Kong.