HOME AND ENVIRONMENT

Home ownership is the state of living in a structure that one owns. The Table shows that 77% of the families interviewed in the 16 zones in Families Suarez owned their homes. Rented type of home ownership is 10%. Families that are occupying with consent without fee also make up 10% while the remaining 3% reflects the ownership of homes that are occupied without consent. Families that own their homes can allocate more of their financial resources for nutrition, education and, perhaps, healthcare than those who are renting as they have to set aside a significant amount of their monthly budget to pay the rent. Owning ones home can also boost the morale of family members and give them a sense of permanence or belongingness to the community. The study defines a single detach as one unit of housing structure of which a single family resides, whether it is a nuclear or extended family. Furthermore, a multiple dwelling type of housing is defined as a housing facility that is resided by two or more families who have separate incomes and provide for themselves separately.

This study has also included stall as another type of housing facility because some of the respondents who are doing business in these stalls also live there. These stalls are located in the proximity of national Highway across Global Steel. According to the data, 89% or majority of the population lives in a single detach house, 9% live in apartments/condos. There are 4 families (~0%) who are living in stalls. Housing facility is an environmental factor that is considered as some fundamental and major determinants of health. Families living in single detach homes have more space for each member compared to those who are a multiple dwelling situation. For families who are in a multiple dwelling situation, privacy and safety is a major concern because of the number of people living in the same household.

Tenure of Lot is defined in this study as the act or right of holding the plot of ground where the house us built. Data shows that 70% of the lots in the 16 zones that were surveyed in Barangay Suarez are owned, 14% are rented as well as those that are occupied without fee but with consent. The remaining 2% are occupied without consent. Ownership of a residential lot provides permanency and a sense of belongingness. Ownership also gives a strong boost in the morale of the individuals and families living there knowing that they have contractual rights to their residency. Families that own their lots can live there for as long as they want and do whatever they please with the property that they own.

Data shows that out of the 1,033 families living in the 16 surveyed zones if Barangay Suarez. 79% have a permanent status of residency. Only 21% are temporary residents. Most of the residents in the 16 surveyed zones in Barangay Suarez have indefinite residency due to ownership of their homes and residential lots. Even some of those who do not own their houses and lots will consider themselves permanent residents by virtue of the number of years they resided in the area.

This study defines strong material as concrete, brick, stone and marble, first class wood or hard wood, metals, galvanized iron and asbestos. Bamboo, cogon, nipa and lightweight wood are considered as light materials that are recycled or reused as housing materials such as carton, sacks, trapal and damaged GI sheets. Out of the total number of surveyed households in the area, 46% are made of strong materials followed by those made of light materials at 2%. Houses that are made of mixed but predominantly light materials comprise 16%. There are 34 houses that are made of salvaged materials, comprising 3%.

Water is a very important factor in environmental sanitation and personal hygiene. It is shown in the table that 97% of households in the 16 zones that were surveyed in Barangay Suarez have a water source connection. It could either be NAWASA or BAWASA. Only 3% do not have water connection. Some get from their neighbors, others use mineral water and from springs. Many households in Springville (P2) get water from springs. Water connection saves the residents time and energy to perform environmental sanitation and personal hygiene. In addition, the easy access to water promotes cleanliness and good health to the members of the family and the community.

The method that most people in the surveyed areas use to make their water safe for drinking is boiling. This means that boiling is done when access to potable water infrastructure is sometimes unavailable or just to ensure that the tap water they are utilizing is safe for drinking. It is noted though that significant portion, which is 29%, do not used any methods of ensuring the safety of their drinking water. Based on the data, majority of the residents of the surveyed areas in Barangay Suarez use a variety of methods to ensure drinking water safety. They have taken some measures to ensure the cleanliness and safety of their drinking water supply because of the incidence of diarrhea, especially among children. According to most residents, they become very cautious of their tap water usually after a heavy rainstorm. About 2 million people die every year due to diarrhea diseases, most of them are children less than 5 years of age. The most affected are the populations in developing countries, living I extreme conditions of poverty, normally peri-urban dwellers or rural inhabitants, (www.who.int). Contaminated water contributes to disease in developing and developed countries worldwide. According to the Department of Health, Food and Waterborne Disease (FWBDs) are among t he most common cause of diarrhea. In the Philippines, diarrheal disease for the past 20 years is the number one cause of morbidity and mortality, incidence rate is as high as 1,997 per 100,000 population while mortality rate is 6.7 per 100,000 population.

Solid waste management is vital to environmental sanitation thus promoting a better health status. There are several methods of waste disposal identified as being used by the residents of the 16 zones that were surveyed in Barangay Suarez as shown in the table. Most of the households in the said communities, comprising 58% prefer to put their choice for garbage disposal. It means that organization and systematic disposal of garbage is done by the people there at Suarez. Some of them use more than one method, depending on the type of solid waste their household produces. Next in rank is through burning which comprises 24% of the methods used, and is followed by gitapok method which garners 13%. This is a method of putting the garbage of one household in a specific place in their yard that is usually designated for such purpose. Throwing garbage anywhere method and gilubong method is tied at 3%.

Excreta is defined as waste matter, such as sweat, urine, or feces discharged from the body (www.thefreedictionary.com). However, this study has limited the term excreta to human waste specifically feces and urine. Out of the 1,033 interviewed households, 74% have bubo water sealed toilets, 15% have flush type water sealed toilets and 1% comprise diretso sa lungang nay tabon. One hosehold in Zone kaugmaran (P16) has a makeshift facility where the excreta go directly to the stream. The total percentage of those who have toilet facilities, including makeshift and covered holes is 90% or majority of the total number of households in the surveyed area compared to 10% who do not have any toilet facility. Those who do not have toilets use their neighbors toilet facilities. Proper excreta disposal is vital to the health of the community people. Because excreta are discharged bodily wastes, they contain bacteria and other microorganisms that are harmful. If not properly disposed, they can contaminate the water and food supply. As a result , the community people, especially the children will be put at high risk for diseases that could be life-threatening.

HEALTH Immunization is the process by which vaccines are introduced into the body before infection sets in. Vaccines are administered to induce immunity thereby causing the recipients immune system to react to the vaccine that produces antibodies to fight infection, (Public Health Nursing in the Philippines, 10th Edition). Complete immunization status is defined as the status of children aging 0-5 years old who had received all the required vaccination by the Department of Health such as BCG, DPT, OPV, Hepatitis B and Measles. Those with incomplete immunization status either received all the vaccines but with incomplete dozes or have receive some of the other vaccines or the remaining doses of the vaccines that were already given to them. This study has included only the immunization status of children from 0 to 5 years old. Out of the total children from 0-5 years old, 72% of them are completely immunized, 14% are incomplete and 13% are still ongoing. Children who have not received any vaccine are listed on not at all which comprise 2%. The numbers suggest that the immunization program of the government is well implemented in the surveyed areas of Brangay Suarez, although more effort is still needed to educate parents on the importance of immunization to their children and the family as a whole.

Out of the total number of children with age ranging from 0 to 5 years, 41% were delivered at home, 32% in hospitals & 19% Barangay Health Stations. There are 50 children or 8% who were delivered in clinics. The numbers suggest that more women are opting to give birth facilities which provide the attendance of skilled health professionals and the presence of equipments in cases of obstetrical emergencies. Although the number of women giving birth at home garnered the highest percentage compared with the other options, the significant number of hose giving birth in heath facilities implies the concerns of women to undergo a safer childbirth process.

Skilled birth attendance will assure hygiene and a sterile environment as well as recognize complications during labor and delivery and post-partum stage. Thus, appropriate interventions are performed, providing safe care for the mother and the baby. For the purpose of this study, skilled birth attendants include only medical doctors and registered health midwives. In addition, only mothers of children with ages ranging from 0 to 5 years old are considered for this portion of the study. Data shows that 45% of births were attended by registered health midwives. Births attended by medical doctor (MD) comprise 37% while 18% were attended by hilot or traditional birth attendant. The statistics suggest the awareness of mothers of the importance of safe childbirth procedures by seeking the services skilled professionals.

Family planning is a program to regulate the number and spacing of children in a family through the practice of contraception or others methods of birth control,

(www.thefreedictionary.com). Among the methods used by the couples practicing family planning in the surveyed areas, the use of contraceptive pills tops the list at 31%. Intra-uterine device (IUD) is ranked second at 15% and the third in rank is the rhythm method which is at 11% of the methods of choice. The statistics include only the couples who are reproductive age who are engaged in family planning. Some of the respondents use two or more methods during their reproductive age.