OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of fear-based strategies on the decisions of Filipino drug users to surrender to authorities under the Philippine government's anti-drug policy. It also examined the influence of these scare tactics on the discontinuance of drug use among drug surrenderers. The fear appeals included community shaming and threats of imprisonment, torture or death under Oplan Tokhang launched by the Philippine government in 2016.

A combination of survey questionnaires and in-depth interviews was conducted with 56 surrenderers from selected communities in Marikina City, Metropolitan Manila. These individuals participated in a series of communitybased activities, including dance therapy (referred to as ‘Zumba’), Bible study and other religious activities, seminars on the dangers of drugs, and livelihood training programs. Readiness to change and levels of self-efficacy were measured after several months of participating. The effectiveness of fear appeals was further evaluated through actual drug testing.

The results indicated that 82.1% of the 56 drug users voluntarily surrendered to authorities while the rest claimed to have been pressured by family, friends, police, religious persons, or local officials. The primary motivations for surrender included fears of being killed or jailed, and a desire for rehabilitation. Readiness to change was generally high, but levels of self-efficacy were mixed. Out of the 56 drug surrenderers, only 37 underwent drug testing, where 40.5% tested positive even after months of participating in the community rehabilitation program.

The findings showed that scare tactics were effective in encouraging or forcing drug users to surrender to local authorities. However, their effectiveness in preventing continued drug use was inconclusive. Structural weaknesses in community rehabilitation policies and programs were identified. Over time, the initial fear-inducing impact of the scare tactics diminished as surrenderers became desensitized. Recommendations for enhancing the efficacy of the government’s anti-drug campaign were provided.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The drug problem in the Philippines is influenced by various factors, but research on the specific risk factors and onset of drug use—an early predictor of severe drug abuse—is limited. This crosssectional study aims to identify factors associated with the onset of illicit drug use, focusing on variables such as sex, perceived socioeconomic status, adverse life events (including physical, verbal, and sexual abuse, and bullying), adverse home environments (like family substance abuse and parental separation), and premorbidities (such as anxiety and depression). Understanding these factors is crucial since early drug use often predicts more severe abuse later.

This cross-sectional study involved 354 participants aged 7 to 34 years, all undergoing rehabilitation for at least three months. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires at their rehabilitation centers. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the onset of drug use and the identified risk factors.

Regression analysis revealed that, apart from premorbidities, all the examined factors were significantly correlated with the onset of drug use. Specifically, being male, having higher affluence, experiencing more adverse life events, and living in a more adverse home environment were associated with an earlier onset of drug use. Among these factors, adverse life events and home environment were the strongest predictors of the onset of illicit drug use, while premorbidities did not show a significant relationship with drug use onset.

The study highlights that sex, socioeconomic status, adverse life events, and home environment are significant in the early onset of drug use, while premorbidities are not. Early intervention should focus on these key risk factors. A risk-focused approach, guided by biopsychosocial perspectives, is recommended. Targeted interventions should address adverse life events and home environments to prevent early drug use and subsequent abuse effectively.

This infodemiological research explored the online public interest in COVID-19 vaccine registration and its association with Filipinos’ interest in its side effects, efficacy, alcohol interaction, safety, and dangerousness. It utilized Google Trends to gather search volumes in the Philippines from December 2020 to November 2021. After describing the queries and search volumes, multiple linear regression was done. The results showed that the Filipino public was more interested in the safety of COVID-19 vaccines than their danger. Interest in its efficacy, interaction, and side effects initially increased but decreased over time. Vaccine registration initially dropped but later increased in November 2021, perhaps due to a national holiday for public vaccination. Strikingly, interest in COVID-19 vaccine registration was only associated with its safety and had no relationship with interaction, efficacy, and side effects. Therefore, reliable online information on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines is crucial to improving public interest in COVID-19 vaccination.

Introduction: Online “Twitter Alter” accounts have emerged in the Philippines, particularly among its men who have sex with men (MSM) community, including gay and bisexual men. It enabled them to mask their identities, avoiding discrimination based on their sexual preferences, orientations, and behaviors. Given these and the rising use of the internet, Google Trends can be used as a surrogate measure to determine changes in public interest concerning HIV and Twitter Alter. Methods: This study aimed to elucidate search pattern changes and related interest of the online public regarding “Twitter Alter” and “HIV/AIDS” over ten years from July 2011 to June 2021. An analysis of Google Trends for keywords “Twitter Alter” and “HIV/AIDS (Illness)” from July 2011 to June 2021 was done as a surrogate measure of public interest and awareness. Search volumes, related queries, and topics were described and compared. Results: It was found that the search volume for “Twitter Alter” has increased by about 10000% while the “HIV/AIDS (Illness)” search volume decreased to 67%. Conclusion: Online public interest, as an alternative measure to public awareness, has increased for “Twitter Alter” while decreasing for HIV. Given these, “Twitter Alter” may put its users, mostly young MSM, at a more conducive venue for high-risk sexual behaviors due to the higher behavioral control while avoiding public stigma. Nonetheless, the online “Twitter Alter” community may also be mustered in information campaigns for HIV prevention

Climate-related events unevenly affect society, worsening mental health disparities among vulnerable populations. This paper highlights that lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender, queers, and other individuals identifying as sexual and gender minorities (LGBTQ+) could be considered a climate-vulnerable population in the Philippines, one of the most climate-vulnerable countries. As such, this paper elucidated that LGBTQ+ Filipinos can be marginalized in climate response efforts due to their sexual orientation and gender minority identities. According to the minority stress theory, discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals may predispose them to mental health problems. Thus, there is a need to institute an LGBTQ+ inclusive mental health response for climate-related events to address discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals and uphold their mental health.

Introduction: Considerable evidence exists that Man who have Sex with Men (MSM) experiences worse health disparities compared to the general population across the globe including higher rates of alcohol use disorder. This review summarized the available primary research information to provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors associated with Alcohol Use Disorder among MSM. Methods: A literature review of PubMed articles was done. A total of 85 papers about the MSM population were displayed. Twelve articles about Alcohol Use Disorder among MSM were reviewed to extract its associated factors. Afterward, these factors were arranged by themes. Results: The associated factors of Alcohol Use Disorder among the MSM were social and demographic factors, abuses, sexual behaviors, HIV-related factors, other mental health conditions, and previous Alcohol Use Disorder treatment. Conclusions: Some of the factors associated with Alcohol Use Disorder among MSM may be similar to the general population, while others may be unique to the MSM population. The associations between Alcohol Use Disorder and these factors may be explained by Alcohol’s biological factors, adverse social experiences based on their sexual minority background, cultural differences, and coping styles. These factors may also increase the risk of MSM for other

OBJECTIVE: This paper aimed to describe and correlate the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors towards mental illness among adult college students.

METHODOLOGY: Experts from the Department of Psychiatry reviewed the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS), Community Attitude towards the Mental Illness III (CAMI-III) and Reported and Intended Behavior Scale (RIBS) appropriateness for the intended population. These were administered to randomly selected 260 adult college students from a selected university in Metro Manila. Data was analyzed using mean, frequencies, item analysis and correlation coefficient.

RESULTS: Mean score for knowledge was 48.17 of 60. Mean scores for authoritarianism, social restrictiveness, benevolence and community mental health ideology were 21.67, 18.82, 43.26 and 41.38 of 50. Mean score for nondiscriminatory behavior was 17.39 of 20. Nondiscriminatory behavior positively correlated with benevolence (r=0.34) and community mental health ideology (r=0.45). Nondiscriminatory behavior negatively correlated with authoritarianism (r=-0.34) and social restrictiveness (r=-0.39). Knowledge positively correlated with benevolence (r=0.3) and negatively correlated with social restrictiveness (r=-0.35).

CONCLUSION: College students have high mental literacy but were confused with stress and grief. They were tolerant, respectful and inclusive of the mentally ill's role in society but half viewed mental hospital as indispensable and were guarded regarding the mentally ill's role in young children, and a quarter had fallacies with mental illness recognition and etiology. Educational interventions only improve some attitudes but have no effect on discriminatory behaviors. Instead, behavioral interventions holistically improve attitudes. Compared with previous generations, the challenge in reducing discrimination is to improve attitudes instead of knowledge. Hence, stigma may not only vary by culture, but may also vary by generation.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Methamphetamine ; Philippines ; Pharmaceutical Preparations