Reinforcing recognition of danger signs of childhood pneumonia: results of a pilot health education intervention study in Biliran Island, Philippines.
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine-Department of Health, 9002 Research Drive, Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa, 1781, Philippines. [email protected].
- 2Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany. [email protected].
- 3Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine-Department of Health, 9002 Research Drive, Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa, 1781, Philippines.
- 4Department of Global Health and Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
- 5Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
- 6Research Institute for Tropical Medicine-Department of Health, Muntinlupa, Philippines.
Abstract
Objective
To describe the development of a health education package promoting recognition of childhood pneumonia danger signs and to assess its influence on caregivers' health-seeking behavior (HSB) in the Philippines.Results
The Risk Education for high-risk groups in the Community (REC) for acute respiratory infection (ARI) was developed using local pneumonia surveillance data. Community health workers in Caibiran and Kawayan, Biliran Island, were trained to deliver REC messages to caregivers of cohort children under five years of age. During the intervention period, cohort children experienced 3.77 ARI episodes and 0.81 pneumonia episodes per 10,000 child-years, both lower than during the pre-intervention period. The proportion of consultations diagnosed as fast-breathing pneumonia (14.9%) and severe pneumonia (1.2%) increased compared to the pre-intervention period. Caregivers reported cough, colds, and fast breathing as main symptoms prompting health facility consultation. More than half of children with fast-breathing pneumonia (53%) and chest-in-drawing pneumonia (53%) sought care at the rural health unit. These findings suggest that community-based risk communication may improve caregivers' recognition of pneumonia danger signs and encourage timely care seeking. A broader understanding of the social and contextual factors shaping HSB is needed to strengthen long-term strategies for reducing childhood pneumonia morbidity and mortality.
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BibTeX
@article{renosa2026reinforcing,
title = {{Reinforcing recognition of danger signs of childhood pneumonia: results of a pilot health education intervention study in Biliran Island, Philippines.}},
author = {Mark Donald C Reñosa and Alvin G Tan and Clyde P Dapat and Jhoys M Landicho-Guevarra and Raita Tamaki and Hitoshi Oshitani and Veronica L Tallo and Socorro P Lupisan},
journal = {BMC research notes},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1186/s13104-026-07968-3},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42972420},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Reinforcing recognition of danger signs of childhood pneumonia: results of a pilot health education intervention study in Biliran Island, Philippines.
AU - Mark Donald C Reñosa
AU - Alvin G Tan
AU - Clyde P Dapat
AU - Jhoys M Landicho-Guevarra
AU - Raita Tamaki
AU - Hitoshi Oshitani
AU - Veronica L Tallo
AU - Socorro P Lupisan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/06
JO - BMC research notes
DO - 10.1186/s13104-026-07968-3
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42972420
AB - Objective To describe the development of a health education package promoting recognition of childhood pneumonia danger signs and to assess its influence on caregivers' health-seeking behavior (HSB) in the Philippines.Results The Risk Education for high-risk groups in the Community (REC) for acute respiratory infection (ARI) was developed using local pneumonia surveillance data. Community health workers in Caibiran and Kawayan, Biliran Island, were trained to deliver REC messages to caregivers of cohort children under five years of age. During the intervention period, cohort children experienced 3.77 ARI episodes and 0.81 pneumonia episodes per 10,000 child-years, both lower than during the pre-intervention period. The proportion of consultations diagnosed as fast-breathing pneumonia (14.9%) and severe pneumonia (1.2%) increased compared to the pre-intervention period. Caregivers reported cough, colds, and fast breathing as main symptoms prompting health facility consultation. More than half of children with fast-breathing pneumonia (53%) and chest-in-drawing pneumonia (53%) sought care at the rural health unit. These findings suggest that community-based risk communication may improve caregivers' recognition of pneumonia danger signs and encourage timely care seeking. A broader understanding of the social and contextual factors shaping HSB is needed to strengthen long-term strategies for reducing childhood pneumonia morbidity and mortality.
SN - 1756-0500
ER -