| Popis: |
The dengue virus is a flavivirus endemic in over 100 countries, in which Southeast Asian countries are greatly affected due to the evident lack in public health intervention and laboratory resources. In 2019, the Philippines was able to observe a sudden increase in dengue cases, declaring a state of epidemic. The government then proposed several measures to address the sudden rise of dengue, which showed a significant decrease in dengue deaths during the first half of 2020, but dengue still remains a cause of concern given the uncertainty of possible future epidemics. Therefore, a systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines using journals and articles published between Jan 1, 2015 and Dec 31, 2020 from Science direct, PubMed, HERDIN, Western Pacific Surveillance and Response (WPSAR), and Taylor and Francis Journal under the search strings “Dengue in the Philippines'' and “Dengue prevention and control in the Philippines”. The risk of bias was assessed using phase 2 and 3 of the ROBIS tool. A total of 19 articles identifying factors that influence public health interventions were included. Vector elimination and control (e.g., 4s strategy) through community participation has been the main focus of the current dengue prevention programs in the country, but these programs are presented with limitations. Various challenges and recommendations from different literatures were identified, but all consistently show the need for accurate identification and representation of dengue prevalence and burden to avoid higher overall healthcare costs, better involvement of the government and healthcare providers in information dissemination, advocacies with emphasis on behavioral change programs, and further research and development of a cost-effective, efficient, and less complex diagnostic method. It was therefore concluded that understanding the prevention and control of dengue in the Philippines would involve an elaborate public health investigation and review of several different factors aside from its viral mechanisms and pathogenesis, and that several aspects originating from individual behavior and practices of people up until coordination of LGUs, communities, and National-level agencies including coordinated budget allocations must all be aligned to efficiently lessen the prevalence of dengue. Research limitations encountered included the exclusive use of electronic databases and free/accessible published articles that inhibited the review’s capability to include “grey literature”, as well as the inability to have a registered protocol due to time constraints. An expansion in the criteria, databases used, and type of literature, along with the further exploring of each individual factor identified is recommended for future research. |
