Implementation of Preconception Health Services in Some Southeast Asian Countries: A Literature Review

Abstract

Objective: This literature discusses various forms of implementation of preconception health services in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Methods: This literature uses a narrative review with a time limit of 10 years (2011–2021) and sources from online database journals that provide free journal articles in PDF format. These include Q1–Q4 open access journals, Google Scholar, PubMed, Elsevier, and other sources, such as data from the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia. Of the 52 studies identified in the search phase, 17 were eligible for inclusion in this review. The keywords used in the literature search are preconception, health services, and Southeast Asia. The analysis carried out in this study is to group and combine the same types of preconception services from each country. Results: There is literature showing the implementation of preconception health services in some countries in Southeast Asia. These services include increasing preconception knowledge (in couples of childbearing age and adolescents), providing preconception care in the form of micronutrients, iron administration, use of contraceptives, counseling, screening for infectious diseases, increasing the participation of health workers in the village, and developing web-based preconception electronic modules and platforms. Conclusions: Providing micronutrients to women of childbearing age is a preconception service that is carried out in almost every country in Southeast Asia; some countries have developed preconception health service information systems, and other countries have not. It is necessary to evaluate the performance of existing preconception health services. Keywords: Preconception, Health Services, Southeast Asia