The municipality of Nueva Valencia, Guimaras had a total population of 42,771 based on the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (2020 CPH). The household population of 42,721 persons comprised 99.88 percent of the total population recorded as of the time of census-taking, of which 4,815 (11.26%) were experiencing functional difficulty.

Of the 42,721 total household population in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras, 4,815 individuals (11.26%) experienced functional difficulties, most of them were females (55.20%) with a gender gap of 10.40 percentage points from their male counterparts, which comprised 44.80%.

Functional difficulty affecting an individual’s ability to perform daily activities is categorized into six (6) types including difficulty in seeing even if wearing glasses, hearing even if using a hearing aid, walking/climbing steps, remembering/concentrating, self-caring (washing all over/dressing), and difficulty in communicating.

Among the six categories of functional difficulty, the highest case was difficulty seeing even if wearing glasses, with 2,013 affected individuals or 41.81% of the total household population with functional difficulties, most were females accounting for 58.37% or a gender gap of 16.74 percentage points over their male counterparts with 41.63%.

Meanwhile, challenges related to self-care and communication were the least common, with 323 (6.71%) and 294 (6.11%), respectively. The difficulty in communicating was experienced more by females (51.02%) than males (48.98%).

Top 3 Functional Difficulties by Age group

The top three functional difficulties experienced by household population in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras province which accounted for 73.08% of the municipal total, included having trouble seeing even if wearing glasses, walking/climbing steps, and hearing even if using a hearing aide, which affected an individual’s ability to execute daily activities. Cases were higher among females than males in all levels of severity, except for moderate hearing impairment even if using a hearing aide.

The mild functional difficulty seeing even if wearing glasses, was higher among females than males in all age groups except for those aged 5-9 with equal cases among males and females. Interestingly, cases for both sexes continued to rise until they reached their peak at age groups 65-69, and cases reduced among the household population aged 70-79 but finally went up among age group 80 years old and over.

In totality, females with difficulty walking/climbing steps had higher cases among males in all levels of severity, but by age group, cases among males with mild difficulty were significantly higher among females aged 25-64, while female cases were higher among males aged 65 years and over.

Moreover, the household population in Guimaras with functional difficulty hearing even if using a hearing aid for mild and severe cases was higher among females, while moderate cases was higher among males.

Table 2 shows that females in the labor force (15-64 years old) were more likely to have mild functional difficulties than males, with a gender gap of 6.52 percentage points, while for moderate and severe cases, males outnumbered females with gender gaps of 15.87 and 2.48 percentage points, respectively.

Among male and female household populations with functional difficulties for age groups 65 and over, females outnumbered males by a gender gap of 3.28 percentage points. However, for the younger age group 5-14, mild difficulties for males were higher than females with a gender gap of 21.21 percentage points, but for moderate and severe functional difficulties, the number of females was higher than males with 34.55 and 3.98 percentage points gender gaps.

Proportion of Functional Difficulty by Sex

Looking at the proportion of males and females in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras, experiencing functional difficulties, females comprising 55.20% outnumbered males by 10.40 percentage points accounting for 44.80%, based on the 2020 CPH result.

Of the 2,658 total female household population with functional difficulties, 24.40% had difficulty in seeing even if wearing glasses, followed by those with difficulty walking/climbing steps comprising 8.97%, closely followed by those with difficulty in remembering/concentrating, and hearing even if using a hearing aid with 8.06% and 7.23%, respectively. Furthermore, the household population with challenges in self-caring (washing all over/dressing) and communicating had lesser percentages of 3.43% and 3.12%, respectively.

Figure 3 shows the percentage distribution of the male household population with functional difficulties in Nueva Valenica, Guimaras, wherein of the total 2,157 males (44.80%) had experienced functional difficulties, 17.40% had difficulty in seeing even if wearing glasses, 7.98% had difficulty in walking/climbing steps, 7.10% with hearing impairment even if using a hearing aid, and 6.04% had difficulty in remembering/concentrating.

Moreover, the household population with challenges in self-caring (washing all over/dressing), and communicating had lesser percentages of 3.28% and 2.99%, respectively.

TECHNICAL NOTES

The Philippine Statistics Authority conducted the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (2020 CPH) in September 2020, with 01 May 2020 as reference date.

The 2020 CPH was the 15th census of population and 7th census of housing that was undertaken in the Philippines since the first census in 1903. It was designed to take inventory of the total population and housing units in the country and collect information about their characteristics.

The Philippine Standard Geographic Codes as of April 2022 was used for the disaggregation of geographic levels of the 2020 CPH.

Age refers to the interval of time between a person’s date of birth and their last birthday prior to the census reference date, expressed in completed years or whole numbers.

Functional Difficulty is a limitation in performing daily activities due to impairments in seeing, walking, hearing, remembering, self-caring, or communicating.

Household is a social unit consisting of a person or a group of persons who sleep in the same housing unit and have a common arrangement in the preparation and consumption of food.

Household Population refers to all persons who are members of a household.

Mild is a level of functional difficulty where an individual experiences some limitations but can still perform daily tasks with minimal assistance.

Moderate is a level of functional difficulty where an individual faces noticeable challenges in performing daily activities and may require occasional support.

Severe is a level of functional difficulty where an individual experiences significant impairments, requiring substantial assistance or specialized care.

Severity is the extent or degree of difficulty an individual faces in carrying out daily activities due to functional impairments.

Sex is the biological and physiological reality of being male or female.