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Background The private sector is playing an increasingly important role in family planning services globally. The active participation of private providers is associated with a higher contraceptive prevalence rate.Objectives To examine the differentials and determinants of the utilization of private providers for family planning services.Method This study used the 2014 Malaysian Population and Family Survey data. Cross-tabulations and logistic regression were performed on 1,817 current users of modern methods.Results Overall, 26% of modern method users obtained their supplies from private clinics/pharmacies and 15.2% from other sources, such as drug stores and sundry shops. The odds of utilizing the private sector for family planning services differ significantly across regions and socio-economic groups. The odds of obtaining supply from the private clinics/pharmacies were higher among the Chinese and urban women (AOR > 1), and it was lower among those from the eastern region (AOR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.30–0.73). Non-Bumiputera, urban, higher educated, and working women, and those whose husbands decided on family planning had higher odds of obtaining the supply from the other sources (AOR > 1).Conclusion The private sector complements and supplements the public sector in providing family planning services to the public.

Malaysia has a well-established civil registration system dating back to the 1960s. Birth registration is virtually complete at the national level. However, the quality of civil registration in some remote areas is doubtful, as evidenced by the abnormally low birth and death rates in several districts. This study focuses on identifying districts in Sabah, where the reporting of births seems problematic. Sabah is the least developed state in Malaysia, and it is sparsely populated, despite being the second most populous state in the country. Sabah’s civil registration lags behind the other states, to the extent that birth and death statistics were not reported for the state in the vital statistics report for the period 2000 to 2009. A 2016 study found that death registration is almost 100%, except for Sabah (88%). The plausible reasons behind the ultra-low birth rate reported in several remote districts in Sabah include misreporting of the place of occurrence as the usual residence, delayed reporting, non-coverage, ignorance of the law, inaccessibility, presence of a large number of migrants, miscommunication, and errors in data entry. The under-reporting of births may have serious consequences, such as misallocation of resources and deprivation of services to those affected. In line with the transformative promise of “leaving no one behind,” the Sustainable Development Goals urge all countries to strive to improve data quality for planning; this includes complete birth registration for creating effective development programs to reach target groups more effectively.

This study examined three types of leisure activities (playing cards/mahjong, watching TV/listening to the radio, and participation in social activities) among the older segment of the Chinese population, and the effects of these activities in preventing the feelings of loneliness. Data came from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), conducted in 2005, 2008, and 2011. The males, those who were educated, the young-old (aged between 65 and 74 years), urban dwellers, and living in institutions were more likely to participate in all three activities frequently. Frequent or occasional participation in these three activities was negatively associated with feelings of loneliness. The longitudinal study from 2005 to 2011 showed that respondents who frequently played cards/mahjong at baseline were less likely to feel persistent loneliness at the end of the 2011 wave. Instead, frequently watching TV/listening to the radio in 2008 was associated with lower odds in feeling persistent loneliness at the end of 2011. Hence, active participation in playing cards/mahjong and TV/radio entertainment can be effective treatment intervention against persistent loneliness among older Chinese. For the Chinese, a leisure activity steeped in a nation's culture and heritage, such as playing mahjong, may be used as an intervention strategy to prevent and alleviate chronic loneliness among older adults.