Enrolment of older people in social health protection programs in West Africa e Does social exclusion play a part?

Although the population of older people in Africa is increasing, and older people are becoming increasingly vulnerable due to urbanisation, breakdown of family structures and rising healthcare costs, most African countries have no social health protection for older people. Two exceptions include Senegal's Plan Sesame, a user fees exemption for older people and Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) where older people are exempt from paying premiums. Evidence on whether older people are aware of and enrolling in these schemes is however lacking. We aim to fill this gap. Besides exploring economic indicators, we also investigate whether social exclusion determines enrolment of older people. This is the first study that tries to explore the social, political, economic and cultural (SPEC) dimensions of social exclusion in the context of social health protection programs for older people. Data were collected by two cross-sectional household surveys conducted in Ghana and Senegal in 2012. We develop SPEC indices and conduct logistic regressions to study the determinants of enrolment. Our results indicate that older people vulnerable to social exclusion in all SPEC dimensions are less likely to enrol in Plan Sesame and those that are vulnerable in the political dimension are less likely to enrol in NHIS. Efforts should be taken to specifically enrol older people in rural areas, ethnic minorities, women and those isolated due to a lack of social support. Consideration should also be paid to modify scheme features such as eliminating the registration fee for older people in NHIS and creating administration offices for ID cards in remote communities in Senegal

Unintended pregnancy: magnitude and correlates in six urban sites in Senegal

BACKGROUND: In Senegal, unintended pregnancy has become a growing concern in public health circles. It has often been described through the press as a sensational subject with emphasis on the multiple infanticide cases as a main consequence, especially among young unmarried girls. Less scientific evidence is known on this topic, as fertility issues are rarely discussed within couples. In a context where urbanization is strong, economic insecurity is persistent and the population is globalizing, it is important to assess the magnitude of unintended pregnancy among urban women and to identify its main determinants. METHODS: Data were collected in 2011 from a representative sample of 9614 women aged 15–49 years in six urban sites in Senegal. For this analysis, we include 5769 women who have ever been pregnant or were pregnant at the time of the survey. These women were asked if their last pregnancy in the last two years was ‘wanted ’then’, ‘wanted later’ or ‘not wanted’. Pregnancy was considered as unintended if the woman responded ‘wanted later’ or ‘not wanted’. Descriptive analyses were performed to measure the magnitude of unintended pregnancies, while multinomial logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with the occurrence of unintended pregnancy. The analyses were performed using Stata version 12. All results were weighted. RESULTS: The results show that 14.3% of ever pregnant women reported having a recent unintended pregnancy. The study demonstrates important distinctions between women whose last pregnancy was intended and those whose last pregnancy was unintended. Indeed, this last group is more likely to be poor, from a young age (< 25 years) and multiparous. In addition, it appears that low participation of married women in decision-making within the couple (management of financial resources) and the lack of discussion on family planning issues are associated with greater experience of unintended pregnancy. CONCLUSION: This study suggests a need to implement more targeted programs that guarantee access to family planning for all women in need. In urban areas that are characterized by economic insecurity, as in Senegal, it is important to consider strategies for promoting communication within couples on fertility issues

Measuring and modelling concurrency

This article explores three critical topics discussed in the recent debate over concurrency (overlapping sexual partnerships): measurement of the prevalence of concurrency, mathematical modelling of concurrency and HIV epidemic dynamics, and measuring the correlation between HIV and concurrency. The focus of the article is the concurrency hypothesis &#x2013; the proposition that presumed high prevalence of concurrency explains sub-Saharan Africa&#x0027;s exceptionally high HIV prevalence. Recent surveys using improved questionnaire design show reported concurrency ranging from 0.8% to 7.6% in the region. Even after adjusting for plausible levels of reporting errors, appropriately parameterized sexual network models of HIV epidemics do not generate sustainable epidemic trajectories (avoid epidemic extinction) at levels of concurrency found in recent surveys in sub-Saharan Africa. Efforts to support the concurrency hypothesis with a statistical correlation between HIV incidence and concurrency prevalence are not yet successful. Two decades of efforts to find evidence in support of the concurrency hypothesis have failed to build a convincing case

Fertility desires, family planning use and pregnancy experience: longitudinal examination of urban areas in three African countries

Background Many women have inconsistent fertility desires and contraceptive use behaviors. This increases their risk of unintended pregnancies. Inconsistencies may reflect barriers to family planning (FP) use but may also reflect ambivalence toward future childbearing. Using urban data from Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal, this study examines the role of fertility desires and FP use behaviors on pregnancy experience over a 2-year follow-up period. Methods Data come from baseline and 2-year follow-up among urban women interviewed in Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal. At baseline (2010/2011), women were asked about their future fertility desires (want child soon, want to delay >2 years, does not want) and current FP use. At midterm (2012/2013), women were asked if they were currently pregnant or had a birth in the 2-year period. We examine the association between baseline fertility desires and FP use with pregnancy experience and desirability of an experienced pregnancy. Results In the 2-year follow-up period, 27–39 % of women in union experienced a pregnancy or birth. In Kenya and Nigeria, 30–35 % of women using a modern FP method experienced a pregnancy/birth; the percentage with a pregnancy/birth was slightly higher among women not using at baseline (41 % in both countries). In Senegal, the distinction between pregnancy experience between users and non-users was greater (16 % vs. 31 %, respectively). In all countries, pregnancy was less common among users of long-acting and permanent methods; only a small percentage of women use these methods. Women not wanting any(more) children were the least likely to experience a pregnancy in the 2-year follow-up period. No differences were observed between those who wanted to delay and those who wanted soon. Multivariate findings demonstrate distinctions in pregnancy experience by fertility desires among modern FP users. Non-users have similar pregnancy experience by fertility desires. Conclusions Fertility desires are not stable; providers need to consider the fluidity of fertility desires in counseling clients. Programs focusing on new FP users may miss women who are the most motivated to avoid a pregnancy and need to switch to a more effective method; this will result in less unintended pregnancies overall