Attitudes, beliefs, and practices of key opinion leaders (KOL) and providers about emergency contraception (EC) in Senegal

In 2010, the Reproductive Health Division in Senegal, with support from Population Council, performed an assessment of the emergency contraception (EC) integration process into the national health system through a national forum on EC. This forum revealed that there was a real promotional problem regarding EC in the national health system despite the efforts made. There was widespread lack of public awareness of the product, rumors concerning EC due to the sensitive nature of the product, low inclusion of EC in routine service delivery, especially during initial counseling in family planning awareness campaigns , and a better method of keeping service providers at pharmacies informed about EC provisions and protocols. This study’s overall objective is collecting information from Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and providers about their EC knowledge, attitudes, and practices, and understanding their options and perceptions that may influence EC policies and programs. Results from the study indicated an urgent need to improve EC accessibility and the quality of services

Impact of window to walls ratios on thermal comfort and energy consumption in tropical zone

This paper investigated the impact of Window to Wall Ratios (WWR) an the thermal comfort and energy lighting demand of a building in tropical zone. Simulations were carried out for a reference office proposed by Task 27 of IEA using three Window to Wall Ratios (WWR). Results were analyzed both in terms of operative temperature and energy lighting consumption. Simulations results showed that for increasing WWR, the operative temperature increases and energy lighting demand decreases

Emergency contraception in Senegal: Challenges and opportunities

Objectives: This paper highlights lessons from introductory efforts and presents new data on community, provider and key opinion leader perspectives to support expanded use of emergency contraception (EC) in Senegal. Sources of information: The paper draws on four data sources: (i) a literature review; (ii) a secondary analysis of a household survey conducted by the Urban Reproductive Health Initiative; (iii) in-depth interviews with key opinion leaders; and (iv) a quantitative survey of healthcare providers from a range of service delivery points. Analysis of data: Knowledge of EC among women is low in urban areas, with only 20% of women having heard of the method and 4% having ever used it. There were serious gaps in providers’ technical knowledge about EC; only 57% knew its mode of action and 34% were aware of the need for timely use (within 120 h). Moreover, nearly half reported reluctance to provide EC to married women and even fewer were willing to provide it to youths, particularly to adolescent girls. Responses from key opinion leaders were mixed, demonstrating ambivalence about EC and how it could be offered. Conclusion: In Senegal, the current positive political climate for family planning provides a good opportunity for strengthening EC programming to address knowledge and attitudinal barriers among providers, key opinion leaders and communities

A framework of optimum cleaning schedule and its financial impact in a large-scale PV solar plant: a case study in Senegal

The performance of large-scale PV solar plant installed in sub-Saharan regions is affected by the deposition of dust on the surface of the PV modules. Frequent cleaning of the PV modules increases the profitability of PV solar plants. The objective of this study is to determine the optimal cleaning cycle of a PV solar plant subjected to a wind loaded with sand and dust. This study took place in a PV solar plant installed in Senegal. The measurement data are analysed for a period of two years and used to extract soiling rate. Optimization was done based on the total cost caused by dust on the PV solar plant to minimize the number of days between cleaning events. The results showed that the soiling rate between June and May is 0.34%/day, while a rate of 0.33%/day was recorded in October. The highest soiling rates of 0.42%/day and 0.49%/day were recorded in December and between February and March, respectively. The optimal cleaning cycle for the PV solar plant is 14 days. The total cost of cleaning is reduced by 31% using this optimal cleaning cycle proposed

Violation of women's reproductive health rights : experiences of disrespect and abuse in family planning services in four health centers in Dakar, Senegal

Meeting: International Conference on Family Planning, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, November 12-15, 2013The study examines the extent and types of disrespect and abuse (D&A) in reproductive health services and various perceptions on this subject, to formulate recommendations to engage stakeholders to address issues in D&A. The poster includes a table of the most common forms that D&A takes (verbal aggression; non-assistance in the form of providing only minimal information). As the Government of Senegal aims to boost contraceptive prevalence from 12% to 27% between 2012 and 2015, addressing D&A in family planning services may contribute to increased use of services, continued contraceptive use, and thus higher contraceptive prevalence

Lighting controls and energy savings potential in tropical zone

Reducing global energy consumption is a challenge to limit the rise in average earth temperature. The use of lighting controls in the building leads to energy savings. The objective of this study is to evaluate the energy savings potential in buildings in tropical zone due to lighting controls. The results of the simulations show that 47.6% of energy savings could be obtained with a dimming control and 33.3% with an on/off control in this office considered

Experimental analysis of diffusion absorption refrigerator driven by electrical heater and engine exhaust gas

This work presents an experimental study of H20-NH3-H2 diffusion absorption refrigeration under two types of energy sources, i.e. the conventional electric energy from grid (electric) and exhaust gas from internal combustion engine. Dynamic method is used to evaluate the behavior of the components of the system for both energy sources. Results obtained show that the performance of each component under different types of energy sources is almost coherent. For the generator, the electrical heater system requires more time to warm up, around three minutes, compared to the 40 s for system running with exhaust gas. For the evaporator, the decreasing rate is higher for the exhaust gas source and it took only about two hours to reach steady-state while for the electrical heat, the steady-state is reached after about seven hours of operation. For both energy sources, the evaporation temperature stabilizes to 3 °C and the minimum temperature to boil off ammonia is around 140 °C

Attitudes, croyances et pratiques des leaders d\u27opinion clés (loc) et des prestataires sur la contraception d\u27urgence (CU) au Sénégal

In Senegal, initiatives for mainstreaming the emergency contraceptive pill (ECP) in the family planning program are fairly recent. Service statistics indicate, however, that ECP distribution through the public sector is very low. While most users access ECPs through the private sector, the volume of sales is not clear, due to the absence of an operational information system of EC distribution through pharmacies. In an effort to strengthen EC provision in Senegal and reposition EC within the FP program, the Population Council conducted a study in collaboration with the Reproductive Health Division of the Ministry of Health, Senegal to document the positions and perceptions of key opinion leaders who can shape the policy and program framework; as well as documenting providers’ attitudes, beliefs, and practices regarding EC. Support for this study was provided by the International Consortium for Emergency Contraception, as part of a three-country project also including Nigeria and Indi

Theoretical study of an NH3–H2O absorption chiller powered by a linear Fresnel system modelled by combining ray tracing and CFD

This paper analyses the performance of a NH3–H2O absorption machine powered with a linear Fresnel reflector. , The various components of the absorption machine and the linear Fresnel reflector were dimensioned for a power of 10 kW. A numerical model combining Monte Carlo ray tracing and Computational Fluid Dynamics was developed to evaluate the outlet temperature of the linear Fresnel reflector. The outlet temperature is used as input data for the simulation of the thermodynamic model of the NH3–H2O absorption machine using the commercial software Engineering Equation Solver. The results showed that the linear Fresnel reflector consists of 30 reflectors with a length of 10 m and a wide of 0.2 m each, 5 absorber tubes with a height of 4 m each and 1 trapezoidal cavity with a length of 10 m and a height of 4.065 m. A hot source temperature of 169.24 °C was recorded when the coefficient of performance reaches 0.510