Background: The effect of women’s autonomy in decision-making for fertility control has been highlighted by research. The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of women’s autonomy over decision-making regarding their health and access to family planning in Senegal in 2017. Methods: The analyses in this study were carried out using data from the Senegal Demographic and Health Survey in 2017. The sample consisted of 8865 women aged 15–49. The propensity score-matching method was applied. Autonomy in health decision-making was considered the treatment variable. Matching was performed using confounding variables. The outcome variables were the current use of modern contraceptive methods and the existence of unmet needs. The common support condition had been met. The analysis was conducted using STATA.15 software. Results: This study showed that 6.26% of women had decision-making autonomy in relation to their health. For 80.33% of the women, their husbands/partners made health-related decisions for them. Decision-making autonomy increased significantly with the age of the woman (p < 0.05). In addition, 15.24% of women were using a modern method of contraception. An estimated 26.2% of women had unmet needs. Propensity score matching split the women into two groups based on autonomy over decision-making for their health. After matching, there was no longer a significant difference between women who were autonomous with respect to their decision-making and those who were not autonomous with respect to their current use of a modern contraceptive method. On the other hand, there was a 14.42% reduction (p < 0.05) in unmet needs for family planning in the group of women who were autonomous with respect to their health decision-making. Conclusion: Autonomy in health decision-making would reduce unmet needs among Senegalese women. These results show the importance of accounting for gender in health interventions for the accessibility of family planning services.

Objective: This study aims to identify barriers to the professional advancement of women researchers in West Africa. Methods: This was a descriptive, observational, cross-sectional qualitative study conducted between June and September 2020 in five West African countries (Ghana, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali). Interviews were conducted with 21 female and 9 male health researchers by video call. After transcription, the data was thematically analysed using an inductive process. Results: Four themes associated with barriers to women’s careers development were identified. First. was family- and environmental-related barriers. Gender norms that assign domestic tasks and responsibilities to women reduced the time they were able to dedicate to research. Second was gender insensitive organisational culture and institutional policies that deepened gender disparities and made it more difficult for women to attain leadership positions. Third was the need for women in research to undergo emancipation programs to strengthen their resilience and ability to make critical decisions as strategic approaches to address the challenges faced by women in the academia were a lot more focused on addressing their relationship with their spouse. Forth, was the individual intermediate perception of professional and personal success which for many women, they perceive themselves as competent as their male counterparts and should not be subject to the gender discrimination they experience. Conclusion: The web created between work-life and home-life for West African women researchers mainly as a result of the gender inequalities in the social structure will require more medium- and long-term strategic planning by institutional authorities to reduce gender disparities in research and academia. This work has highlighted the influence of family and social life on the professional lives of West African women researchers. The study could help contribute to the development of gender equality interventions for the career development of women researchers in West Africa.

Introduction: Data on drug use in paediatrics are scarce in Senegal. The objective of this study was to assess the prescribing indicators in a paediatric population seen in an outpatient consultation at a Health Centre in Dakar, Senegal. Methods: A retrospective and analytical study was conducted. The study population consisted of prescriptions for children aged 0 to 14 years who were seen in ambulatory consultation between 1 June and 30 November 2019. The sample size was 600 prescriptions. The systematic survey was then conducted. Five prescription indicators recommended by the World Health Organization were calculated. The R software was used for descriptive analysis, bivariate analysis and binomial logistic regression. Results: The average number of drugs per prescription was 2.56. The proportion of drugs prescribed under the International Nonproprietary Name (INN) was 18.9%, while the proportion of drugs on the National Essential Medicines List (NEML) was 41.3%. The proportions of prescriptions with at least one antibiotic and one injectable product were 41.5% and 1.3%, respectively. Conclusions: This study showed that prescribing habits were inadequate. Thus, it would be necessary to move towards continuing training of prescribers in the wise use of medicines.

Background: Bacterial resistance is a major public health problem worldwide. One solution to this scourge is to sensitize the general public on rational use of antibiotics. Our goal was to assess people’s knowledge and opinions about antibiotic use and bacterial resistance in an urban setting. Method: We performed a cross-sectional study. A convenience sampling was done. A questionnaire was administered to 400 persons during face-to-face interviews. Results: Most respondents thought that antibiotics are effective against colds/flu (69.8%), cough (72.3%) and sore throat (64.4%). At the same time, 42.8% stated that antibiotic therapy can be stopped as soon as the symptoms disappear. Only 8.8% and 41.8% of people knew that handwashing and vaccination prevented bacterial resistance. Globally, 7% of people had a good knowledge. Socio-demographic variables were not associated with the level of knowledge. The main sources of information were entourage and pharmacy staff. Regarding the opinions, 78.3% of surveyed participants the people thought that that people overuse antibiotics. Additionally, 28% said that they have no role to play against bacterial resistance. Conclusion: People living in an urban setting had a low knowledge about antibiotic use and bacterial resistance. There is a need to implement awareness campaigns. Further studies on population practices toward antibiotic use are necessary.

Introduction : Au Sénégal, la problématique de l’accès aux services de santé maternelle, reproductive et sexuelle demeure une priorité sanitaire. Malgré de nombreuses interventions sanitaires, l’accès des femmes aux services de santé reste limité du fait de leur faible autonomie concernant les décisions pour leur santé. But de l’étude : L’objectif de cette étude était d’étudier les facteurs associés à l’autonomie décisionnelle des femmes par rapport à leur santé au Sénégal en 2017. Résultats : Moins d’une femme sur 10 (6,26 %) était autonome par rapport aux décisions de santé. Pour 80,33 % des femmes, c’est leur mari ou partenaire qui les prenaient à leur place. Les facteurs associés à l’autonomie décisionnelle de la femme étaient les tranches d’âges 20-24 ans et 45-49 ans, avec respectivement des rapports de cotes ( odds ratios ) ajustés (ORa) de 0,28 [0,10-0,77] et de 2,99 [1,25-7,17], le milieu d’habitat rural (ORa = 0,52 [0,34-0,80]), le niveau d’instruction supérieur de la femme (ORa = 4,10 [1,54-10,93]), le niveau d’instruction primaire du mari/partenaire (ORa = 1,98 [1,08-3,61]), le statut marital de la femme (ORa = 0,09 [0,02-0,38]) et le fait que celle-ci exerce une activité génératrice de revenus (ORa = 3,70 [2,52-5,44]). Conclusions : Cette étude a mis en évidence un taux faible d’autonomie de décision chez les femmes sénégalaises. Elle a permis également d’identifier les facteurs sur lesquels il faudrait agir pour améliorer l’autonomie décisionnelle des femmes concernant leur santé. Il s’agit de l’accès à l’éducation des femmes et de la promotion des activités génératrices de revenus chez ces dernières.

In developing countries, hepatitis B is spread primarily by the perinatal or horizontal route. Thus, the Senegalese government recommends administering the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine (HepB0) within 24 hours of birth. The objective was to identify the determinants of timely administration of HepB0 in Senegal in 2019. A secondary analysis of the demographic and health survey was carried out. The study population consisted of children aged 12 to 23 months. A cluster survey, stratified in urban and rural areas, drawn at two stages, was carried out. Individual interviews were conducted. Logistic regression was applied to estimate the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and their 95% confidence interval. In total, 1130 children were included. Among them, 48.1% were born to mothers aged 25 to 34, 46.8% were male and 82.6% were born in health facilities. The average time between birth and HepB0 administration was 13.1±46.6 days. The median is 0 days [IQR: 0–12] with a minimum of 0 days and a maximum of 414 days. Among 747 children vaccinated, only 65.2% were vaccinated within 24 hours of birth. The determinants were maternal age of at least 35 years (aOR = 2.03 [1.29–3.20]), primary education of the mother (aOR = 1.94 [1.13–3. 35]), at least four antenatal care visits (aOR = 1.74 [1.12–2.69]), belonging to the central (ORa = 0.22 [0.11–0.44]) and northern regions (aOR = 0.18 [0.08–0.40]), and delivery in a health facility (aOR = 3.42 [1.90–6.15]). Education and keeping girls in school, local postnatal care in hard-to-reach regions, promotion of antenatal acre and delivery in a health facility should improve the timeliness of HepB0 vaccination.