"Children get sick all the time": A qualitative study of socio-cultural and health system factors contributing to recurrent child illnesses in rural Burkina Faso.

BACKGROUND: In Burkina Faso, the government has implemented various health sector reforms in order to overcome financial and geographical barriers to citizens' access to primary healthcare throughout the country. Despite these efforts, morbidity and mortality rates among children remain high and the utilization of public healthcare services low. This study explores the relationship between mothers' intentions to use public health services in cases of child sickness, their social strategies and cultural practices to act on these intentions and the actual services provided at the primary health care facilities. Focusing on mothers as the primary caregivers, we follow their pathways from the onset of symptoms through their various attempts of providing treatment for their sick children. The overall objective is to discuss the interconnectedness of various factors, inside and outside of the primary health care services that contribute to the continuing high child morbidity and mortality rates. METHODS: The study is based on ethnographic fieldwork, including in-depth interviews and follow-up interviews with 27 mothers, informal observations of daily-life activities and structured observations of clinical encounters. Data analysis took the form of thematic analysis. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Focusing on the mothers' social strategies and cultural practices, three forms of responses/actions have been identified: home-treatment, consultation with a traditional specialist, and consultation at the primary health care services. Due to their accumulated vulnerabilities, mothers shift pragmatically from one treatment to another. However, the sporadic nature of their treatment-seeking hinders them in obtaining long-term solutions and the result is recurrent child illnesses and relapses over long periods of time. The routinization of the clinical encounter at rural dispensaries furthermore fails to address these complexities of children's illnesses. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of case studies, interviews and observations shows how mothers in a rural area struggle and often fail to receive care at public healthcare facilities. Health service delivery could be organized in a manner that responds better to the needs of these mothers in terms of both access and retention.

Maternal healthcare in context: A qualitative study of women's tactics to improve their experience of public healthcare in rural Burkina Faso.

Improving the use of public maternal health facilities to prevent maternal death is a priority in developing countries. Accumulating evidence suggests that a key factor in choosing a facility-based delivery is the collaboration and the communication between healthcare providers and women. This article attempts to provide a fine-grained understanding of health system deficiencies, healthcare provider practices and women's experiences with maternal public healthcare. This article presents findings from ethnographic research conducted in the Central-East Region of Burkina Faso over a period of eight months (January-August 2013). It is based on monthly interviews with 14 women from village (10) and town (4) and on structured observations of clinical encounters in three primary healthcare facilities (two rural and one urban) (23 days). In addition, 13 health workers were interviewed and 11 focus groups with women from village (6) and town (5) were conducted (48 participants). Guided by an analytic focus on strategies and tactics and drawing on recent discussions on the notion of 'biomedical security', the article explores what tactics women employ in their efforts to maximize their chances of having a positive experience with public maternal healthcare. The synthesis of the cases shows that, in a context of poverty and social insecurity, women employ five tactics: establishing good relations with health workers, being mindful of their 'health booklet', attending prenatal care consultations, minimizing the waiting time at the maternity unit and using traditional medicines. In this way, women strive to achieve biomedical security for themselves and their child and to preserve their social reputation. The study reveals difficulty in the collaboration and communication between health workers and women and suggests that greater attention should be paid to social relations between healthcare providers and users.

Trust matters: A narrative literature review of the role of trust in health care systems in sub-Saharan Africa.

This article makes a contribution to the debate about health service utilisation and the role of trust in fostering demand for health services in sub-Saharan Africa. It is framed as a narrative literature review based on a thematic analysis of nine empirical, qualitative studies. For the purposes of this article trust is defined as a voluntary course of action, which involves the optimistic expectation that the trustee will do no harm to the trustor and is increasingly perceived as an important influence on health system functioning. The article looks at trust issues in interpersonal, intergroup and institutional situations. The findings of the review point to four elements that are important for trust to develop in health sector relationships: the sensitive use of discretionary power by health workers, perceived empathy by patients of the health workers, the quality of medical care and workplace collegiality. When trust works in health sector encounters, it reduces the social complexity and inherent uneven distribution of power between clients and providers. The article concludes that understanding and supporting trust processes between patients and providers, as well as between co-workers and managers, will improve health sector collaboration and stimulate demand for health care services.

Social and cultural aspects of HIV and AIDS in West Africa: a narrative review of qualitative research.

With the increasing focus on the role of social aspects of the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, the need for an overview of existing research dealing with such issues has become more urgent. The objective of this article is to provide a thematic overview of existing qualitative research on HIV and AIDS in the West African region and to analyze the main research findings in order to identify possible gaps and recommend new research themes to inform future research-based interventions. The analysis is based on a total of 58 articles published from 2001 to 2009 in English or French identified through a literature search in seven scientific, bibliographical databases. Searches included terms related to qualitative studies combined with various terms related to HIV/AIDS. The results of this narrative review show that there was a geographical concentration on Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire and a strong urban bias, with most studies taking place in the capital cities of these countries. The majority of the studies focused on women or women and men; only four articles dealt exclusively with men, of which only two were on men who have sex with men. The main study groups were people living with HIV, young people or female sex workers. Sexual risk-taking and stigmatization were the themes that were most prominently explored in the articles we reviewed. We conclude that research needs to be strengthened in relation to the analysis of experiences with antiretroviral therapy and the non-optimal access to treatment in West Africa. Also, more research is needed on men and their exposure to HIV/AIDS, as well as on the role of concurrent partnership in the spread of HIV.

Non-communicable diseases: harnessing the current opportunities.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are receiving growing attention, which brings a unique opportunity to utilise solutions available to address them. These diseases are largely preventable; proven, cost-effective interventions are available; and when NCDs emerge, means exist to treat them, prevent complications, and to improve quality of life. Yet, there is a lack in progress in responding effectively to NCDs, and the current discussion and research focus predominantly on challenges rather than the opportunities, which this paper outlines.

"They call our children "Nevirapine babies?" ": A qualitative study about exclusive breastfeeding among HIV positive mothers in Malawi.

Infant feeding is estimated to be responsible for 5%-20% of the burden of HIV transmission from mother to child. HIV positive women who cannot afford safe formula feeding are advised to practise exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) followed by prompt weaning. We conducted a qualitative study using observations and in-depth individual interviews to explore patterns of EBF as well as which factors motivate or hinder women to practice EBF. HIV positive women who intended to practice EBF from urban Malawi were purposively selected and interviewed. All women were well informed and had high knowledge on HIV as well as on EBF but much less knowledge on basic facts about breastfeeding. Despite their intentions less than half of the interviewed women managed to practice EBF and the barriers were explained by perceived lack of milk, lack of control over the feeding situation, felt and enacted stigma as well as poor counselling. Women who succeeded were older, had the explicit support of their husband and lived without the presence of their mother-in-law. Weaning at the age of 6 months was reported to be as difficult for the women as EBF. Intention itself is not a sufficient determinant of successful EBF unless a number of enabling factors come together. Prolonged breastfeeding is the cultural norm in Malawi and programs must be sensitive to social expectations to mothers and involve mothers-in-law and fathers in counselling of mothers who intend to practice EBF.

"They call our children "Nevirapine Babies?": a qualitative study about exclusive breastfeeding among HIV positive mothers in Malawi

Infant feeding is estimated to be responsible for 5%-20% of the burden of HIV transmission from mother to child. HIV positive women who cannot afford safe formula feeding are advised to practise exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) followed by prompt weaning. We conducted a qualitative study using observations and in-depth individual interviews to explore patterns of EBF as well as which factors motivate or hinder women to practice EBF. HIV positive women who intended to practice EBF from urban Malawi were purposively selected and interviewed. All women were well informed and had high knowledge on HIV as well as on EBF but much less knowledge on basic facts about breastfeeding. Despite their inten-tions less than half of the interviewed women managed to practice EBF and the barriers were explained by perceived lack of milk, lack of control over the feeding situation, felt and enacted stigma as well as poor counselling. Women who succeeded were older, had the explicit support of their husband and lived without the presence of their mother-in-law. Weaning at the age of 6 months was reported to be as difficult for the women as EBF. Intention itself is not a sufficient determinant of successful EBF unless a number of enabling factors come together. Prolonged breastfeeding is the cultural norm in Malawi and programs must be sensitive to social expectations to mothers and involve mothers-in-law and fathers in counselling of mothers who intend to practice EBF (Afr. J. Reprod. Health 2010; 14[3]: 213-222)

HIV/AIDS knowledge and condom use among Somali and Sudanese immigrants in Denmark.

AIMS: This study explores the knowledge, attitudes and practices among Somali and Sudanese immigrants in Denmark with regard to HIV/AIDS and condom use. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A 78-item questionnaire, divided into five thematic sections, was given to 192 purposively selected Sudanese and Somalis of both sexes, aged 18-49, who had lived in Denmark for one or more years. It was administered in Arabic and Somali in four locations and supplemented by 13 semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: Education, sex, and nationality, but not length of residence in Denmark, were positively associated with knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Less than half of both men and women scored more than 70% on the knowledge portion of the questionnaire, while Sudanese knew more than Somalis. Men had a more negative attitude towards condoms than women, but greater knowledge about them. One-third of the women reported never having seen or heard of a condom, and almost half had never received information about condoms. Both sexes preferred receiving such information from the TV or friends instead of family doctors or HIV-positive individuals. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that knowledge about HIV/AIDS is low in these two Danish immigrant groups, both of which are characterized by reported incidence rates that are higher than the national average. The groups receive little information, while condom knowledge is particularly low among poorly educated women, and men have a negative attitude to condom use. The findings indicate a need for targeted, culturally sensitive HIV/AIDS information and advice.