Understanding how social norms affect modern contraceptive use.

BACKGROUND: An aim of this study is to introduce a practitioner-friendly behavior model. Few theories of health behavior explicitly take the effect of social norms on behavior into account. Generally, theories that do take social norms into account assume that the effect of social norms on behavior operates through motivation. We use the Fogg Behavior Model (FBM), a behavior model that is new to public health, to explore whether social norms are associated with modern contraceptive use among Nigerian women, and whether they affect behavior through motivation or through ability. In other words, do social norms that discourage contraception lower women's motivation to use contraception or do they lower women's ability to use contraception. METHODS: This study uses data from a cross-sectional household survey of Nigerian women, ages 14-24. The survey collected data on socio-economic and demographic characteristics of women, whether they were sexually experienced, and whether they used contraception. Modern contraceptive use was the outcome of interest for the study. The survey also collected data on social norms around premarital sex and contraceptive use. Multivariate logistic regression was used for the analysis. RESULTS: After adjusting for a range of socio-economic and demographic variables, we found that social norms that discourage contraception had a statistically significant negative association with contraceptive use (aOR = 0.90, p < 0.001). The analysis found that the negative association between social norms and contraceptive use remained statistically significant after controlling for motivation but did not remain statistically significant after controlling for ability. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that social norms may affect contraceptive use in Nigeria through ability rather than motivation. In terms of programmatic implications, these finding suggest that public health interventions may be able to counter the negative effects of social norms that discourage contraceptive use by increasing women's ability to practice contraception.

Knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of Kenyan healthcare workers regarding pediatric discharge from hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To assess attitudes, perceptions, and practices of healthcare workers regarding hospital discharge and follow-up care for children under age five in Migori and Homa Bay, Kenya. METHODS: This mixed-methods study included surveys and semi-structured telephone interviews with healthcare workers delivering inpatient pediatric care at eight hospitals between November 2017 and December 2018. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 111 (85%) eligible HCWs. Ninety-seven of the surveyed HCWs were invited for interviews and 39 (40%) participated. Discharge tasks were reported to be "very important" to patient outcomes by over 80% of respondents, but only 37 (33%) perceived their hospital to deliver this care "very well" and 23 (21%) believed their facility provides sufficient resources for its provision. The vast majority (97%) of participants underestimated the risk of pediatric post-discharge mortality. Inadequate training, understaffing, stock-outs of take-home therapeutics, and user fees were commonly reported health systems barriers to adequate discharge care while poverty was seen as limiting caregiver adherence to discharge and follow-up care. Respondents endorsed the importance of follow-up care, but reported supportive mechanisms to be lacking. They requested enhanced guidelines on discharge and follow-up care. CONCLUSION: Kenyan healthcare workers substantially underestimated the risk of pediatric post-discharge mortality. Pre- and in-service training should incorporate instruction on discharge and follow-up care. Improved post-discharge deaths tracking-e.g., through vital registry systems, child mortality surveillance studies, and community health worker feedback loops-is needed, alongside dissemination which could leverage platforms such as routine hospital-based mortality reports. Finally, further interventional trials are needed to assess the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of novel packages to improve discharge and follow-up care.

Facilitators and barriers in the utilization of World Health Organization's Preventing Early Pregnancy Guidelines in formulating laws, policies and strategies: what do stakeholders in Ethiopia say?

BACKGROUND: Each year, approximately 16 million 15-19 year-old girls give birth. In 2011 the World Health Organization (WHO) published the evidence-based "Preventing Early Pregnancy and Poor Reproductive Outcomes among Adolescents in Low and Middle Income Countries" guidelines to inform policies and programs. However, little is known about their country-level use to influence supportive environments to reduce early childbearing. We sought to identify alignment of Ethiopian laws, polices and strategies with these guidelines, whether these guidelines contributed to them, and identify facilitators and barriers to their utilization. METHODS: First, we analyzed Ethiopian legal, policy, and strategy documents relating to adolescent pregnancy to determine their alignment with the WHO early pregnancy guidelines. We then conducted and thematically analyzed 11 interviews with key informants (KIs) working in adolescent and/or reproductive health at the national level. RESULTS: Laws, policies, and strategies to address early childbearing are in place in Ethiopia and address the six domains of the WHO adolescent pregnancy guidelines. KIs reported that they were aware of the WHO adolescent pregnancy guidelines, but none mentioned it without prompting. Six barrier/facilitator themes emerged: knowledge, national agenda, laws, resources, culture, and cooperation. CONCLUSIONS: Ethiopia has a policy framework consistent with WHO's adolescent pregnancy guidelines which may have contributed to their development. The lack of spontaneous identification of the guidelines by the KIs we interviewed, raises questions of their knowledge and use of the guidelines. Targeted dissemination of guidelines by WHO to relevant stakeholders may facilitate their use.

Examining the artist-patient relationship in palliative care. A thematic analysis of artist reflections on encounters with palliative patients.

BACKGROUND: Although therapeutic arts are used in the palliative care setting, little has been described about what happens during the artist-patient encounter and how these interactions can complement and integrate into the interdisciplinary model of palliative care. The objective of this study is to describe the artist-patient encounter and how artists can function in the palliative interdisciplinary model of care. METHODS: Authors reviewed 229 reports written by artists about encounters with palliative patients, and performed thematic analysis on 95. RESULTS: Artists describe physical, emotional and spiritual responses by patients including relaxation, invigoration and accessing spirituality, some of which were unique to the artist-patient interaction. Artists also described personal reactions including themes of professional fulfillment, kinship and empathy with patient suffering. Themes surrounding the artist-patient bond and trust also emerged. CONCLUSIONS: The artist-patient encounter has an effect on both patients and artists, and can create a therapeutic relationship between them. Artists provide unique perspectives and contribute to care paradigms when integrated with  the palliative team.

Use of the Fogg Behavior Model to Assess the Impact of a Social Marketing Campaign on Condom Use in Pakistan.

The Fogg Behavior Model (FBM) is a new framework which posits that behavior happens when three factors - motivation, ability, and a prompt - occur in the same moment. The FBM categorizes people into four groups based on motivation and ability and posits that those with high motivation and high ability will adopt a behavior when prompted. Two rounds of panel survey data from 617 married men in urban Pakistan were used to test this hypothesis. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression was used for the analysis. The results show the relationships between ability, motivation, the prompt and condom use to be as hypothesized by the FBM. After adjustment for a range of variables including fertility desires, education, and household wealth, the odds of condom use among men with high motivation and high ability were 34 times higher than the odds of condom use among men with low motivation and low ability. Moreover, the association between the prompt and condom use operated through increased motivation and ability. The FBM has potential for use in the design and evaluation of behavior change interventions in developing countries.

Child Health and Survival in a Changing World.

Ninety-nine percent of the 5.9 million annual child deaths occur in low and middle-income countries. Undernutrition underlies 45% of deaths. Determinants include access to care, maternal education, and absolute and relative poverty. Socio-political-economic factors and policies tremendously influence health and their determinants. Most deaths can be prevented with interventions that are currently available and recommended for widespread implementation. Millennium Development Goal 4 was not achieved. Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 presents an even more ambitious target and opportunity to save millions of lives; and requires attention to scaling up interventions, especially among the poorest and most vulnerable children.