Reaching the Youngest Moms and Dads: A Socio-Ecological View of Actors and Factors Influencing First-time Young Parents' Use of Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Madagascar.

Globally, few programs consider the needs of first-time young parents (FTYPs), who face disproportionate negative health consequences during pregnancy and childbirth. Scant evidence exists on FTYPs' broader health needs. Formative research in two regions of Madagascar used a socio-ecological lens to explore, via 44 interviews and 32 focus group discussions, the influences on FTYPs at the individual, couple, family, community, and system levels. We spoke with FTYPs who had, and who had not, used sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, their parents/kin and influential adults, and community health workers and facility health providers. Data analysis, guided by a codebook, used Atlas.ti. Age, social position, and implicit power dynamics operating within and across socio-ecological levels affected FTYPs' service-seeking behaviors. The nature and extent of influence varied by health service type. Cross-cutting social factors affecting service use/non-use included gender dynamics, pressures from mothers, in-laws, and family tradition, and adolescent stigmatization for too-early pregnancy. Structural and economic factors included limited awareness of and lack of trust in available services, unfriendliness of services, and FTYPs' limited financial resources. A socio-ecological program perspective can inform tailoring of activities to address broader SRH issues, including how relationships, gender, power, and intergenerational dynamics influence service use.

Reaching the youngest moms and dads: a socio-ecological view of actors and factors influencing first-time young parents' use of sexual and reproductive health services in Madagascar

Globally, few programs consider the needs of first-time young parents (FTYPs), who face disproportionate negative health consequences during pregnancy and childbirth. Scant evidence exists on FTYPs' broader health needs. Formative research in two regions of Madagascar used a socio-ecological lens to explore, via 44 interviews and 32 focus group discussions, the influences on FTYPs at the individual, couple, family, community, and system levels. We spoke with FTYPs who had, and who had not, used sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, their parents/kin and influential adults, and community health workers and facility health providers. Data analysis, guided by a codebook, used Atlas.ti. Age, social position, and implicit power dynamics operating within and across socio-ecological levels affected FTYPs' service-seeking behaviors. The nature and extent of influence varied by health service type. Cross-cutting social factors affecting service use/non-use included gender dynamics, pressures from mothers, in-laws, and family tradition, and adolescent stigmatization for too-early pregnancy. Structural and economic factors included limited awareness of and lack of trust in available services, unfriendliness of services, and FTYPs' limited financial resources. A socio-ecological program perspective can inform tailoring of activities to address broader SRH issues, including how relationships, gender, power, and intergenerational dynamics influence service use

Service Availability and Readiness Assessment of Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Services at Public Health Facilities in Madagascar.

The Service Availability and Readiness Assessment (SARA) survey was adapted and used to generate information on service availability and the readiness of maternal, newborn and child health facilities to provide basic health care interventions for obstetric care, neonatal and child health in Madagascar. The survey collected data from fifty-two public health facilities, ranging from university hospitals (CHU), referral district and regional hospitals (CHD/ CHRR) to basic health centres (CSB). For basic emergency obstetric and newborn care (BEmONC) readiness, on average, CHU had nine (71.8%), CHD/CHRR had eight and CSB had six out of the thirteen tracer items. Regarding the availability of the eleven tracer items for comprehensive CEmONC services, on average a CHU had nine ( 80.0%), a CHRR had eight (71.1%) and a CHD that is the only type of hospitals in rural area had three tracer items (30.0%). Tracer item availability results are low, indicating the need to strengthen supplies at basic health centers in order to improve the chances of success of Madagascar's Roadmap for accelerating the reduction of the maternal and neonatal mortality 2015-2019, and meeting Sustainable Development Goals 3.1 and 3.2.