Prévalence et facteurs associés à la co-consommation d'alcool et de tabac dans la commune de Natitingou, Bénin.

INTRODUCTION: La consommation d'alcool et la consommation de tabac entraînent chacune des risques importants pour la santé. L'objectif de cette étude était d'étudier la prévalence de la co-consommation d'alcool et de tabac ainsi que les facteurs associés dans la commune de Natitingou en 2016. MÉTHODES: Il s'agissait d'une étude transversale à caractère analytique. L'enquête s'est déroulée en octobre 2016 et a porté sur un échantillon de 270 sujets. Elle a été menée selon une technique de sondage aléatoire à plusieurs degrés. Les données collectées ont été analysées avec le logiciel R. RÉSULTATS: Sur les 270 sujets interrogés, 72,2 % étaient des hommes. L'âge moyen était de 30,7 ± 9,2 ans. La prévalence de la co-consommation était de 33,7 % [IC95% : 28,1 %-39,7 %]). Les facteurs associés à la co-consommation d'alcool et de tabac étaient : le sexe masculin (ORa = 2,1 ; p = 0,023), la dipsomanie (ORa = 1,4 ; p = 0,032), le fait d'avoir des amis buveurs ou fumeurs (ORa = 2,8 ; p = 0,004), le fait de suivre les publicités des médias sur les boissons alcoolisées (ORa = 1,9 ; p = 0,029) et le faible coût /accessibilité des deux substances (ORa = 2,1 ; p = 0,011). CONCLUSION: Cette étude a montré qu'il est important de dépasser la prévention centrée sur la personne qui consiste à sensibiliser et à prendre en charge pour adopter des mesures de prévention structurelle (notamment législatives).

Rapid ethnography and participatory techniques increase onchocerciasis mass drug administration treatment coverage in Benin: a difference-in-differences analysis.

BACKGROUND: Onchocerciasis, a neglected tropical disease (NTD) that causes blindness, is controlled via mass drug administration (MDA) where entire endemic communities are targeted with preventative chemotherapeutic treatment. However, in many settings, MDA coverage remains low. The purpose of this project was to determine if engaging communities in the development of implementation strategies improves MDA coverage. METHODS: This study took place in an intervention and a control commune in Benin, West Africa. We conducted rapid ethnography in each commune to learn about community member perceptions of onchocerciasis, MDA, and opportunities to increase MDA coverage. Findings were shared with key stakeholders and a structured nominal group technique was used to derive implementation strategies most likely to increase treatment coverage. The implementation strategies were delivered prior to and during onchocerciasis MDA. We conducted a coverage survey within 2 weeks of MDA to determine treatment coverage in each commune. A difference-in-differences design was used to determine if the implementation package effectively increased coverage. A dissemination meeting was held with the NTD program and partners to share findings and determine the perceived acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of implementing rapid ethnography as part of routine program improvement. RESULTS: During rapid ethnography, key barriers to MDA participation included trust in community drug distributors, poor penetration of MDA programs in rural or geographically isolated areas, and low demand for MDA among specific sub-populations driven by religious or socio-cultural beliefs. Stakeholders developed a five-component implementation strategy package, including making drug distributor trainings dynamic, redesigning distributor job aids, tailoring community sensitization messages, formalizing supervision, and preparing local champions. After implementing the strategy package, MDA coverage increased by 13% (95% CI: 11.0-15.9%) in the intervention commune relative to the control commune. Ministry of Health and implementing partners found the approach to be largely acceptable and appropriate; however, there was mixed feedback regarding the feasibility of future implementation of rapid ethnography. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation research conducted in Benin, and indeed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, is often implemented in a top-down manner, with both implementation determinants and strategies derived in the global North. This project demonstrates the importance of participatory action research involving community members and implementers to optimize program delivery.

Budgeting challenges on the path towards universal health coverage: the case of Benin.

BACKGROUND: In its pursuance of universal health coverage (UHC), the government of Benin is piloting a project of mandatory social insurance for health entitled "ARCH". METHODS: We analysed budget data and ARCH documents, and conducted four observation missions in Benin between March 2018 and January 2020. Results are presented in terms of the three classical objectives of public expenditure management. RESULTS: The government of Benin faces important budgeting challenges when it comes to implementing the ARCH social insurance project: (i) the fiscal space is quite limited, there is a limited potential for new taxes and these may not benefit the ARCH funding, hence the need to prioritise fiscal resources without jeopardising other areas; (ii) the purchasing of health services should be more strategic so as to increase allocative efficiency and equity; (iii) the efficiency of the expenditure process needs to be improved, and more autonomy needs to be devoted to the operational level, so as to ensure that health facilities are reimbursed in a timely fashion in order to meet insured people's health costs, in such a way as to avoid jeopardizing the financial equilibrium of these facilities. CONCLUSION: The important budgeting challenges faced by Benin when it comes to implementing its UHC policy are also faced by many other African countries. It is important to avoid a situation in which the resources dedicated by the government to the social health insurance system are at the expense of a reduction in the financing of preventive and promotional primary healthcare services.

How is equity approached in universal health coverage? An analysis of global and country policy documents in Benin and Senegal.

BACKGROUND: Equity seems inherent to the pursuance of universal health coverage (UHC), but it is not a natural consequence of it. We explore how the multidimensional concept of equity has been approached in key global UHC policy documents, as well as in country-level UHC policies. METHODS: We analysed a purposeful sample of UHC reports and policy documents both at global level and in two Western African countries (Benin and Senegal). We manually searched each document for its use and discussion of equity and related terms. The content was summarised and thematically analysed, in order to comprehend how these concepts were understood in the documents. We distinguished between the level at which inequity takes place and the origin or types of inequities. RESULTS: Most of the documents analysed do not define equity in the first place, and speak about "health inequities" in the broad sense, without mentioning the dimension or type of inequity considered. Some dimensions of equity are ambiguous - especially coverage and financing. Many documents assimilate equity to an overall objective or guiding principle closely associated to UHC. The concept of equity is also often linked to other concepts and values (social justice, inclusion, solidarity, human rights - but also to efficiency and sustainability). Regarding the levels of equity most often considered, access (availability, coverage, provision) is the most often quoted dimension, followed by financial protection. Regarding the types of equity considered, those most referred to are socio-economic, geographic, and gender-based disparities. In Benin and Senegal, geographic inequities are mostly pinpointed by UHC policy documents, but concrete interventions mostly target the poor. Overall, the UHC policy of both countries are quite similar in terms of their approach to equity. CONCLUSIONS: While equity is widely referred to in global and country-specific UHC policy documents, its multiple dimensions results in a rather rhetorical utilisation of the concept. Whereas equity covers various levels and types, many global UHC documents fail to define it properly and to comprehend the breadth of the concept. Consequently, perhaps, country-specific policy documents also use equity as a rhetoric principle, without sufficient consideration for concrete ways for implementation.

[Limitations to the use of research results: a Benin researcher's point of view.] / Les contraintes à l'utilisation des résultats de la recherche : point de vue d'un chercheur au Bénin.

Research results are essential for the real success of interventions. However, in Benin, where the level of this research is already very low, the results produced are rarely or not at all used, even in fields such as public health and social anthropology of health. What are the reasons for this gap between researchers and field actors? Based on our experiences and our discussions, researchers and even research institutions (universities, laboratories, etc.) do not have the political, technical and institutional resources to ensure adoption of research results in the field of interventions. Their specific weaknesses are added to the reticence of politicians and developers to consider their results in interventions. The major challenge to the use of research, particularly in the field of public health, is reinforce the political and technical position of researchers in programmes and universities. They must also be given the logistic means, including English as universal language of communication, to allow greater access to scientific production.

Differences and structural weaknesses of institutional mechanisms for health research ethics: Burkina Faso, Palestine, Peru, and Democratic Republic of the Congo.

BACKGROUND: Regardless of national contexts, the institutions responsible for research ethics, founded on international regulations, are all expected to be structured and to operate in a common way. Our experience with several countries on different continents, however, has raised questions in this regard. This article examines the differences and structural weaknesses of ethics committees in four countries (Burkina Faso, Palestine, Peru, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo) where we have conducted the same socio-anthropological study in the field of reproductive health. METHODS: In addition to recording our observations during field surveys for this study, we performed a documentary review and interviewed expert members of ethics committees, research participants, and researchers who had experience with requesting ethics approvals for research protocols in the field of social sciences and health. RESULTS: The results of this study showed that, despite having the same mandate, the committees functioned differently, while they all exhibited the same weaknesses. Thus, the universalization and standardization of institutional conditions for applying ethical standards in research still present problems that are, at the very least, relevant. CONCLUSION: This study on ethics committees in four countries demonstrated the profound influence of context on the ways in which different institutions function and enforce regulations. In effect, in all social fields, every innovation is infused by its context.