The war on drugs is a war on us: young people who use drugs and the fight for harm reduction in the Global South

In the Global South, young people who use drugs (YPWUD) are exposed to multiple interconnected social and health harms, with many low- and middle-income countries enforcing racist, prohibitionist-based drug policies that generate physical and structural violence. While harm reduction coverage for YPWUD is suboptimal globally, in low- and middle-income countries youth-focused harm reduction programs are particularly lacking. Those that do exist are often powerfully shaped by global health funding regimes that restrict progressive approaches and reach. In this commentary we highlight the efforts of young people, activists, allies, and organisations across some Global South settings to enact programs such as those focused on peer-to-peer information sharing and advocacy, overdose monitoring and response, and drug checking. We draw on our experiential knowledge and expertise to identify and discuss key challenges, opportunities, and recommendations for youth harm reduction movements, programs and practices in low- to middle-income countries and beyond, focusing on the need for youth-driven interventions. We conclude this commentary with several calls to action to advance harm reduction for YPWUD within and across Global South settings.

Prevalence and factors associated with intention to use contraceptives among women of reproductive age: a multilevel analysis of the 2018 Guinea demographic and health survey

BACKGROUND

Contraceptive use is a key indicator of improving the health and well-being of women, mothers and their families, preventing unwanted pregnancies, and reducing maternal and child mortalities. Despite a lot of investments from the Government of Guinea to improve contraceptive use, studies reveal that contraceptive use still remains low in Guinea. However, the intention to use contraceptives in Guinea has not been well examined. Therefore, this study seeks to examine the factors associated with the intention to use contraceptives among women of reproductive age in Guinea.

METHODS

The study made use of data from the Guinea Demographic and Health Survey (GNDHS) conducted in 2018. For this study, we included a weighted sample of 6,948 women who were either married or cohabiting and responded to all the variables of interest. The data were analyzed using Stata version 14.2. Descriptive and multilevel logistic regression were carried out to examine the factors associated with the intention to use contraceptives. The results of multilevel logistic regression were presented using adjusted odds ratios at 95% confidence intervals and p-value < 0.05 to determine the significant associations.

RESULTS

The prevalence of intention-to-use contraceptives among women was 19.8% (95% CI18.3%-21.5%). Women with secondary/higher educational levels [aOR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.26-1.99], women whose partners had secondary/higher educational level [aOR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.04-1.52], women who were cohabiting [aOR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.13-2.68] and were exposed to mass media [aOR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.35-1.89] were likely to have higher intentions to use contraceptives. Additionally, women from the Kankan Region [aOR = 4.26, 95% CI = 2.77-6.54] and women who belong to the richer wealth quintile [aOR = 1.36, 95% CI = 0.91-1.89] were likely to have higher odds of intentions to use contraceptives. However, women aged 45-49 years, those from the Peulh ethnic group, and those who lack the competence to make healthcare decisions alone had lower odds of intention to use contraceptives.

CONCLUSION

The study revealed a low prevalence of intention to use contraceptives among women of reproductive age in Guinea. The study has highlighted that both individual-level and household/community-level factors were significantly associated with the intention to use contraceptives. Therefore, policymakers and stakeholders need to consider these factors discussed in this paper when developing policies and interventions to promote and enhance intention-to-use contraceptives among women of reproductive age in Guinea. The findings call on the Government of Guinea and all stakeholders in Guinea to ensure that female education is promoted to help improve their social status, decision-making on fertility, and reduce fertility rates and maternal mortality.

Perceived health system facilitators and barriers to integrated management of hypertension and type 2 diabetes in Kenya: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVE

Understanding the facilitators and barriers to managing hypertension and type 2 diabetes (T2D) will inform the design of a contextually appropriate integrated chronic care model in Kenya. We explored the perceived facilitators and barriers to the integrated management of hypertension and T2D in Kenya using the Rainbow Model of Integrated Care.

DESIGN

This was a qualitative study using data from a larger mixed-methods study on the health system response to chronic disease management in Kenya, conducted between July 2019 and February 2020. Data were collected through 44 key informant interviews (KIIs) and eight focus group discussions (FGDs).

SETTING

Multistage sampling procedures were used to select a random sample of 12 study counties in Kenya.

PARTICIPANTS

The participants for the KIIs comprised purposively selected healthcare providers, county health managers, policy experts and representatives from non-state organisations. The participants for the FGDs included patients with hypertension and T2D.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Patients' and providers' perspectives of the health system facilitators and barriers to the integrated management of hypertension and T2D in Kenya.

RESULTS

The clinical integration facilitators included patient peer support groups for hypertension and T2D. The major professional integration facilitators included task shifting, continuous medical education and integration of community resource persons. The national referral system, hospital insurance fund and health management information system emerged as the major facilitators for organisational and functional integration. The system integration facilitators included decentralisation of services and multisectoral partnerships. The major barriers comprised vertical healthcare services characterised by service unavailability, unresponsiveness and unaffordability. Others included a shortage of skilled personnel, a lack of interoperable e-health platforms and care integration policy implementation gaps.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study identified barriers and facilitators that may be harnessed to improve the integrated management of hypertension and T2D. The facilitators should be strengthened, and barriers to care integration redressed.

"They talked to me rudely". Women perspectives on quality of post-abortion care in public health facilities in Kenya

BACKGROUND

Access to safe abortion is legally restricted in Kenya. Therefore, majority women seeking abortion services in such restrictive contexts resort to unsafe methods and procedures that result in complications that often require treatment in health facilities. Most women with abortion-related complications end up in public health facilities. Nevertheless, evidence is limited on the quality of care provided to patients with abortion complications in public health facilities in Kenya.

METHODS

Data for this paper are drawn from a qualitative study that included interviews with 66 women who received post-abortion care in a sample of primary, secondary and tertiary public health facilities in Kenya between November 2018 and February 2019. The interviews focused on mechanisms of decision-making while seeking post-abortion care services, care pathways within facilities, and perceptions of patients on quality of care received including respect, privacy, confidentiality, communication and stigma.

FINDINGS

The participants' perceptions of the quality of care were characterized as either "bad care" or "good care", with the good care focusing on interpersonal aspects such as friendliness, respect, empathy, short waiting time before receiving services, as well as the physical or functional aspects of care such as resolution of morbidity and absence of death. Majority of participants initially reported that they received "good care" because they left the facility with their medical problem resolved. However, when probed, about half of them reported delays in receiving care despite their condition being an emergency (i.e., severe bleeding and pain). Participants also reported instances of abuse (verbal and sexual) or absence of privacy during care and inadequate involvement in decisions around the nature and type of care they received. Our findings also suggest that healthcare providers treated patients differently based on their attributes (spontaneous versus induced abortion, single versus married, young versus older). For instance, women who experienced miscarriages reported supportive care whereas women suspected to have induced their abortions felt stigmatized.

CONCLUSION

These findings have far reaching implications on efforts to improve uptake of post-abortion care, care seeking behaviors and on how to assess quality of abortion care. There should be emphasis on interventions meant to enhance processes and structural indicators of post-abortion care services meant to improve patients' experiences throughout the care process. Moreover, more efforts are needed to advance the tools and approaches for assessing women experiences during post-abortion care beyond just the overriding clinical outcomes of care.

COVID- 19 and human right to food: lived experiences of the urban poor in Kenya with the impacts of government's response measures, a participatory qualitative study

Background

Globally, governments put in place measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. Information on the effects of these measures on the urban poor is limited. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of the urban poor in Kenya in the context of government’s COVID-19 response measures and its impact on the human right to food.

Methods

A qualitative study was conducted in two informal settlements in Nairobi between January and March 2021. Analysis draws on eight focus group discussions, eight in-depth interviews, 12 key informant interviews, two photovoice sessions and three digital storytelling sessions. Phenomenology was applied to understand an individual’s lived experiences with the human right to food during COVID − 19. Thematic analysis was performed using NVIVO software.

Results

The human right to food was affected in various ways. Many people lost their livelihoods, affecting affordability of food, due to response measures such as social distancing, curfew, and lockdown. The food supply chain was disrupted causing limited availability and access to affordable, safe, adequate, and nutritious food. Consequently, hunger and an increased consumption of low-quality food was reported. Social protection measures were instituted. However, these were inadequate and marred by irregularities. Some households resorted to scavenging food from dumpsites, skipping meals, sex-work, urban-rural migration and depending on food donations to survive. On the positive side, some households resorted to progressive measures such as urban farming and food sharing in the community. Generally, the response measures could have been more sensitive to the human rights of the urban poor.

Conclusions

The government’s COVID-19 restrictive measures exacerbated the already existing vulnerability of the urban poor to food insecurity and violated their human right to food. Future response measures should be executed in ways that respect the human right to food and protect marginalized people from resultant vulnerabilities.

Qualitative Analysis of Community Support to Methadone Access in Kenya

BACKGROUND

Methadone, as part of Medically Assisted Therapy (MAT) for treatment of opioid dependence and supporting HIV prevention and treatment, has been recently introduced in Kenya. Few low income settings have implemented methadone, so there is little evidence to guide ongoing scale-up across the region. We specifically consider the role of community level access barriers and support.

OBJECTIVES

To inform ongoing MAT implementation we implemented a qualitative study to understand access barriers and enablers at a community level.

METHODS

We conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with people who use drugs accessing MAT, supplemented by interviews with 2 stakeholders, linked to participant observation in a community drop in center within one urban area in Kenya. We used thematic analysis.

RESULTS

We developed five themes to express experiences of factors enabling and disabling MAT access and how community support can address these: 1) time, travel and economic hardship; 2) managing methadone and contingencies of life, 3) peer support among MAT clients as treatment ambassadors, 4) family relations, and 5)outreach project contributions. Crosscutting themes address managing socioeconomic constraints and gender inequities.

CONCLUSIONS

People who use drugs experience and manage socio-economic constraints and gender inequities in accessing MAT with the support of local communities. We discuss how these access barriers could be addressed through strengthening the participation of networks of people who use drugs in drug treatment and supporting community projects working with people who use drugs. We also explore potential for how socio-economic constraints could be managed within an integrated health and social care response.

Effectiveness of school-based interventions in delaying sexual debut among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Early sexual debut is associated with poor sexual and reproductive health outcomes across the life course. A majority of interventions aimed at delaying sexual debut among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have been implemented in schools with mixed findings on the effectiveness of such interventions. This systematic review will summarise and synthesise existing evidence on the effectiveness of school-based interventions in delaying sexual debut among adolescents aged 10-19 years.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We will conduct a comprehensive database search of peer-reviewed studies published in PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Science, HINARI and EBSCO (PsycINFO, Global Health, CINAHL) and in Cochrane library, National Institute of Health and Turning Research into Practice databases for ongoing studies yet to be published. All studies conducted in SSA between January 2009 and December 2020, regardless of the study design, will be included. Two authors will independently screen all retrieved records and relevant data on sexual debut extracted.Data will be pooled using the random effects model. Dichotomous outcomes will be reported as risk ratios and continuous data as mean difference at 95% CI. Heterogeneity will be assessed using the I² statistic. Findings will be presented in tables and charts, while providing a description of all included studies, themes and concepts drawn from literature.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval is not required. The findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, presentations at relevant conferences and other convening focusing on adolescent sexual and reproductive health.

Research priorities to support evidence-informed policies and advocacy for access to safe abortion care in sub-Saharan Africa

A key obstacle to advocacy efforts to promote legal and policy reforms that ensure women's and girls' access to comprehensive abortion care (CAC) is the lack of relevant and timely evidence. This commentary outlines a research agenda-setting initiative that identified research priorities to support evidence-informed policy and advocacy for CAC access in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It involved three phases: 1) a landscape analysis; 2) research agenda co-creation with stakeholders, and 3) a validation exercise on research priorities. Overall, the priority evidence needs included 1) estimating the incidence and magnitude of unsafe abortion and related costs; 2) examining the role of abortion laws and policies in facilitating or inhibiting access to CAC; 3) developing and documenting successful approaches for addressing societal barriers to the provision of CAC, and fostering a more inclusive and liberal abortion environment, and 4) documenting practice-based evidence on the provision of legal abortion services as well as for advocating for CAC. Various stakeholders, including researchers, policymakers, civil society organizations, and funding agencies, will find the agenda useful as they engage, at different levels, for the full domestication and implementation of forward-looking commitments on access to CAC in SSA.

Women's Autonomy in Infant Feeding Decision-Making: A Qualitative Study in Nairobi, Kenya

BACKGROUND

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is the optimal way to feed young infants. Guidelines recommend that women living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy should EBF for 6 months and continue breastfeeding for up to 24 months or longer. Parents may face social or logistical barriers creating challenges to EBF.

OBJECTIVES

To explore barriers, facilitators and community norms influencing EBF practices in Kenya.

METHODS

This qualitative research was nested within a longitudinal study of intensive maternal counseling to increase EBF among HIV-positive mothers. HIV-negative and HIV-positive mothers were recruited from four public clinics in Nairobi. Women participated in focus group discussions (FGDs) that explored beliefs about and experiences with infant feeding. Conventional content analysis was used to describe and compare barriers and facilitators influencing HIV-positive and HIV-negative women's EBF experiences.

RESULTS

We conducted 17 FGDs with 80 HIV-positive and 53 HIV-negative women between 2009 and 2012. Overall, women agreed that breastmilk is good for infants. However, early mixed feeding was a common cultural practice. HIV-positive women perceived that infant feeding methods and durations were their decision. In contrast, HIV-negative women reported less autonomy and more mixed feeding, citing peer pressure and lack of HIV transmission concerns. Autonomy in decision-making was facilitated by receiving EBF counseling and family support, especially from male partners. Low milk production was a barrier to EBF, regardless of HIV status, and perceived to represent poor maternal nutrition.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite challenges, counseling empowered women living with HIV to advocate for EBF with spouses and family.

Mapping adolescent sexual and reproductive health research in sub-Saharan Africa: protocol for a scoping review

INTRODUCTION

Previous studies have attempted to review the vast body of evidence on adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH), but none has focused on a complete mapping and synthesis of the body of inquiry and evidence on ASRH in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Such a comprehensive scoping is needed, however, to offer direction to policy, programming and future research. We aim to undertake a scoping review of studies on ASRH in SSA to capture the landscape of extant research and findings and identify gaps for future research.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This protocol is designed using the framework for scoping reviews developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute. We will include English and French language peer-reviewed publications and grey literature on ASRH (aged 10-19) in SSA published between January 2010 and June 2019. A three-step search strategy involving an initial search of three databases to refine the keywords, a full search of all databases and screening of references of previous review studies for relevant articles missing from our full search will be employed. We will search AJOL, JSTOR, HINARI, Scopus, Science Direct, Google Scholar and the websites for the WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNESCO and Guttmacher Institute. Two reviewers will screen the titles, abstracts and full texts of publications for eligibility and inclusion-using Covidence (an online software). We will then extract relevant information from studies that meet the inclusion criteria using a tailored extraction frame and template. Extracted data will be analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Results will be presented using tables and charts and summaries of key themes arising from available research findings.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval is not required for a scoping review as it synthesises publicly available publications. Dissemination will be through publication in a peer-review journal and presentation at relevant conferences and convening of policymakers and civil society organisations working on ASRH in SSA.

Integrated and differentiated methadone and HIV care for people who use drugs: a qualitative study in Kenya with implications for implementation science

Integrating methadone and HIV care is a priority in many low- and middle-income settings experiencing a growing challenge of HIV epidemics linked to injecting drug use. There is as yet little understanding of how to integrate methadone and HIV care in these settings and how such services can be implemented; such a gap reflects, in part, limitations in theorizing an implementation science of integrated care. In response, we qualitatively explored the delivery of methadone after its introduction in Kenya to understand integration with HIV care. Semi-structured interviews with people using methadone (n = 30) were supplemented by stakeholder interviews (n = 2) and participant observation in one city. Thematic analysis was used, that also drew on Mol's logic of care as an analytical framework. Respondents described methadone clinic-based care embedded in community support systems. Daily observed clinic care was challenging for methadone and stigmatizing for HIV treatment. In response to these challenges, integration evolved and HIV care differentiated to other sites. The resulting care system was acceptable to respondents and allowed for choice over locations and approaches to HIV care. Using Mol's logic of care as an analytical framework, we explore what led to this differentiation in integrated care. We explore co-production and experimentation around HIV care that compares with more limited experimentation for methadone. This experimentation is bounded by available discourses and materials. The study supports continued integration of services whilst allowing for differentiation of these models to adapt to client preferences. Co-location of integrated services must prioritize clinic organization that prevents HIV status disclosure. Our analysis fosters a material perspective for theory of implementation science and integration of services that focuses attention on local experimentation shaped by context.

The Stigma of Exclusive Breastfeeding Among Both HIV-Positive and HIV-Negative Women in Nairobi, Kenya

BACKGROUND

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) means giving only breast milk to an infant. Although it is the optimal mode of feeding for infants younger than 6 months, its prevalence is low in HIV-endemic regions. Extensive promotion of EBF for 6 months in prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) programs could inadvertently result in stigma due to women's perceived association of EBF with HIV infection. In this qualitative study, we describe how stigma impacts the uptake of EBF among HIV-positive and -negative women.

METHODS

Pregnant and postpartum women and their male partners were recruited to participate in a total of 22 focus group discussions (FGDs). Transcripts were analyzed using ATLAS.ti. Codes were identified both a priori and inductively using the open coding approach. Major themes and subthemes were identified.

RESULTS

There was a broad and strong consensus among some FGD participants that HIV-related stigma was a barrier to EBF. EBF was perceived as a practice for HIV-positive women. Thus, fear of discrimination deterred both HIV-positive and -negative women from EBF. However, with health education, peer counselor, and male partner support, some women were able to breastfeed exclusively regardless of opposing social norms.

CONCLUSION

Stigma related to HIV poses a formidable barrier to EBF in HIV-endemic regions. There is an urgent need to widely target all women with EBF information and support EBF practices regardless of maternal HIV infection status. The lessons learned from this study indicate that vertical programs can hinder promotion of infant health interventions and therefore negatively affect child survival.

When families fail: shifting expectations of care among people living with HIV in Nairobi, Kenya

The availability of free antiretroviral treatment in public health facilities since 2004 has contributed to the increasing biomedicalization of AIDS care in Kenya. This has been accompanied by a reduction of funding for community-based care and support organizations since the 2008 global economic crisis and a consequent donor divestment from HIV projects in Africa. This paper explores the ways that HIV interventions, including support groups, home-based care and antiretroviral treatments have shaped expectations regarding relations of care in the low-income area of Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya, over the last decade. Findings are based on 20 months of ethnographic research conducted in Nairobi between January 2011 and August 2013. By focusing on three eras of HIV treatment – pre-treatment, treatment scale-up, and post-crisis – the authors illustrate how family and community-based care have changed with shifts in funding. Many support groups that previously provided HIV care in Kibera, where the state is largely absent and family networks are thin, have been forced to cut services. Large-scale HIV treatment programmes may allow the urban poor in Nairobi to survive, but they are unlikely to thrive. Many care needs continue to go unmet in the age of treatment, and many economically marginal people who had found work in care-oriented community-based organizations now find themselves jobless or engaged in work not related to HIV.

Putting sex on the table: sex, sexuality and masculinity among HIV-positive men in Nairobi, Kenya

Psychosocial support groups offer an important space for people living with HIV to pursue greater wellbeing as they learn how to accept and live with their HIV status. They are critical for the cultivation of responsible and adherent patients. Occasionally, support groups provide spaces where members are encouraged to discuss sexual struggles related to being HIV-positive, including sexual performance issues, sexual relationships, fertility desires and communicating with sexual partners. This paper examines an HIV-positive men's sex therapy support group at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, where HIV-positive men access information about HIV and treatment, while getting tips on restoring sexual functioning and improving sexual gratification from medical experts, peer counsellors and fellow group members. In the group setting, members worked to rediscover and reconstruct masculinity under the guidance of a range of experts, while focusing on regaining or improving sexual prowess.