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BACKGROUND: Until 2011, stockouts of family planning commodities were common in Senegalese public health facilities. Recognizing the importance of addressing this problem, the Government of Senegal implemented the Informed Push Model (IPM) supply system, which involves logisticians to collect facility-level stock turnover data once a month and provide contraceptive supplies accordingly. The aims of this paper were to evaluate the impact of IPM on contraceptive availability and on stockout duration. METHODS AND FINDINGS: To estimate the impact of the IPM on contraceptive availability, stock card data were obtained from health facilities selected through multistage sampling. A total number of 103 health facilities pertaining to 27 districts and nine regions across the country participated in this project. We compared the odds of contraceptive stockouts within the health facilities on the 23 months after the intervention with the 18 months before. The analysis was performed with a logistic model of the monthly time-series. The odds of stockout for any of the five contraceptive products decreased during the 23 months post-intervention compared to the 18 months pre-intervention (odds ratio, 95%CI: 0.34, 0.22-0.51). To evaluate the impact of the IPM on duration of stockouts, a mixed negative binomial zero-truncated regression analysis was performed. The IPM was not effective in reducing the duration of contraceptive stockouts (incidence rate ratio, 95%CI: 0.81, 0.24-2.7), except for the two long-acting contraceptives (intrauterine devices and implants). Our model predicted a decrease in stockout median duration from 23 pre- to 4 days post-intervention for intrauterine devices; and from 19 to 14 days for implants. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the IPM has resulted in greater efficiency in contraceptive stock management, increasing the availability of contraceptive methods in health facilities in Senegal. The IPM also resulted in decreased duration of stockouts for intrauterine devices and implants, but not for any of the short-acting contraception (pills and injectables).

AbstractBackgroundSchools have been closed in England since the 4th of January 2021 as part of the national restrictions to curb transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The UK Government plans to reopen schools on the 8th of March. Although there is evidence of lower individual-level transmission risk amongst children compared to adults, the combined effects of this with increased contact rates in school settings are not clear.MethodsWe measured social contacts when schools were both open or closed, amongst other restrictions. We combined these data with estimates of the susceptibility and infectiousness of children compared with adults to estimate the impact of reopening schools on the reproduction number.ResultsOur results suggest that reopening all schools could increase R from an assumed baseline of 0.8 to between 1.0 and 1.5, or to between 0.9 and 1.2 reopening primary or secondary schools alone.ConclusionOur results suggest that reopening schools is likely to halt the fall in cases observed in recent months and risks returning to rising infections, but these estimates rely heavily on the current estimates or reproduction number and the current validity of the susceptibility and infectiousness profiles we use.

BACKGROUND: West Africa has the highest proportion of married adolescents, and the highest adolescent childbirth rate and maternal death rate in sub-Saharan Africa. However, few studies have focused on the type and quality of health care accessed by pregnant young women in countries in this subregion. METHODS: We obtained data from Demographic and Health Surveys done between 2010 and 2014, to compare the use, timing, source, and components of antenatal care between adolescent and older first-time mothers in 13 west African countries. The sample included primiparous women who were aged 15-49 years with a livebirth in the 5-year survey recall period, and women were assigned to one of three groups on the basis of age at the time of childbirth: adolescent (10-19 years), young adults (20-24 years), or adults (25 years or older). We calculated the percentage of women who: attended at least one antenatal care visit, completed at least one visit during the first trimester of pregnancy, attended four or more appointments in antenatal care, and received four components of antenatal care (blood pressure measurement, urine tests, blood tests, and information on complications), as well as the sector where the women received care. We primarily report the comparison between adolescents and young adults. FINDINGS: In 2016, we acquired data from the Demographic Health Surveys from 13 west African countries between 2010 and 2014 on primiparous women. The study sample was 19 211 women, of whom 10 025 (52%) were adolescents, 6099 (32%) were young adults, and 3087 (16%) were adults. Overall, 17 386 (91%) of 19 211 first-time mothers made use of antenatal care facilities on at least one occasion. 3597 (41%) of 8741 adolescents compared with 8202 (47%) of all 17 386 women began the use of antenatal care during the first trimester. Across west Africa, 5430 (62%) of 8741 adolescents had four or more antenatal care visits compared with 4067 (71%) of 5717 young adults and 2358 (81%) of 2928 adults. Of those who had four or more visits to antenatal care, 2779 (51%) of 5430 adolescents received all the antenatal care components examined compared with 2488 (61%) of 4067 young adults and 1600 (68%) of 2358 adults. Although most women received antenatal care in the public sector, in nine of the 13 countries, the proportion of women that used the private sector was higher in older mothers. INTERPRETATION: Although a large percentage of west African adolescents use some antenatal care for their first birth, they seek care later, make fewer visits during pregnancy, and receive fewer components of care than older first-time mothers. Governments must ensure the pregnancy care accessed by adolescent mothers is of high quality and tailored to meet their needs. FUNDING: MSD for Mothers.

BACKGROUND: Schools were closed in England on 4 January 2021 as part of increased national restrictions to curb transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The UK government reopened schools on 8 March. Although there was evidence of lower individual-level transmission risk amongst children compared to adults, the combined effects of this with increased contact rates in school settings and the resulting impact on the overall transmission rate in the population were not clear. METHODS: We measured social contacts of > 5000 participants weekly from March 2020, including periods when schools were both open and closed, amongst other restrictions. We combined these data with estimates of the susceptibility and infectiousness of children compared with adults to estimate the impact of reopening schools on the reproduction number. RESULTS: Our analysis indicates that reopening all schools under the same measures as previous periods that combined lockdown with face-to-face schooling would be likely to increase the reproduction number substantially. Assuming a baseline of 0.8, we estimated a likely increase to between 1.0 and 1.5 with the reopening of all schools or to between 0.9 and 1.2 reopening primary or secondary schools alone. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that reopening schools would likely halt the fall in cases observed between January and March 2021 and would risk a return to rising infections, but these estimates relied heavily on the latest estimates or reproduction number and the validity of the susceptibility and infectiousness profiles we used at the time of reopening.

OBJECTIVES: Out-of-pocket (OOP) payment for modern contraception is an understudied component of healthcare financing in countries like Kenya, where wealth gradients in met need have prompted efforts to expand access to free contraception. This study aims to examine whether, among public sector providers, the poor are more likely to receive free contraception and to compare how OOP payment for injectables and implants-two popular methods-differs by public/private provider type and user's sociodemographic characteristics. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Secondary analyses of nationally representative, cross-sectional household data from the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey. Respondents were women of reproductive age (15-49 years). The sample comprised 5717 current modern contraception users, including 2691 injectable and 1073 implant users with non-missing expenditure values. MAIN OUTCOME: Respondent's self-reported source and payment to obtain their current modern contraceptive method. METHODS: We used multivariable logistic regression to examine predictors of free public sector contraception and compared average expenditure for injectable and implant. Quintile ratios examined progressivity of non-zero expenditure by wealth. RESULTS: Half of public sector users reported free contraception; this varied considerably by method and region. Users of implants, condoms, pills and intrauterine devices were all more likely to report receiving their method for free (p<0.001) compared with injectable users. The poorest were as likely to pay for contraception as the wealthiest users at public providers (OR: 1.10, 95% CI: 0.64 to 1.91). Across all providers, among users with non-zero expenditure, injectable and implant users reported a mean OOP payment of Kenyan shillings (KES) 80 (US$0.91), 95% CI: KES 78 to 82 and KES 378 (US$4.31), 95% CI: KES 327 to 429, respectively. In the public sector, expenditure was pro-poor for injectable users yet weakly pro-rich for implant users. CONCLUSIONS: More attention is needed to targeting subsidies to the poorest and ensuring government facilities are equipped to cope with lost user fee revenue.

BACKGROUND: Despite efforts to make contraceptive services more "youth friendly," unmet need for contraception among young women in sub-Saharan Africa remains high. For health systems to effectively respond to the reproductive health needs of a growing youth population, it is imperative to understand their contraceptive needs and service seeking practices. This paper describes changes over time in contraceptive need, use, and sources of care among young women in four East African countries. METHODS: We used three rounds of DHS data from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda to examine time trends from 1999 to 2015 in met need for modern contraception, method mix, and source of care by sector (public or private) and type of provider among young women aged 15-24 years. We assessed disparities in contraceptive coverage improvements over time between younger (15-24 years) and older women (25-49 years) using a difference-in-differences approach. RESULTS: Met need for contraception among women aged 15-24 years increased over time, ranging from a 20% increase in Tanzania to more than a 5-fold increase in Rwanda. Improvements in met need were greater among older women compared to younger women in Rwanda and Uganda, and higher among younger women in Kenya. Injectables have become the most popular contraceptive choice among young women, with more than 50% of modern contraceptive users aged 15-24 years currently using the method in all countries except for Tanzania, where condoms and injectables are used by 38% and 35% of young users, respectively. More than half of young women in Tanzania and Uganda receive contraceptives from the private sector; however, while the private sector played an important role in meeting the growing contraceptive needs among young women in Tanzania, increased use of public sector services drove expanded access in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that contraceptive use increased among young East African women, yet, unmet need remains high. As youth populations continue to grow, governments must develop more targeted strategies for expanding access to reproductive health services for young women. Engaging the private sector and task-shifting to lower-level providers offer promising approaches; however, additional research is needed to identify the key facilitators and barriers to the success of these strategies in different contexts.

Abstract
Background
Dashboards are increasingly being used in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to support health policymaking and governance. However, their use has been mostly limited to routine care, not emergency services like emergency obstetric care (EmOC). To ensure a fit-for-purpose dashboard, we conducted an online survey with policymakers and researchers to understand key considerations needed for developing a policy-ready dashboard of geospatial access to EmOC in SSA.

Methods
Questionnaires targeting both stakeholder groups were pre-tested and disseminated in English, French, and Portuguese across SSA. We collected data on participants' awareness of concern areas for geographic accessibility of EmOC and existing technological resources used for planning of EmOC services, the dynamic dashboard features preferences, and the dashboard's potential to tackle lack of geographic access to EmOC. Questions were asked as multiple-choice, Likert-scale, or open-ended. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise findings using frequencies or proportions. Free-text responses were recoded into themes where applicable.

Results
Among the 206 participants (88 policymakers and 118 researchers), 90% reported that rural areas and 23% that urban areas in their countries were affected by issues of geographic accessibility to EmOC. Five percent of policymakers and 38% of researchers were aware of the use of maps of EmOC facilities to guide planning of EmOC facility location. Regarding dashboard design, most visual components such as location of EmOC facilities had almost universal desirability; however, there were some exceptions. Nearly 70% of policymakers considered the socio-economic status of the population and households relevant to the dashboard. The desirability for a heatmap showing travel time to care was lower among policymakers (53%) than researchers (72%). Nearly 90% of participants considered three to four data updates per year or less frequent updates adequate for the dashboard. The potential usability of a dynamic dashboard was high amongst both policymakers (60%) and researchers (82%).

Conclusion
This study provides key considerations for developing a policy-ready dashboard for EmOC geographical accessibility in SSA. Efforts should now be targeted at establishing robust estimation of geographical accessibility metrics, integrated with existing health system data, and developing and maintaining the dashboard with up-to-date data to maximise impact in these settings.

Human behaviour is known to be crucial in the propagation of infectious diseases through respiratory or close-contact routes like the current SARS-CoV-2 virus. Intervention measures implemented to curb the spread of the virus mainly aim at limiting the number of close contacts, until vaccine roll-out is complete. Our main objective was to assess the relationships between SARS-CoV-2 perceptions and social contact behaviour in Belgium. Understanding these relationships is crucial to maximize interventions' effectiveness, e.g. by tailoring public health communication campaigns. In this study, we surveyed a representative sample of adults in Belgium in two longitudinal surveys (survey 1 in April 2020 to August 2020, and survey 2 in November 2020 to April 2021). Generalized linear mixed effects models were used to analyse the two surveys. Participants with low and neutral perceptions on perceived severity made a significantly higher number of social contacts as compared to participants with high levels of perceived severity after controlling for other variables. Our results highlight the key role of perceived severity on social contact behaviour during a pandemic. Nevertheless, additional research is required to investigate the impact of public health communication on severity of COVID-19 in terms of changes in social contact behaviour. ; This work received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (Grant Agreement 682540 TransMID), EpiPose: Epidemic intelligence to Minimize COVID-19's Public Health, Societal and Economical Impact, Belgian Health Institute - Sciensano, and Janssen - Belgium. Lander Willem gratefully acknowledges support from the Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO) (postdoctoral fellowship 1234620N). W. John Edmunds acknowledges support from the NIHR (PR-OD-1017-20002) and UK MRC (MC_PC_19065 - Covid 19: Understanding the dynamics and drivers of the COVID-19 epidemic using real-time outbreak analytics). Christopher I Jarvis acknowledges support from the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) project 'RECAP' managed through RCUK and ESRC (ES/P010873/1)

BACKGROUND: To reduce the coronavirus disease burden in England, along with many other countries, the government implemented a package of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) that have also impacted other transmissible infectious diseases such as norovirus. It is unclear what future norovirus disease incidence is likely to look like upon lifting these restrictions. METHODS: Here we use a mathematical model of norovirus fitted to community incidence data in England to project forward expected incidence based on contact surveys that have been collected throughout 2020-2021. RESULTS: We report that susceptibility to norovirus infection has likely increased between March 2020 and mid-2021. Depending upon assumptions of future contact patterns incidence of norovirus that is similar to pre-pandemic levels or an increase beyond what has been previously reported is likely to occur once restrictions are lifted. Should adult contact patterns return to 80% of pre-pandemic levels, the incidence of norovirus will be similar to previous years. If contact patterns return to pre-pandemic levels, there is a potential for the expected annual incidence to be up to 2-fold larger than in a typical year. The age-specific incidence is similar across all ages. CONCLUSIONS: Continued national surveillance for endemic diseases such as norovirus will be essential after NPIs are lifted to allow healthcare services to adequately prepare for a potential increase in cases and hospital pressures beyond what is typically experienced.

BACKGROUND: To reduce the coronavirus disease burden in England, along with many other countries, the government implemented a package of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) that have also impacted other transmissible infectious diseases such as norovirus. It is unclear what future norovirus disease incidence is likely to look like upon lifting these restrictions. METHODS: Here we use a mathematical model of norovirus fitted to community incidence data in England to project forward expected incidence based on contact surveys that have been collected throughout 2020–2021. RESULTS: We report that susceptibility to norovirus infection has likely increased between March 2020 and mid-2021. Depending upon assumptions of future contact patterns incidence of norovirus that is similar to pre-pandemic levels or an increase beyond what has been previously reported is likely to occur once restrictions are lifted. Should adult contact patterns return to 80% of pre-pandemic levels, the incidence of norovirus will be similar to previous years. If contact patterns return to pre-pandemic levels, there is a potential for the expected annual incidence to be up to 2-fold larger than in a typical year. The age-specific incidence is similar across all ages. CONCLUSIONS: Continued national surveillance for endemic diseases such as norovirus will be essential after NPIs are lifted to allow healthcare services to adequately prepare for a potential increase in cases and hospital pressures beyond what is typically experienced. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12916-021-02153-8.

BACKGROUND: To reduce the coronavirus disease burden in England, along with many other countries, the Government implemented a package of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) that have also impacted other transmissible infectious diseases such as norovirus. It is unclear what future norovirus disease incidence is likely to look like upon lifting these restrictions. METHODS: Here we use a mathematical model of norovirus fitted to community incidence data in England to project forward expected incidence based on contact surveys that have been collected throughout 2020-2021. RESULTS: We report that susceptibility to norovirus infection has likely increased between March 2020 to mid-2021. Depending upon assumptions of future contact patterns incidence of norovirus that is similar to pre-pandemic levels or an increase beyond what has been previously reported is likely to occur once restrictions are lifted. Should adult contact patterns return to 80% of pre-pandemic levels the incidence of norovirus will be similar to previous years. If contact patterns return to pre-pandemic levels there is a potential for the expected annual incidence to be up to 2-fold larger than in a typical year. The age-specific incidence is similar across all ages. CONCLUSIONS: Continued national surveillance for endemic diseases such as norovirus will be essential after NPIs are lifted to allow healthcare services to adequately prepare for a potential increase in cases and hospital pressures beyond what is typically experienced.