This article, published on january the 27, 2015 in Glob Health Action 2015, 8, under direction of Christian Dagenais in collaboration with Télesphore D. Somé, Michèle Boileau-Falardeau, Esther McSween-Cadieux a ndValéry Ridde is available to download lower on this page. (more…)
The project Access to healthcare for vulnerable groups in West Africa with the Help NGO produces extensions publications in order to make research results and knowledge more accessible.
“Having worked for the past 10 years on producing and applying scientific knowledge about healthcare access and financing in West Africa, we’d like to share a few observations that may sometimes be surprising, by experimenting with using satirical cartoons as a knowledge sharing tool.”
Ludovic Queuille & Valéry Ridde
Drawings in open access by Damien Glez. Enjoy… and shar it !
Two years ago on 12 December, the UN unanimously endorsed a resolution urging governments to ensure all people have access to quality health care without financial hardship.
On 12 December 2014, a global coalition is calling for universal health coverage to be a cornerstone of the sustainable development agenda and a priority
Join with us and 500+ organizations around the world to launch the first-ever Universal Health Coverage Day on 12 December 2014. This historic coalition will mark the anniversary of a landmark UN resolution urging all countries to provide universal access to health care without financial hardship.
No one should fall into poverty because they get sick and need health care. Universal health coverage is essential for making progress against challenges like HIV, cancer and Ebola – and for creating a fairer, more resilient society.
An article published in Social Science & Medicine, Volume 124, January 2015, Pages 232–240.
Authors: Thomas Druetz, Kadidiatou Kadio, Slim Haddad, Seni Kouanda and Valéry Ridde . (more…)
Poster realized by Emmanuel Bonnet, David Zombré, Bertrand Meda and Valéry Ridde and presented by David Zombré at the ITM Colloquium 2014, The Human Factor – Social science in global health research, november 25th at Antwerp, Belgium. (more…)
An article published in Oxford Bibliographies, november 7th 2014.
Authors: Émilie Robert, Valéry Ridde. (more…)
An article published in BMC Public Health 2014 , november 7th 2014.
Authors: Nicole Atchessi, Valéry Ridde, Maria-Victoria Zunzunégui .
Abstract:
Background: In Burkina Faso, patients are required to pay for healthcare. This constitutes a barrier to access for indigents, who are the most disadvantaged. User fee exemption systems have been created to facilitate their access. A community-based initiative was thus implemented in a rural region of Burkina Faso to select the worst-off and exempt them from user fees. The final selection was not based on pre-defined criteria, but rather on community members’ tacit knowledge of the villagers. The objective of this study was to analyze the equitable nature of this community-based selection process.
Method: Based on a cross-sectional study carried out in 2010, we surveyed 1,687 indigents. The variables collected were those that determine healthcare use according to the Andersen-Newman model (1969): sociodemographic variables; income; occupation; access to financial, food or instrumental assistance; presence of chronic illness; and disabilities related to vision, muscle strength, or mobility. Bivariate analyses and logistic regression were performed.
Results: User fee exemptions were given mainly to indigents who were widowed (OR = 1.40; CI 95% [1.10–1.78]), had no financial assistance from their household for healthcare (OR = 1.58; CI 95% [1.26–1.97], lived alone (OR = 1.28; CI 95% [1.01–1.63]), lived with their spouses, (OR = 2.00; CI 95% [1.35-2.96], had vision impairments (OR = 1.45; CI 95% [1.14–1.84]), or had poor muscle strength and good mobility (OR = 1.73; CI 95% [1.28–2.33]). The indigent selection was not determined by household income, self-reported chronic illness, or previous use of services.
Conclusion: The community selection process took into account factors related to social vulnerability and functional limitations. However, we cannot affirm that the selection process was perfectly equitable, as it was very restrictive due to the limited budget available and the State’s lack of engagement in this matter. Exemption processes should be temporary solutions, and the State should make a commitment to move toward universal healthcare coverage.
Full article:
As other febrile diseases, dengue was considered as differential diagnosis due the presence of the vector and previous DENV reports in Burkina Faso. To explore the virus presence in acute febrile non-malaria cases and Aedes mosquitoes in Ouagadougou, an exploratory cross sectional study was performed from December 2013 to January 2014. Five sectors and six correspondent health care centers (CSPS) were selected based on reported presence of Flavivirus. A survey about symptoms was administered to the participants and finger pricks were used to obtain the samples. Each CSPS tested every febrile non-malaria patient for dengue using dengue rapid tests (SD Bioline DengueDuo). Blood spots were collected in filter paper from all positive results and every tenth negative for further PCR analyses. A parallel entomological survey was conducted in the CSPS’s corresponding sectors. From a total of 379 tested patients, 33 (8.7%) were positive for rapid test (60% both IgM/IgG; 21% just IgG and 5% just NS1). From 60 samples tested by RT-PCR, 15 were positive (9 from positive rapid test and 6 from the subsample of negative results). The serotypes observed were DENV2, DENV3 and DENV4. There was no DENV in the analyzed mosquitoes’ sample.These findings have important public health implications in order to prepare the health system and the population for dengue’s presence and outbreaks prevention. (more…)
The global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades. In Burkina Faso, the last description of acute cases was back in 1982. During an annual population-based survey in Kaya and Zorgho, two semi-urban areas, febrile individuals from 0-10 years old were evaluated for malaria and dengue virus (DENV). Rapid tests were performed and additional samples on filter paper were taken from every patient with a positive result and every tenth negative, to perform reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays. From 259 children (150 in Kaya and 109 in Zorgho), 52.1% were positive for malaria and 6.9% for dengue while 45.2% remained undifferentiated. The RT-PCR results show the presence of DENV2 and DENV4. These findings reveal the presence of DENV in the country and the need to conduct research and actions on non-malaria febrile diseases in the region. (more…)
Letter to the editor published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health, Vol. 105, N°5, by Anne-Marie Turcotte-Tremblay and Valéry Ridde about austerity and the effects of budget cuts on doctoral health research.