User:Thomas Simbo K./Healthcare in Senegal

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Healthcare in Senegal
Additionally, the country needs more doctors and health personnel, particularly general practitioners, gynecologists, obstetricians, pediatricians, pulmonologist, and cardiologists. In fact, Senegal has seven doctors per 100,000 citizens, while 32% of rural citizens have no access to medical care at all. Moreover, there is a strong need to have more of these personnel in rural areas: in 2008, Senegal had only twenty full-fledged hospitals, seven of which are in Dakar.

From approximately 1905 to the present, there have been significant shifts in Senegal's healthcare system, the system's structures, specific diseases that are problematic in Senegal, as well as issues affecting women and children and access to healthcare in Senegal the country. As of 2019, there were 1,347 medical facilities, including 20 major hospitals in Senegal.

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Financing care
[...] In terms of expanding health insurance, it seems that policies that will reduce the negative effect of the time lost to seek care by workers, or policies that will increase the accessibility and the quality of care, will be more effective to increase health care utilization than would the introduction of health insurance to those who do not yet have it. A study assessing health policy in Senegal concluded that government institutions should play a central role in “all stages of the policy process” and should implement “defined policies” ; the study recommended focusing more on efforts to implement existing policies, instead of voting new laws without follow through.

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Health care utilization
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Barriers to healthcare and medicine
The implementation and spread of healthcare and medicine in Senegal is slow and faces barriers. Some of the greatest barriers to health care utilization include lack of information, lack of and communication, low number of health care workers, and social and religious barriers, and overreliance on traditional medicine. '''According to a study done in 2017, 97.7% of households were not visiting a dentist annually. Only 25% of households consult a dentist when in pain, compared to 37% using traditional medicine as their first response to oral illnesses ; the study found that bigger households (> 5 members) tended to rely more on traditional medicine when facing oral pain.''' There is currently is a strong need for strategies to empower and better support the knowledge role of health coordinators and supervisors. Additionally, the lack of access to current, relevant information by health professionals and decision-makers in Senegal has been problematic. Moreover, health workers desire information on ways to motivate men's involvement in reproductive health and to address rumors and religious barriers to family planning, which have hindered women's health care utilization.

'''Healthcare providers are trying to raise the awareness of the population on modern medicine and its implication. Research has focused on the relationship between doctors and patients in Senegal, and its impact on medical outcomes. An anthropological study seeking to identify barriers to an effective TB control in Senegal showed that one of the main reasons why TB is underdiagnosed is because of poor-quality information given by healthcare providers to their patients . Another study seeking for ways to improve adherence to TB treatment in the country showed that “improving patients counseling and communication, […] and reinforcement of supervision activities led to improvement in patient outcomes.” Thus, a good communication between doctors and patients is needed. Researchers examine how the role and actions of patients impacts the quality of care they receive. After analyzing TB patients and the way healthcare providers consulted them, the study found that doctors were 27% more likely to diagnose the disease correctly when patients shared more information. Healthcare providers should also be trained on how to present medicine to a person who has never been in contact with modern medicine . Better health outcomes in Senegal, research suggests, is obtained when the relationship between healthcare providers and patients is based on the sharing of information, care, and trust. This relationship will make patients more active during consultations and allow them to receive better treatments.'''

Some Senegalese people, particularly in rural areas, face inadequate access to medicines and prescriptions. Improving access to medicine is a priority in developing nations like Senegal. In 2001, Senegal had only 520 pharmacies (1 per 18,320 people) and 731 health centers (1 per 13,032 people). Most of the population rely on traditional medicine without the use of modern drugs and access to medicine in Senegal may be limited in three main areas: inadequate supply of drugs, including critical drugs missing in health centers and pharmacies; insufficient health infrastructures to cover needs of the entire population; and high costs of drugs, which are sometimes higher than the minimum price, which can be problematic for the poorest of the poor.

Disparities between rural and urban areas
Major disparities exist in health care access for those living in urban versus rural areas. Approximately 70% of doctors and 80% of pharmacists and dentists are located in Dakar, the capital city. However, only 42% of the Senegalese population lives in urban areas, such as Dakar, which means that few doctors are available to rural residents. Of every 10,000 women who give birth, 24 will die in urban areas, but nearly 100 will die in rural areas. Additionally, there are major disparities in children's nutrition in urban versus rural areas, with those in rural areas being more heavily disadvantaged. Therefore, great attention may be placed on narrowing the gap between urban and rural healthcare access.

'''Narrowing the gap is done by training and attracting health professionals to rural areas. Physicians, nurses, and midwives require special training on how to work with patients who have never been in contact with modern medicine and have not learned modern health-seeking behaviors. Health workers would endure better and for longer periods in remote areas of the country if they were offered permanent contracts and better equipment. The "Plan Cobra" project was launched in 2006, and was a government effort to attract health professionals to underserved areas by hiring them under annual government contracts which offer them greater stability. Research also suggest that annual contracts may not be as effective in the long run, because workers do not stay in those regions after the end of their contract .'''