1. Baseline Survey:
Dassalami Soce Health
Needs Assessment
V e n c h e l e S a i n t D i c
H e a l t h P r e v e n t a t i v e E d u c a t o r
B . P . 7 7 K a r a n g S e n e g a l , W e s t A f r i c a
V e n c h e l e s 2 3 @ g m a i l . c o m
W e d n e s d a y , M a r c h 2 0 , 2 0 1 3

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INTRODUCTION
Dassalami Soce is a village located in the Fatick region, in the rural community of Toubacouta
of the Foundiougne department. It accounts for a population of 826 Muslim habitants of the
following ethnicities:Mandinkas, Sereers, Peuls, Toucouleurs, Bambaras and Diolas. The
Mandinkas are the predominant ethnic group in the community.
The major illnesses at Dassalami are diarrhea, respiratory infections, conjunctivitis, childbirth
complications, chickenpox, minor wounds and cephalous infections. The health hut serves more
than 1240 individuals including two surrounding villages, Saroudia and Boutilimite.
Based on the current necessities of Dassalami Soce,I administered a baseline survey to men and
women aged10-59 years old and mothers of children aged 0-5 years old from November 28th
2012 to January 21st
2013. The purpose of the survey was to examine the needs and trends of
living in Dassalami,and analyze the discrepancies between thecurrent needs and resources of the
population. This report will provide a health overview of the results of the survey on mosquito
net usage, safe water and latrine access, handwashing knowledge, equipped handwashing
stations, maternal and child health, diarrhea, mother and child nutrition, family planning and
youth development on sexual education. I anticipate the results will provide insights to my
communityon potential programs that can be implemented to alleviate the village’shealth
challenges.
METHODOLOGY
A community meeting was organized to explain the purpose of the baseline surveytwo months
before its implementation. The first step was the translation of the survey from French to Mandinka
from November 3rd
to November 8th
2012, by using wording that minimized miscommunication
between the interviewer and the participants. Then, a Mandinka speaker who wasknowledgeable
about the community, Fatou Sarr, was selected to explain the questions appropriate to the literacy
and educational level of the participants. Thus, we anticipated for this strategy to increase the
validity and reliability of the answers provided on the survey. This baseline survey was the first to
be overseen in Dassalami Soce.
On November 28th
2012, a simple random strategy was devised to calculate the sampling size of
households that would be interviewed for the survey. Dassalami Soce accounts for 826 habitants in
403 family households.The household number was then divided by 12 giving us a total of 34
households to visit. But, in order to reduce selection bias and convenience sampling bias, we visited
every third household which reduced the number to 26 households to be statistically significant at
the community level.

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The administration of the survey lasted for two months.The survey was characterized by a series of
structured interviews including open/closed and multiple questions coupled with indirect
observations.We surveyed 133 men and women aged 10-59 years old and mothers of 65 children
aged 0-5 years old. The average length of the interview ranged from 2 hours 75 minutes for large
families to 15 minutes in small families. In order to receive quality data, we were careful that our
meeting dates never coincided with any previously or routinely scheduled activities in the
community, including festivities and work in the fields. We visited two to three households daily
and the interviews were scheduled at 5pm when the women and men would return from work in the
fields. When exiting the interview, we counted the houses to be visited the next day and informed
the participants of our arrival.
The participants were read informed consent including the following information: the purpose of
the survey, risks to the study participant, including physical, social, and emotional, benefits to the
study participant and community, including, if necessary, a statement that there are none,
information on confidentiality of the data collected as well as the questions and questionnaires,
including the use of identifiers and access to personal data, information regarding withdrawal from
the study without any penalty and information on study procedures and duration.This was done to
inform and empower family households to make a voluntary decision about whether or not to
participate in the study.
The survey questions measured specific knowledge on mosquito net usage, safe water and latrine
access, handwashing knowledge, equipped handwashing stations, maternal and child health,
diarrhea, mother and child nutrition, family planning and youth development on sexual education.
The objective was to obtain an overview of the health challenges of the community and to identify
with indirect observation the causes of these challenges. Excel spreadsheets were used to enter data
for all the surveys, to identify errors or inconsistencies that might have been overlooked. It also
ensured that the correct number of data surveys was entered in the system matching the appropriate
question codes. This facilitated the data cleaning and analysis of the survey results. Data entry was
completed on January 31st
2013.

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RESULTS
MALARIA PREVENTION:
MOSQUITO NET USAGE
HE170: Number of individuals who slept under
an ITN the previous night.
The family households were asked on mosquito
net usage for each individual. Out of 85 people
who reported they slept under mosquito nets, the
majority of responses camefrom individuals
18+yrs old and mothers ofinfants aged 0-5yrs
old. 71 percent of the individuals aged 18+ yrs
reported they did not sleep under a mosquito net
versus 55 percent who reported they slept under
a bed net.39 percent of the motherswith infants
aged 0-5yrs reported their children slept under
mosquito nets compared to 22 percent who
reported their children did not sleep under bednets(see table 1).
Thenumber of children aged 0-5yrs old sleeping under mosquito nets is 14 times lower
thanthenumberof individuals 18+yrs old who sleep under bednets. This suggests that more
advocacies should be taken in the health
structures on mosquito net usage for
children of pregnant and lactating women
year-round. The number of children aged
6-14yrs old sleeping under mosquito nets
is 42 times lower than the number of
individuals aged 18+ yrs sleeping under
bednets (see table 1). The percentage of
individuals aged 18+yrs who slept under
mosquito nets is 16 times lower than the
ones who did not sleep under mosquito
nets.This may suggests that school officials
and teachers need to emphasize more on the
usage of mosquito nets in schools in villages.
The results were further analyzed by gender to
identify the vulnerable groups who are not
using mosquito nets. The number of women

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who slept under bed nets is greater than men. Paradoxically, the percentage of women who did
not sleep under mosquito nets is 38 times lower than men. 88 percent of women including
pregnant women sleptunder bed nets compared to 12 percent of men (See table 2). The
percentage of men who slept under mosquito nets is 76 times lower than women who slept
under bed nets. This suggests that more fundingat the health structures should be allocated to
organize campaigns promoting the use of mosquito nets to women and men. Overall, of 126
individuals interviewed for the survey, 67percent of households sleep under mosquito nets
compared to 33percent who do not sleep under bed nets (see table 3).
Next, the mothers of infants aged 0-
5yrs old were asked if their children
who had diarrhea slept under
mosquito nets. Of 104 mothers who
were interviewed about their children
having diarrhea, 22 percent reported
that the children who had diarrhea
slept under bed nets as opposed to 78
percent who reported their children
did not have diarrhea and did not
sleep under bednets (See table 4).
Out of 104 mothers interviewed, 11
children who had diarrhea slept under
bed nets versus 2 children who had
diarrhea and did not sleep under bed
nets. Then, there were8 children who
did not have diarrhea and did not
sleep under bednets. Overall, more
children who had diarrhea slept under
mosquito nets than those who did
not. The graph showing the total
cases of diarrhea for the fiscal year of
2012 shows the upward and downward trend of the rate of diarrheal diseases across seasons. The
highest peaks of diarrhea cases are seen mostly in the months of February, July and October.
Those results suggest more sensitization on diarrhea and the importance of handwashing and the
use of mosquito nets to mothers during these months. This alsoindicates the financial means of
certain families whoare able to purchase mosquito nets further creating a gap between people
who can or cannot afford mosquito nets for their households.

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SAFE WATER ACCESSAND LATRINE ACCESS
HE62: Safe Water Access: Number of people in household having access to clean, safe drinking
water
HE67: Latrine Access: Number of people who have access to an improved latrine
The families were asked about the
availability of clean water and
functional latrines in their households.
Of the 52 people interviewed in 26
households, there were more people
who did not have safe water and
latrine access. Respectively, 40
percent of the population did not have
safe water access which explains the reason 100 percent of the households do not have safe
water to cook with, explaining the dysentery issues and skin infections children face in the
village (See Table 5 &6). The percentage of households who do not have latrine access is 46
times higher than the ones who do have access to latrines (See table 5). Those figures imply the
construction of new latrines for families and finding ways to clean the water source of the
village whether it is through the installation of faucets in the community. As a result, this would
decrease the rate of diarrhea and skin infections children have in Dassalami Soce.
HANDWASHING
HE70: Handwashing-Improved Knowledge: Number of people who can identify 3 or more
critical times when they must wash their hands, and 3 examples of appropriate hand etiquette

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Family members were asked to identify key times to wash their hands with soap. Seven out of
fifty people aged 50+ reported two or more handwashing times. The number of handwashing
times reported by people ranging from ages 50+ and 18-24yrs is 40 times lower to the number of
handwashing times reported by individuals aged 25-49yrs old (see table 7). 70 percent of people
aged 25-49yrs old reported two or more handwashing times. 100 percent of individuals aged
50+ reported one or no handwashing times compared to the rest of the age groups.These
statistics imply there should be causeries on handwashing at the village level. We should also
aim to target the age groups 50+ and 18-24 yrs because younger children have the tendency to
look up to older adults. If the adults do not wash their hands, the children will follow their
behaviors and this further increases diarrheal and dysentery diseases.
The results were further
used to evaluate whether
the people who had used
cleaning agents such as
soap were able to identify
the key times to wash their
hands. 65 percent of people
aged 25-49yrs who had
used soap for washing their
hands had the highest
handwashing reporting
times compared to the other
groups (See table 8).The
number of individuals aged
18-24yrs and 50+yrs who
had used soap is eight times
lower than the individuals
aged 25-49yrs old.

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Moreover, the percentage of individuals aged 50+ yrs who reported two or more handwashing
times is 86 times lower than those who reported one or no handwashing time. The percentage of
individuals aged 18-24yrs and 50+yrs who reported two or more handwashing times is 35 times
lower to the reporting times of the individuals aged 25-49yrs (See table 8). The people aged less
than 18 yrs old had the lowest reporting rate of using soap and handwashing times compared to
the other age groups. This further recommends that schools should be included in promoting the
importance of handwashing to children.
EQUIPPED HANDWASHING STATIONS
HE 72: Number of households having soap or ash or another disinfecting material) and safe
water for proper handwashing at a hand washing station commonly used by family members
During the interview, it was
observed that 73 percent of
individuals in family households
do not have soap and safe water
for proper handwashing at a
handwashing station compared to
27 percent who do have access to
soap for proper handwashing at a
handwashing station (See table 9).
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH
Healthy Pregnancy and Safe Delivery
HE94 (Four Antenatal Visits): Number of mothers with infants <12 months reporting that they
had four or more antenatal visits during pregnancy.
Lactating and pregnant mothers were asked about the number of antenatal visits they had
attended at the nearest health hut or health post. The total number was 54 antenatal visits
combined for the 11 mothers. Out of 11 households with pregnant/lactating mothers, the average
number is 5 antenatal visits.
Birth Plan
HE96: Numbers of mothers with infants <12 months reporting they had a birth plan that
included arrangement for HIV testing, giving birth in a facility, exclusive and immediate
breastfeeding, and emergency transportation

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Skilled Birth Attendant
HE97: Number of mothers with infants <12months reporting that their births were attended by a
skilled attendant
These mothers
were asked
about the birth
plan they used before the arrival of their newborns. Out of the 11 mothers with infants less than
12 months old, 82 percent planned for arrangement for HIV Testing, giving birth in a facility,
exclusive and immediate breastfeeding and emergency transportation compared to 18 percent of
women who planned some of these or none before the birth of their newborns (See table 10).
When the data was examined by age group to assess the groups of mothers who did or did not
have a birth plan, 67 percent of women aged 25-49yrs had a birth plan versus 100 percent of the
rest of the women whodid not have a birth plan (See table 11). This further suggests that health
structures should ensure the complete coverage of pregnant women during and after the
pregnancy due to lack of information and financial means.
The age group 18-24yrs old had the lowest percentage among the other groups to have a birth
plan. The percentage of women aged 25-49 yrs old who answered that they planned for
arrangement for HIV Testing,
giving birth in a facility, exclusive
and immediate breastfeeding and
emergency transportation is 33

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times lower than the ones who reported planning some or none of these tasks before the birth of
their infants. Those results recommend more causeries and campaigns, especially with women in
their early twenties, to help them have a birth plan during their pregnancy. Dassalami Soce has
a health hut and 100 percent of the births are attended by a skilled birth attendant, the matrone
and the health agent (ASC) of the community (See table 12). Overall, more women in their mid-
twenties and early fifties did not have a birth plan prior to giving birth than the rest of the
women who had a birth plan.
IMPROVED CHILD HEALTH
Newborn Care- Knowledge of symptoms requiring urgent care: Number of women who are able
to identify 2 or more signs or symptoms indicating the need to seek immediate care for the
newborn
The mothers were then asked if they could identify symptoms that would require them to bring
their infants to the health post or health hut. About 76 percent of women aged 25-49yrs
identified three or more symptoms which would lead them to seek immediate care for their
newborns versus 80 percent who only reported one symptom or no symptom that would lead
them to seek immediate care for their newborns. The age group 15-17yrs had the lowest
reporting rate of three or more danger signs to seek care for their newborns compared to the
other age groups (See table 13). The percentage of women aged 25-49yrs old who reported three
or more symptoms which would lead them to seek immediate care for their newborns is 4 times
less than those who either reported one or no symptoms. In conclusion, more mothers reported
less than two symptoms that would signal them to take their children to the health post or health
hut.
Post-natal Visits: Number of mothers of infants <12 months reporting that their infant received a
post-natal visit from a trained health worker within two days of their birth

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Mothers were asked if they had
received post-natal visits within two
days of the birth of their infants. 75
percent of mothers aged 18-24yrs
old with infants less than 12 months
old reported that they did not receive
a post natal visit from a trained
health worker within two days of
their birth compared to 25 percent of
mothers aged 25-49yrs. More
mothers aged 25-49yrsreported they received a post-natal visit from a trained health worker
within two days of the birth of their children compared to 14 percent of mothers aged 18-24yrs
old. More mothers from the age group 25-49yrs reported that they received a post-natal visit
from a trained health worker within two days of the birth of their children compared to 25
percent of mothers who reported they did not receive a visit (See table 14). This problem could
be alleviated if they increase the number of matrones in the health facilities to help mothers
prepare for the birth of their infants.
About 75 percent of mothers aged 18-24yrs reported that they did not receive a post natal visit
from a trained health worker within two days of the birth of their children compared to 14
percent of mothers who reported that they received a visit. Of 11 mothers interviewed, 7 stated
that their infant received a post-natal visit within two days of birth compared to 4 mothers
reporting their infant did not receive a post-natal visit from a trained health worker (See table
14).In general, more mothers reported post-natal visits within two days of the birth of their
children than those who did not receive any visit from a trained health worker.
DIARRHEA
HE140: Number of children aged 0-59 months who had diarrhea since the last reporting period,
whose mothers reported that they received either oral rehydration therapy, or increased fluids
and those they continued to give them food
ORS Solution Intake
The mothers who answered
that their children had
diarrhea were asked if the
children received Oral
Rehydration Drink (ORS).

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Out of the infants aged 0-59 months, the age groups most affected with diarrhea were the infants
aged 0-5 months and 24-59 months. The number of mothers who reported most that their infants
did not have diarrhea were infants aged 24-59 months. The infants aged 24-59 months were
given more ORS solution compared to the other age groups. The infants most affected with
bouts of diarrhea and who were not given ORS was aged 0-5 months. The infants aged 0-5
months and 24-59 months had the highest percentage of having diarrhea compared to the other
age groups (See table 15). The mothers of the infants aged 24-59 months who had diarrhea had
the highest percentage of ORS intake compared to the other age groups. The second highest
group compared to the infants aged 24-59 months who had high percentage of diarrhea and to
receive ORS were infants aged 12-23 months (See table 15). This would suggest health
structures to allocate more resources to relais in villages to hold causeries with mothers on
giving ORS to children with diarrhea. As a result, it would decrease infant mortality rate caused
by dehydration.
Breastfeeding Frequency
Then, the mothers were asked how frequently they breastfed their children when they had
diarrhea. This was not applicable to the children aged 24-59 months because they stopped
breastfeeding. Coincidentally, the mothers with children aged 24-59 months had the highest
number of children who did not have diarrhea. The mothers who continued to breastfeed their
children during diarrhea were less across all age groups. In 31 percent of the infants aged 0-5
months who had diarrhea, 50 percent of the mothers responded they breastfed them at the same
rate or they increased breastfeeding than usual (See table 16).In 15 percent of infants aged 6-
11months who had diarrhea, 100 percent of the mothers reported they breastfed less than usual
compared to 23 percent of children aged 12-23 months who had diarrhea, and 50 percent of their
mothers reported they breastfed them more than usual.

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Water Intake
Subsequently, the mothers were asked about the water intake of their children during diarrhea.
The children aged 24-59 months were given more water than usual compared to the other age
groups. The number of mothers who reported that they gave water to their children was less for
infants aged 0-5 months, 6-11 months and 12-23 months (See table 17). In 31 percent of infants
aged 0-5 months who had diarrhea, 50 percent of mothers reported the infants received the same
amount of water because most of them were breastfed. These children received water from the
breastmilk. In 23 percent of children aged 12-23 months who had diarrhea, 50 percent of
mothers reported they received less or the same amount of water than usual. In 31percent of
children aged 24-59 months who had diarrhea, 57 percent of mothers reported the children
received more water than usual.

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Food Intake
These
questions
were followed by inquiries on the amount of food children received during diarrhea. In 31
percent of infants aged 0-5 months who had diarrhea, 67 percent of mothers reported theygave
them the same amount of food as usual. In 15 percent of infants aged 6-11 months who had
diarrhea, 33 percent of mothers reported they gave them less food than usual (See table 18). In
23 percent of infants 12-23 months who had diarrhea, 33 percent of mothers reported they gave
them less or the same amount of food as usual. In 31percent of children 24-59 months who had
diarrhea, 57 percent of mothers reported they gave them more food than usual.
Vaccinations
HE142: Number of children aged 12-23months who completed their WHO required
immunizations (BCG, DPT3, OPV3, and one measles vaccine) by 12 months of age
In total, there are 52 children aged 12-23 months who have had the WHO required
immunizations (See table 19). Nevertheless, the percentage of children vaccinated is still in the
low ten percent in Dassalami Soce. This may imply that the health structures should ensure full

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health coverage of children. If they are going to organize vaccination campaigns, the health staff
should adapt information on the vaccinations based on the educational level of families.
FAMILY PLANNING
Contraceptive Knowledge
HE99: Number of women who are able to identify at least two methods of modern contraception
Women were asked about their
knowledge on methods of
modern contraception. Out of
17 women who were asked to
identify at least two methods
of modern contraception, 53
percent of them were able to
identify them versus 29 percent
who did not identify any methods of modern contraception (See table 20). This further suggests
the need to engage women more in causeries on family planning and facilitate their access to
these methods of contraception such as birth control pills.
The responses were viewed by
gender and it was found that
100 percent of womendid not
know any methods of modern
contraception. 78 percent of
men could identify at least two
methods of modern
contraception compared to 22
percent of women.Furthermore, 75 percent of women could not identify at least two methods of
modern contraception compared to 25 percent of men (See table 21).Overall, the percentage of
women who could not identify at least two methods of modern contraception was 50 times
higher than men; and the percentage of men who could identify at least two methods of modern
contraception was56 times higher than women.
When the results are viewed by
age, it was found that 55 percent
of youths less than 15 yrsold did
not report any methods of
contraception followed by adults

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aged 25-49 yrs old. Out of all the age groups, 89 percent ofadults aged 18-24yrs were the only
ones to identify one or more methods of contraception compared to youthsaged less than 15 yrs
old (See table 22). Overall, the percentage of adults aged 18-24 and 25-49yrs who could identify
at least two methods is 78 times higher than those who are less than 15 yrs old. Then, the
percentage of youths less than 15 yrs old who did not report any methods of contraception was
10 times higher than those who are 25-49yrs old.
Warning Signs during Pregnancy
HE91: Number of mothers who are able to identify 2 or more warning signs during pregnancy
indicating the need to seek immediate care with a provider
Out of the 48 mothers who were asked to identify warning signs during their pregnancy that
brought them to the hospital, 76 percent of mothers aged 25-49yrs reported 2 or more warning
signs where they sought immediate care with a provider compared to 24 percent of mothers aged
18-24yrs (See table 23). 50 percent of mothers aged 25-49yrs reported one or no warning signs
during their pregnancy indicating the need to seek care compared to 33 percent of mothers aged
18-24yrs. Of all the age groups, the mothers aged 15-17 yrs had the lowest percentage of
reporting one or no warning signs during their pregnancy. Overall, the percentage of mothers
aged 18-24 yrs who reported two or more warning signs during their pregnancy are 9 times
lower than those who either reported one or none.
NUTRITION
Nutritional Diversity

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HE7: Number of adults who reported eating at least 3 servings of fruits and vegetables and one
protein/animal source of food (egg, dairy, meat, fish, poultry, lentils, beans) in the day preceding
the assessment
When women and men were asked if theyate at least 3 servings of fruits and vegetables and one
protein/animal source of food (egg, dairy, meat, fish, poultry, lentils, beans) in the day preceding
the assessment, 87 percent of females reported not eating at least 3 servings of fruits and
vegetables and one protein source compared to 13 percent of men (See table 24). In contrast, 75
percent of females reported eating at least 3 servings of fruits and vegetables and one protein
source compared to 25 percent of men. Overall, more women than men reported not eating at
least 3 servings of fruits and vegetables and one protein/animal source of food (egg, dairy, meat,
fish, poultry, lentils, beans) in the day preceding the assessment and 100 percent of females did
not know if they consumed at least 3 servings of fruits and vegetables and one protein/animal
source of food. These statistics perhaps recommend that the health structures should be more
involved in showing the importance of the nutritional values in food for women and men at the
community level.
Out of 79 people interviewed
in 26 households, 67 percent
of them reported they ate at
least three servings of
fruits/vegetables and one
portion of protein/animal
source of food (egg, dairy,
meat, fish, poultry, lentils,
beans) in the day preceding
the assessment versus 29 percent who reported not eating these servings of food.
IMPROVED INFANT AND YOUNG CHILD FEEDING PRACTICES

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Exclusive Breastfeeding
HE112: Number of infants <12 months of age with a mother reporting their child was
exclusively breastfed (may have received vitamins, minerals, medicines or ORS, but no other
food or liquid including water) for the first six months
Out of 48 mothers
interviewed on exclusive
breastfeeding for children
less than 12 months old, 32
answered that these infants
needed breast milk only and
13 answered that infants less
than 12 months of age
needed breast milk and other
food for the first six months.
Respectively, 58 percent of mothers stated that infants aged 6-12 months needed breastmilk only
and 42 percent of mothers stated that infants aged 0-5 months needed breastmilk only (See table
26). Out of 13 mothers who were interviewed, 100% of mothers stated that infants aged 0-5
months needed breastmilk only. Overall, the percentage of mothers who believe infants 0-5
months need breastmilk and other food is 58 times higher than the mothers who believe infants
0-5 months only need breastmilk. No mothers reported that infants 6-12 months
neededbreastmilk and other food.
Weaning Practices Knowledge
HE114: Improved Knowledge: Number of women who are able to identify three optimal
complementary feeding practices using locally available foods
When mothers were asked to identify complementary feeding practices for their children, 77
percent of mothers aged 25-49 yrs reported two or more complementary feeding practices using

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locally available foods compared to 23 percent of mothers aged 18-24yrs. The percentage of
mothers aged 15-17 yrs who reported one or no complementary feeding practices was 60 times
lower than the mothers aged 18-24yrs and 25-49yrs (See table 27).
Of all the age groups, mothers aged 25-49 yrs had the highest percentage in identifying two or
more complementary feeding practices for their children. Next, the percentage of mothers aged
18-24 yrs who identified two or more complementary feeding practices was 17 times lower than
the ones who reported one food or none. It is suggested that more sensitization should be done at
the community level to incite men and women to cultivate a variety of foods. This increases the
choices of foods they provide to their children. Also, it would be recommended to reach out to
NGOs who may work on nutrition projects in respective regions.
Under 5 Nutrition Knowledge
HE118: Number of women who are able to identify at least two foods that provide essential
nutrients needed during childhood (<5years old) for good child development
When the mothers were asked about the nutrient foods they could give their children, the women
aged 25-49yrs had the highest percentage of identifying two or more foods that provide essential
nutrients needed during childhood (<5 years old) for good child development. 33 percent of
women aged 15-17yrs and 18-24 yrs reported one type of food or none that provide essential
nutrients needed during childhood (See table 28). The women aged 25-49 yrs reporting on foods
that provide nutrients were 58 times higher than those who are 18-24yrs old. Finally, the
percentage of women aged 18-24yrs who have identified two or more foods that provide
essential nutrients was 12 times lower than the ones who reported one food or none.

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YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Youth Improved Knowledge
HE42: Number of youth who can identify at least one behavior to prevent unwanted pregnancy
or prevent STIs
Out of 25 adolescents who were interviewed about behaviors to prevent unwanted pregnancy
and STIs, 91 percent of youths aged 18-24yrs old identified one or more behaviors to prevent
unwanted pregnancy or prevent STIs. The percentage of youths aged 18-24 yrs old who
identified one or more behaviors was 81 times higher than the youths aged less than 15 yrs old
and 15-17yrs old. 100 percent of youths less than 15 yrs old did not identify one or more
behaviors to prevent unwanted pregnancy or prevent STIs. Overall, the percentage of youths less
than 15 yrs old who identified one or more behaviors was 95 times lower than the ones who did
not report any behaviors. This may suggest more causeries to encourage parents to openly talk
about sex education to their children. It also would be helpful to value sexual education starting
from elementary schools and to continue organizing campaigns on the subject toward young
adults.

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When the results were examined by gender, it was found that 70 percent of females identified
one or more behaviors to prevent unwanted pregnancy/STIs compared to 30 percent of men. By
contrast, 80 percent of females could not identify behaviors that prevented unwanted
pregnancy/STIs compared to 20 percent of men. The percentage of men who reported one or
more behaviors was 10 times higher than those who did not report behaviors; and
the percentage of women who reported one or more behaviors to prevent unwanted
pregnancy/STIs was 10 times lower than those who did not report any behaviors. These
questions concluded the baseline survey administered in Dassalami Soce.
CONCLUSION
In many Senegalese communities, men, women and adolescents continue to be marginalized
groups in the access to health services. I administered this survey with the successful
collaboration of my community, Dassalami Soce, to gain an understanding on the discrepancies
between the health needs and resources available to the population.The survey measured
specific knowledge on mosquito net usage, safe water and latrine access, handwashing
knowledge, equipped handwashing stations, maternal and child health, diarrhea, mother and
child nutrition, family planning and youth development on sexual education. The results pointed
out to potential programs and/or training that can be put in place to alleviate the community’s
drawbacks. Some future suggestions could be to reinforce the health structures to provide
essential information on the prevention of health diseases, primarily targeting the women and
youths of rural communities.I hope permanent solutions are found to these endemic health
problems with the continued collective work of health authorities, to attain the country’s health
objectives in the international realm.