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Introduction: The physically disabled have historically been excluded from HIV planning and programming largely due to perceptions that they are not sexually active. About 5.4% of the Cameroon population lives with a disability. However, there is scarcity of literature on HIV/AIDS related knowledge among persons with disabilities, mainly because those who have been charged with HIV/AIDS control have not yet considered HIV/AIDS and how it affects people with disabilities. The objective of this study was to investigate the HIV/AIDS related knowledge among persons with physical disability in an urban town of Cameroon, in order to ascertain if this vulnerable population is also a key population in relation to the HIV epidemic.

Objectives: To identify strategies and interventions to strengthen the generation and use of research evidence in health policy and practice decision-making and implementation in the West African sub-region (knowledge translation).Design: The study design was cross-sectional. Data sources were from a desk review, West African Network of Emerging Leaders (WANEL) member brainstorming, and group discussion outputs from WANEL members and session participants’ discussions and reflections during an organised session at the 2019 African Health Economics and Policy Association meeting in Accra.Results: Strategies and interventions identified included developing a Community of Practice, a repository of health policy and systems research (HPSR) evidence, stakeholder mapping, and engagement for action, advocacy, and partnership. Approaches for improving evidence uptake beyond traditional knowledge translation activities included the use of cultural considerations in presenting research results and mentoring younger people, the presentation of results in the form of solutions to political problems for decision-makers, and the use of research results as advocacy tools by civil society organisations. Development of skills in stakeholder mapping, advocacy, effective presentation of research results, leadership skills, networking, and network analysis for researchers was also identified as important.Conclusions: To strengthen the generation and use of research evidence in health policy and practice decision-making in West Africa requires capacity building and multiple interventions targeted synergistically at researchers, decision-makers, and practitioners.

BackgroundEach year between 14 and 15 million adolescent girls give birth, accounting for more than 10% of births globally. Motherhood is an exciting time for every woman and the society at large and also seen as a significant part of any woman’s identity but that is often not the case for the adolescent mother. Adolescent motherhood can be a time of mixed feelings as it occurs at a critical time of their lives. This study examined challenges adolescent mothers face during early motherhood and strategies to improve early motherhood for better social and health outcomes.MethodsBased on a phenomenological perspective, this qualitative study was conducted in the Hohoe Municipality where purposive sampling was used to recruit study participants. The process of data gathering included, 6 focus group discussions held with adolescent mothers, 20 in-depth interviews with pregnant adolescents, 6 in-depth interviews conducted with midwives and traditional birth attendants (TBAs). Using thematic analysis, recorded data were transcribed and manually coded inductively and deductively for themes.ResultsA total participants of 60 teenage Junior High School dropouts were interviewed, out of which 10 mothers were in school after initial dropout. The average age of participants was 15 years. Other participants included 3 midwives and 3 TBAs. The findings revealed adolescents’ expressions of some positive side of motherhood, although they were confronted with some difficulties that affected their lives. Some adolescents posit coping with economic and financial constraints, opting for unsafe abortion to reduce stigma with unplanned pregnancy, managing the extra responsibility of taking care of the baby and the challenge of going back to school after delivery were major societal challenges for them. Some adolescents opined that positive support from family members assisted them manage difficulties despite community stigma associated with unplanned teenage pregnancies. Interviews with midwives and TBAs showed that adolescents were treated badly by health professionals, thereby significantly contributing to delays regarding their access to health services.ConclusionWe propose that health service providers and policy makers implement interventions that will support young mothers during motherhood. There is the need to build social capital among community members regarding their support to improve psychosocial well-being of adolescents during early motherhood. Adolescent friendly health services need to be strengthened to encourage adolescents to freely utilize services and health professionals need to be trained to deliver effective services to adolescents.