Malaria diagnosis in rural healthcare facilities and treatment-seeking behavior in malaria endemic settings in western Kenya
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19594606 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Collince J Omondi (0000-0003-2142-418X, University of Nairobi, corresponding author), David Odongo (0000-0001-5745-4327, University of Nairobi, corresponding author), Wilfred Ouma Otambo (0000-0003-3337-1206, Maseno University, corresponding author), Kevin O Ochwedo (0000-0002-4510-8344, University of Nairobi, corresponding author), Antony Otieno (University of Nairobi, corresponding author), Ming‐Chieh Lee (0000-0002-2462-6089, University of California, Irvine, corresponding author), Ming-Chieh Lee, James W Kazura (0000-0002-6390-634X, Center for Global Health, corresponding author), Andrew K Githeko (Kenya Medical Research Institute, corresponding author), Guiyun Yan (0000-0001-8760-2925, University of California, Irvine, corresponding author) |
| Editors | Alice Zwerling (0000-0003-1613-8525) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | e0001532 |
| Publication date | 2023-07-20 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | PLOS Global Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2767-3375 • E-ISSN: 2767-3375 |
| Publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001532 |
| PMID | 37471336 |
| OpenAlex | W4384924770 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 50 |
Accurate malaria diagnosis and timely treatment are requirements for effective management of the disease. However, treatment efficacy may be significantly reduced in resource-constrained healthcare facilities with poorly equipped laboratories and frequent drug and rapid diagnostic test kit (RDT) stock-outs. Furthermore, patient may avoid seeking treatment from such facilities. The study’s goal was to determine treatment-seeking behavior, malaria diagnosis and treatment quality, and likely treatment-seeking determinants in the local population. Passive case detection, which targeted all patients with suspected malaria cases, was conducted in ten public healthcare facilities over a three-month period. Monthly malaria cases, methods of diagnosis and antimalarial drug availability were assessed. A household-based survey was also carried out. Structured questionnaires were used to collect knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) data from household heads. Malaria knowledge, treatment seeking behavior, and predictors of malaria treatment-seeking were all determined. Three of the seven dispensaries lacked a laboratory to conduct microscopy- diagnosis. These three dispensaries also experienced frequent RDT stock-outs, which resulted in depending on clinical signs as diagnosis for malaria. The majority of local residents with fever (50.3%) purchased antimalarial drugs from a chemist. About 37% of fever patients sought treatment at healthcare facility while the remaining 12.7% did not treat their fevers. In irrigated areas, 45.5% (46/64) of fever patients sought treatment at healthcare facilities, compared to 25% (18/64) in non-irrigated areas (p = 0.009). Most children aged below 5 who had fever (77.7%) were taken to healthcare facility for treatment compared to 31.4% of children aged 5–14 years or 20.9% of adults (0.0001). Predictors of treatment seeking included access to healthcare facility (OR = 16.23, 95% CI: 2.74–96.12), and ability to pay hospital bills (OR = 10.6, 95% CI: 1.97–57). Other factors that influenced health-seeking behavior included the severity of symptoms, the age of the patient and knowledge of malaria symptoms
Environmental health · Family medicine · Health care · Health facility · Health services · Malaria · Population · Public health · Rapid diagnostic test · Global Maternal and Child Health · Malaria Research and Control · Medicine · Mosquito-borne diseases and control · Nursing · Immunology
| Highly cited | No |
|---|