Acceptability of short message service (SMS) as a tool for malaria treatment adherence in the Brazilian Amazon: a qualitative study

ABSTRACT Background: Malaria is one of the leading causes of morbidity worldwide, and patient adherence to prescribed antimalarials is essential for effective treatment. Methods: This cross-sectional study, with in-depth telephone interviews, analyzed participants' perceptions of short message service (SMS) in adherence to treatment. Results: Five thematic categories emerged: decreased forgetfulness, the novelty of the tool, easy-to-understand language, the impact of SMS messages during treatment, and suggestions for improvement and complaints. Conclusions: SMS could assist patients in adhering to prescribed antimalarials.

Complicated congenital malaria due to Plasmodium vivax / Paludismo congénito complicado debido a Plasmodium vivax

La malaria congénita es una enfermedad que aparece en el período neonatal y que, si no se trata oportunamente, puede tener consecuencias fatales para el recién nacido. Según las estadísticas publicadas en el Informe del Estado Mundial de la Infancia 2009, actualmente mueren 3.7 millones de niños menores de 28 días en todo el mundo. El 8% de los casos corresponden a niños menores de 5 años con malaria (1). De manera similar, los estudios en áreas endémicas han reportado incidencias de malaria congénita de entre 0.83 y 5.93% (2). Aquí, presentamos un caso de malaria congénita en un lactante de un mes de edad cuya madre recibió tratamiento para la malaria por Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) durante la gestación pero sufrió una recaída con el consiguiente compromiso del bebé en el útero. Es necesario reconocer la alta prevalencia de esta enfermedad en nuestro contexto y saber cómo vigilar y tratar la enfermedad en casos especiales como los de las madres gestantes y los recién nacidos con infecciones congénitas.

Congenital malaria is a disease that appears in the neonatal period and that, if not treated in a timely manner, may have fatal consequences for the newborn. According to statistics published in The State of the World Children 2009 Report, 3.7 million children under the age of 28 days die annually around the world at present. 8% of cases correspond to children under 5 years of age with malaria (1). Similarly, studies in endemic areas have reported incidences of congenital malaria of between 0.83 and 5.93% (2). Here, we present a case of congenital malaria in a one-month-old nursing infant whose mother received treatment for malaria from Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) during gestation but suffered a relapse with a consequent compromise of the infant in utero. There is a need to recognize the high prevalence of this disease in our context and to know how to monitor and treat the disease in special cases like those of gestating mothers and newborn infants with congenital infections.

Introducing Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests (MRDTs) at Registered Retail Pharmacies in Ghana: Practitioners’ Perspective.

Aims: In much of Africa, Ghana inclusive, malaria has traditionally been diagnosed and treated presumptively: any patient with fever was presumed to have malaria and treated with antimalarial drugs. In this study, the retail pharmacies practitioners’ perspectives on the implementation of Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests was sought and decisions analyzed in themes, using Realist Conceptual Approach. Study Design: Cross-sectional quantitative and purposive study. Place and Duration of Study: Registered private pharmacies in Ashanti Region of Ghana, between September and November, 2013. Methodology: A structured pre-tested questionnaires (in non-study area) was selfadministered to 99 practitioners in retail pharmacies to generated information on Practitioner’s characteristics, knowledge and experience on the MRDT kits, acceptance and willingness to use the test kits and challenge towards the use of the kit, for the thematic analysis. Results: Practitioners within the age bracket of 30-40 years were highest (43%) and male representation was 67%. Pharmacists were 67% of practitioners and 17.1% had postgraduate qualification. 96.03% had ample knowledge of test kit and 0.99% use it always and logistic regression indicated no significance (Chi-square=0.751; LR=0.540 at p<0.05). Of the patients, 47.52% strongly agree to implement and 48.51 agree. 60.39% were definite to suggest to colleague and logistic regression indicated significant relation (Chi-square=0.000; LR=0.006 at p<0.05). 44.4% were very satisfied with presumptive diagnosis while 1% very dissatisfied. Conclusion: The findings indicated willingness to implement the policy but presumptive diagnosis is still the practice. The evidence provides an opportunity to adapt a conceptual framework leading to the uptake of the policy.

Health – Seeking Behaviour of Rural Dwellers for the Treatment of Presumptive Malaria in North-Western Nigeria / Jurnal Sains Kesihatan Malaysia

Malaria is endemic throughout Nigeria. Majority of Nigerians, 70%, live in rural areas where subsistence farming is the main occupation. Most of them live below poverty line, earning less than USD1.25 a day. Their health-seeking behaviour for treatment of malaria is infl uenced by their low socioeconomic status since cost of treating malaria varies according to type of drug prescribed and source of treatment. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to assess the health-seeking behaviour of rural dwellers for treatment of presumptive malaria in Gimba village, a rural community of Kaduna State, Nigeria. It was conducted during Community Diagnosis posting of trained fi nal year medical students of Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria, in July 2012. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from all households in the community. Data analysis was done using STATA (Version 11. Stata Corporation 2009). Most of the respondents were farmers (69.7%). The category of household members that were most affected by malaria (presumptive) were under fi ves (47.4%) followed by housewives (26.5%). Majority of the households (73%) treated their last episodes of presumptive malaria at private drug vendor shops. There was a statistically signifi cant association between cost of treatment and place of seeking treatment (p < 0.001).The result indicated that most rural dwellers patronise unprofessional drug vendors for cheaper treatment of presumptive malaria. This jeopardizes malaria control efforts. For successful malaria control, it is recommended that the treatment of malaria should be free or subsidized and policies that favour Rural Economic Development should be implemented