Care seeking for childhood illnesses in rural Mtwara, south-east Tanzania: a mixed methods study.

BACKGROUND: Care seeking was assessed in preparation for a study of the health impact of novel design houses in rural Mtwara, Tanzania. METHODS: A total of 578 residents of 60 villages participated in this mixed-methods study from April to August 2020. Among them, 550 participated in a healthcare-seeking survey, 17 in in-depth interviews and 28 in key informant interviews. RESULTS: The decision to seek care was based on symptom severity (95.4% [370]). Caregivers first visited non-allopathic healthcare providers or were treated at home, which led to delays in seeking care at healthcare facilities. More than one-third (36.0% [140]) of respondents took >12 h seeking care at healthcare facilities. The majority (73.0% [282]) visited healthcare facilities, whereas around one-fifth (21.0% [80]) sought care at drug stores. Treatment costs deterred respondents from visiting healthcare facilities (61.4% [338]). Only 10 (3.6%) of the households surveyed reported that they were covered by health insurance. CONCLUSIONS: Quality of care, related to institutional factors, impacts timely care seeking for childhood illnesses in Mtwara, Tanzania. Ensuring accessibility of facilities is therefore not sufficient.

Understanding reticence to occupy free, novel-design homes: A qualitative study in Mtwara, Southeast Tanzania.

INTRODUCTION: The population of Africa set to reach 2 billion by 2050. There is therefore great demand for housing across the continent. Research on modified novel designs for housing is a priority to ensure that these homes are not sites of infection for diseases transmission such as malaria. One trial to assess the protection afforded by novel design houses is underway in Mtwara Region, southeastern Tanzania. After constructing 110 of such homes across 60 villages, project staff encountered a certain reticence of the target population to occupy the homes and were faced with accusations of having nefarious intentions. This article explores these accusations, their impacts on home occupancy and lessons for future housing studies. METHODS: This qualitative study drew on in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with ten occupants of the intervention homes, six community leaders and a further 24 community members. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and translated to English for qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: In communities around the Star Homes, during construction and handover, project staff were widely associated with 'Freemasons', a term used to practices, secrecy, and other conspiracy theories in rural Tanzania. These connections were attributed to other community members and explained in terms of knowledge deficit or envy, with others hoping to be allocated the home. The stories were embedded in assumptions of reciprocity and suspicions about study motives, linked to limited experience of research. The relationship between the accusations of freemasonry and reticence to occupy the houses was not straightforward, with project staff or relatives playing a role in decisions. The stakes were high, because the recipients of Star Homes were the poorest families in targeted communities. CONCLUSION: The results indicate the need for long-term and proactive community engagement, which focuses on building relationships and providing information through recognizable voices and formats. Given the stakes at play in housing interventions, research teams should be prepared for the social upheaval the provision of free new housing can cause.

Studying the health benefits of improved housing in rural Tanzania: challenges and progress.

Millions of affordable healthy homes are needed for the rapidly expanding population of sub-Saharan Africa. This enormous challenge is an opportunity to address pervasive health issues linked to housing, where diseases that most impact children-malaria, diarrhoea and respiratory tract infections-are often acquired. A pilot project in northern Tanzania demonstrated the potential of novel house designs to reduce infectious disease transmission in homes. To conduct a randomized controlled trial of one novel-design house, the research team moved to the southeast of the country. This article describes the challenges experienced during the construction and initial evaluation of the novel house.

Mazingira and the malady of malaria: Perceptions of malaria as an environmental disease in contemporary Zanzibar.

This paper addresses how contemporary Zanzibaris perceive the relationship between the mazingira (roughly translated as "environment") and the malady of malaria. More broadly, this article presents data exploring Zanzibari conceptions of the mazingira, the relationship between the mazingira and malaria, and who Zanzibaris believe are responsible for acting on, or for, the mazingira in regards to malaria. We use the biomedical disease malaria-and the local syncretic understanding of it, which we recognize by referring to it as the "malady of malaria"-as a lens to investigate Zanzibari conceptions of the mazingira. We highlight the need to integrate local forms of knowledge, which we refer to as vernacular knowledge. 50 interviews show that Zanzibaris believe the mazingira can be modified in positive ways to cleaner, safer spaces that will also reduce malaria levels. People expressed widespread agreement that there is a clear relationship between the mazingira and the malady of malaria, though they differed in what exactly the relationship was.

Rebounding Malaria and the failures of eradication in Zanzibar: The World Health Organization campaign and the after effects, 1957-1985.

This article presents a case study of the WHO's malaria elimination attempt in Zanzibar and the decades after the program's conclusion in 1968. Drawing on archival, ethnographic, and interview data, we find that Zanzibar experienced a rebound malaria epidemic in the 1970s-1980s when prevalence rates surged higher than they were prior to the WHO's intervention. We show that scientists were aware of the risks of rebound before it happened and recognized the rebound epidemic as it was happening. We argue that many of the challenges facing Zanzibar in the 1960s remain dilemmas today, and many of the ethical questions about rebound malaria remain unaddressed.

Assessing the impact of a novel house design on the incidence of malaria in children in rural Africa: study protocol for a household-cluster randomized controlled superiority trial.

BACKGROUND: Traditional rural housing in hot, humid regions of sub-Saharan Africa usually consists of single-level, poorly ventilated dwellings. Houses are mostly poorly screened against malaria mosquitoes and limited airflow discourages the use of bednets resulting in high indoor transmission. This study aims to determine whether living in a novel design house with elevated bedrooms and permeable screened walls reduces malaria, respiratory tract infections, and diarrhoea among children in rural Tanzania. METHODS/STUDY DESIGN: This is a household-randomized, controlled study in 60 villages in Mtwara, Tanzania. A total of 550 households are randomly selected, 110 of which are allocated a novel design house and 440 households continue to reside in traditional houses. A dynamic cohort of about 1650 children under 13 years will be enrolled and followed for 3 years, approximately 330 living in novel design houses and 1320 in traditional rural houses. The primary endpoint is the incidence of malaria; secondary endpoints are incidences of acute respiratory tract infections and diarrhoea diseases detected by passive and active surveillance. Exposure to malaria vectors will be assessed using light traps in all study houses. Structural, economic, and social science studies will assess the durability, cost-effectiveness, and acceptability of the new houses compared with traditional housing. Environmental data will be collected indoors and outdoors in study homes to assess the differences between house typologies. DISCUSSION: This is the first randomized controlled trial to assess the protective efficacy of a new house design targeting malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. The findings of this study could influence the future construction of homes in hot and humid zones of Africa. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04529434 . Registered on August 27, 2020.

Quality of care in a differentiated HIV service delivery intervention in Tanzania: A mixed-methods study.

BACKGROUND: Differentiated service delivery (DSD) offers benefits to people living with HIV (improved access, peer support), and the health system (clinic decongestion, efficient service delivery). ART clubs, 15-30 clients who usually meet within the community, are one of the most common DSD options. However, evidence about the quality of care (QoC) delivered in ART clubs is still limited. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a concurrent triangulation mixed-methods study as part of the Test & Treat project in northwest Tanzania. We surveyed QoC among stable clients and health care workers (HCW) comparing between clinics and clubs. Using a Donabedian framework we structured the analysis into three levels of assessment: structure (staff, equipment, supplies, venue), processes (time-spent, screenings, information, HCW-attitude), and outcomes (viral load, CD4 count, retention, self-worth). RESULTS: We surveyed 629 clients (40% in club) and conducted eight focus group discussions, while 24 HCW (25% in club) were surveyed and 22 individual interviews were conducted. Quantitative results revealed that in terms of structure, clubs fared better than clinics except for perceived adequacy of service delivery venue (94.4% vs 50.0%, p = 0.013). For processes, time spent receiving care was significantly more in clinics than clubs (119.9 vs 49.9 minutes). Regarding outcomes, retention was higher in the clubs (97.6% vs 100%), while the proportion of clients with recent viral load <50 copies/ml was higher in clinics (100% vs 94.4%). Qualitative results indicated that quality care was perceived similarly among clients in clinics and clubs but for different reasons. Clinics were generally perceived as places with expertise and clubs as efficient places with peer support and empathy. In describing QoC, HCW emphasized structure-related attributes while clients focused on processes. Outcomes-related themes such as improved client health status, self-worth, and confidentiality were similarly perceived across clients and HCW. CONCLUSION: We found better structure and process of care in clubs than clinics with comparable outcomes. While QoC was perceived similarly in clinics and clubs, its meaning was understood differently between clients. DSD catered to the individual needs of clients, either technical care in the clinic or proximate and social care in the club. Our findings highlight that both clinic and DSD care are required as many elements of QoC were individually perceived.

'It is not fashionable to suffer nowadays': Community motivations to repeatedly participate in outreach HIV testing indicate UHC potential in Tanzania.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined people's motivations for (repeatedly) utilizing HIV testing services during community-based testing events in urban and rural Shinyanga, Tanzania and potential implications for Universal Health Coverage (UHC). METHODS: As part of a broader multidisciplinary study on the implementation of a HIV Test and Treat model in Shinyanga Region, Tanzania, this ethnographic study focused on community-based testing campaigns organised by the implementing partner. Between April 2018 and December 2019, we conducted structured observations (24), short questionnaires (42) and in-depth interviews with HIV-positive (23) and HIV-negative clients (8). Observations focused on motivations for (re-)testing, and the counselling and testing process. Thematic analysis based on inductive and deductive coding was completed using NVivo software. RESULTS: Regular HIV testing was encouraged by counsellors. Most participants in testing campaigns were HIV-negative; 51.1% had tested more than once over their lifetimes. Testing campaigns provided an accessible way to learn one's HIV status. Motivations for repeat testing included: monitoring personal health to achieve (temporary) reassurance, having low levels of trust toward sexual partners, feeling at risk, seeking proof of (ill)-health, and acting responsibly. Repeat testers also associated testing with a desire to start treatment early to preserve a healthy-looking body, should they prove HIV positive. CONCLUSIONS: Community-based testing campaigns serve three valuable functions related to HIV prevention and treatment: 1) enable community members to check their HIV status regularly as part of a personalized prevention strategy that reinforces responsible behaviour; 2) identify recently sero-converted clients who would not otherwise be targeted; and 3) engage community with general prevention and care messaging and services. This model could be expanded to include routine management of other (chronic) diseases and provide an entry for scaling up UHC.

"It is good to take her early to the doctor" - mothers' understanding of childhood pneumonia symptoms and health care seeking in Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is among the leading causes of avoidable deaths for young children globally. The main burden of mortality falls on children from poor and rural families who are less likely to obtain the treatment they need, highlighting inequities in access to effective care and treatment. Caretakers' illness perceptions and care-seeking practices are of major importance for children with pneumonia to receive adequate care. This study qualitatively explores the caretaker concepts of childhood pneumonia in relation to treatment seeking behaviour and health worker management in Moshi urban district, Tanzania. METHODS: In May - July 2013 data was gathered through different qualitative data collection techniques including five focus group discussions (FGDs) with mothers of children under-five years of age. The FGDs involved free listing of pneumonia symptoms and video presentations of children with respiratory symptoms done, these were triangulated with ten case narratives with mothers of children admitted with pneumonia and eleven in-depth interviews with hospital health workers. Transcripts were coded and analysed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Mothers demonstrated good awareness of common childhood illnesses including pneumonia, which was often associated with symptoms such as cough, flu, chest tightness, fever, and difficulty in breathing. Mothers had mixed views on causative factors and treatments options but generally preferred modern medicine for persisting and severe symptoms. However, all respondent reported access to health facilities as a barrier to care, associated with transport, personal safety and economic constraints. CONCLUSION: Local illness concepts and traditional treatment options did not constitute barriers to care for pneumonia symptoms. Poor access to health facilities was the main barrier. Decentralisation of care through community health workers may improve access to care but needs to be combined with strengthened referral systems and accessible hospital care for those in need.

Bringing the state into the clinic? Incorporating the rapid diagnostic test for malaria into routine practice in Tanzanian primary healthcare facilities.

The roles that rapid, point-of-care tests will play in healthcare in low-income settings are likely to expand over the coming years. Yet, very little is known about how they are incorporated into practice, and what it means to use and rely upon them. This paper focuses on the rapid diagnostic test for malaria (mRDT), examining its introduction into low-level public health facilities in Tanzania within an intervention to improve the targeting of costly malaria medication. We interviewed 26 health workers to explore how a participatory training programme, mobile phone messages, posters and leaflets shaped the use and interpretation of the test. Drawing on notions of biopolitics, this paper examines how technologies of the self and mechanisms of surveillance bolstered the role mRDT in clinical decision-making. It shows how the significance of the test interacted with local knowledge, the availability of other medication, and local understandings of good clinical practice. Our findings suggest that in a context in which care is reduced to the provision of medicines, strict adherence to mRDT results may be underpinned by increasing the use of other pharmaceuticals or may leave health workers with patients for whom they are unable to provide care.

The development of effective behaviour change interventions to support the use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests by Tanzanian clinicians.

BACKGROUND: Parasitological confirmation is now recommended for all cases of suspected malaria. The roll-out of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) is hoped to enable this goal in low resource settings through point of care testing. However, simply making RDTs available has not led to high uptake of the tests or adherence to results by clinicians, with malaria continuing to be overdiagnosed in many settings. We undertook to design an evidence-based intervention package that would be sufficient to support the introduction of RDTs at dispensaries in Tanzania, to be evaluated through the Targeting Artemisinin Combination Therapy (TACT) cluster randomised controlled trial. METHODS: We describe five steps in our intervention design: formative research, review of existing evidence and theory, a workshop to define the intervention approach and content and results of formative research, engagement with behaviour change theory and literature, detailed design of intervention materials and piloting and pretesting of intervention materials. This involved fieldwork with a total of 19 health workers and 212 community members in northeast Tanzania. RESULTS: The formative research suggested that RDTs were a potential source of conflict in the health worker-patient interaction, but that health workers used various techniques to resolve this, including provision of antimalarial drugs for RDT-negative patients. Our reviews showed that evidence was mixed regarding the effectiveness of different methods and theories to support change in prescribing practice. Our design process is presented, drawing from this collective evidence. We describe the final TACT intervention package (including interactive small group workshops, feedback text messages, motivational text messages and patient information leaflets and posters) in terms of its programme theory and implementation theory. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that evidence-based design of complex interventions is possible. The use of formative research to understand malaria overdiagnosis in context was central to the design of the intervention as well as empirical research to test materials and methods prior to implementation. The TACT interventions may be appropriate for other settings where clinicians face similar challenges with malaria diagnostics. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01292707.

Quality of malaria microscopy in 12 district hospital laboratories in Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: The WHO recommendation for parasitological diagnosis of malaria wherever possible is challenged by evidence of poor-quality microscopy in African hospitals but the reasons are not clear. METHODS: All 12 of the busier district hospital laboratories from three regions of Tanzania were assessed for quality of the working environment and slide readers read 10 reference slides under exam conditions. Slides that had been routinely read were removed for expert reading. RESULTS: Of 44 slide readers in the study, 39 (88.6%) correctly read >90% of the reference slides. Of 206 slides that had been routinely read, 33 (16%) were judged to be unreadable, 104 (51%) were readable with difficulty, and 69 (34%) were easily readable. Compared to expert reading of the same slide, the sensitivity of routine slide results of easily readable slides was 85.7% (95% confidence interval: 77.4-94.0), falling to 44.4% (95% confidence interval: 34.5-54.4) for slides that were 'readable with difficulty'. CONCLUSIONS: The commonest cause of inaccurate results was the quality of the slide itself, correction of which is likely to be achievable within existing resources. A minority of slide readers were unable to read slides even under ideal conditions, suggesting the need for a 'slide reading licence' scheme.