Analysis of attitudes and practices influencing adherence to seasonal malaria chemoprevention in children under 5 years of age in the Dosso Region of Niger

Malaria Journal

Review

Hadiza Jackou¹  Charlotte Eddis²  Aminata Maazou³  Daniel Christian Koko³ 

[1] Programme National de Lutte Contre le Paludisme, Niamey, Niger;U.S. PMI Impact Malaria Project, Population Service International, Washington, DC, USA;U.S. PMI Impact Malaria Project, Population Services International, Niamey, Niger;

关键词: Seasonal malaria chemoprevention;    Adherence;    Attitudes;    Practices;    Distributor;    Caregivers;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12936-022-04407-z

 received in 2022-06-10, accepted in 2022-10-23,  发布年份 2022

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundSeasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) consists of the intermittent administration of a 3 day course of anti-malarial medications during the months of highest malaria risk in the Sahel region, where malaria transmission is highly seasonal. SMC is an effective intervention to reduce episodes of uncomplicated and severe malaria in children. However, morbidity cannot be lowered without adherence to medications. The objective of this study was to examine SMC medication adherence and to identify the attitudes and practices of caregivers during the 2020 SMC campaign in the Dosso region.MethodsThis study was conducted based on data from independent monitoring using random cluster sampling. Adherence levels and the attitudes and practices of caregivers were evaluated using data from caregivers’ self-reports and analysed according to Bernard Vrijens’ taxonomy.ResultsAt the initiation of treatment phase, 99% of children (N = 2296) received their first administration of medication, with 90% of caregivers (N = 1436) knowing that the medications help prevent malaria. However, only 56% of caregivers (N = 1856) reported that treatment initiation took place under direct observation by the distributor. At the implementation of treatment phase, 90% of children (N = 2132) took their medication on the second day and 84% (N = 1068) took it the third day. “Forgetting,” “not having time,” and “the mother’s absence” were the main reasons caregivers gave to explain discontinuation of the 3 day course of medication.ConclusionThis simple, low-cost survey demonstrated that coverage of SMC and adherence by caregivers to completing the full 3 day medication course was high. The survey also showed that knowledge, attitudes, and practices of some caregivers regarding adherence to medications during the SMC campaign could be improved. Expanding distributors’ training, developing and providing them with tools for interpersonal communication, and strengthening supervision could lead to even higher adherence.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2022

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