Background
Methods
Study area
Study design
Study procedures
Quantitative methods
Qualitative methods
Sample size calculation
Data entry, cleaning and analysis
Ethical approval
Results
Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents
Characteristics (N = 197) | n | % |
---|---|---|
Facility type | ||
Community pharmacies | 67 | 34.0 |
OTCMS shops | 130 | 66.0 |
Practitioner type | ||
Pharmacists | 11 | 5.6 |
Pharmacy technicians | 13 | 6.6 |
Medicine counter assistants | 43 | 21.8 |
OTCMS | 51 | 25.9 |
OTCMS assistants | 79 | 40.1 |
Highest educational level | ||
Tertiary | 64 | 32.5 |
Secondary | 113 | 57.4 |
Basic (up to JHS) | 18 | 10.1 |
Age (years) | ||
18–30 | 92 | 46.7 |
31–40 | 31 | 15.7 |
41–50 | 30 | 15.2 |
51 and above | 44 | 22.3 |
Years worked as a service provider | ||
1–5 | 80 | 42.0 |
6–10 | 41 | 21.0 |
11–20 | 41 | 21.0 |
21 and above | 25 | 13.0 |
Participant ID | Age | Marital status | Highest level of education | Occupation | Number of children |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
OMA | |||||
BG145 | 41 | Married | Secondary | Unemployed | 3 |
BG171 | 35 | Married | Secondary | Trader | 2 |
MBK41 | 52 | Married | Uneducated | Trader | 4 |
MBK45 | 25 | Married | Basic | Hairdresser | 1 |
BG174 | 46 | Married | Basic | Unemployed | 3 |
KNT44 | 24 | Married | Basic | Unemployed | 1 |
KNT104 | 43 | Married | Basic | Trader | 3 |
KNT144 | 30 | Married | Secondary | Teacher | 1 |
KMA | |||||
FNT100 | 47 | Married | Basic | Unemployed | 3 |
AB17 | 50 | Married | Secondary | Trader | 4 |
AB141 | 39 | Married | Uneducated | Trader | 2 |
AT45 | 28 | Married | Basic | Hairdresser | 2 |
AT134 | 56 | Married | Uneducated | Unemployed | 3 |
FNT20 | 27 | Married | Secondary | Unemployed | 1 |
BT14 | 44 | Married | Basic | Trader | 4 |
BT142 | 38 | Married | Secondary | Civil servant | 2 |
Respondents perception and experiences on malaria case detection
Characteristics (N = 195) | n | % |
---|---|---|
Awareness of RDTs | ||
Community pharmacies | 62 | 94.0 |
OTCMS shops | 70 | 54.0 |
When the body feels very hot then you know you have malaria (FGD Obuasi, BG174)
When your mouth tastes bitter and you feel uneasy, you will not suspect any other disease but malaria (FGD Kumasi, BT142).
Personally when I’m about to get malaria, I get itchy all over my body especially after bathing (FGD Kumasi, AT134).
Facility type | |||
---|---|---|---|
Pharmacy (N = 67) | OTCMS shop (N = 128) | P | |
Mean (95 % CI) | Mean (95 % CI) | ||
Malaria | 7.54 (4.71–10.36) | 11.20 (7.44–14.95) | 0.1942 |
Fever | 10.21 (5.45–14.97) | 11.44 (7.45–15.42) | 0.708 |
Perception | n (%) | n (%) | P |
---|---|---|---|
Malaria prevalence | 59 | 56 | 0.26 |
Fever prevalence | 60 | 56 | 0.25 |
Health seeking behavior of community members
I first go to the drug store. If I do not get better a day or two after visiting the drug store, I proceed to the hospital (FGD Obuasi, KNT44).
Perception and experiences on malaria RDT use in medicine outlets
None of us had experienced the use of malaria RDT in any medicine outlet… (All participants at both FGDs in Obuasi and Kumasi).
I sent my mother to the hospital last week and they did the RDT test for her. I also realized that they did it for every patient who came there. The test showed negative for the malaria parasite…. (FGD Obuasi, KNT144).
My fourteen years old son had frequent episodes of fever, he was tested and it showed negative for malaria but he later tested positive for typhoid fever (FGD Kumasi, AB17).
If there is no parasite in the blood I would not buy any anti-malaria drug but rather I would purchase a drug for whatever disease is presenting from the test (FGD Obuasi, BG145).
If the test is negative I would still purchase and use the anti-malaria drug for prevention of the disease (FGD Kumasi, AT45).
I will be happy if my temperature is measured and the malaria test done when I go to the drug stores, in that way I will feel well taken care of, just like when I go to the hospital (FGD Obuasi, MBK41).
We spend so much time at the hospital because we have to join long queues, it would be best if the drug stores have the testing kits so that we can effectively test and treat malaria (FGD Obuasi, BG171).
We want to be assured that each patient is pricked with a different needle during the test as it is done in the hospital (FGD Kumasi, FNT100).