Acceptability of single screening and treatment policy for the control of malaria in pregnancy: perceptions of providers and pregnant women from selected health facilities in Lindi region, Tanzania

Provider and User Acceptability of Integrated Treatment for the Control of Malaria and Helminths in Saraya, South-Eastern Senegal

Integration of vertical programs for the control of malaria, schistosomiasis, and soil-transmitted helminthiasis has been recommended to achieve elimination of malaria and neglected tropical diseases (NTD) by 2030. This qualitative study was conducted within the context of a randomized controlled trial to explore the perceptions and views of parents/caregivers of at-risk children and healthcare providers to determine their acceptability of the integrated malaria-helminth treatment approach. Randomly selected parents/caregivers of children enrolled in the trial, healthcare providers, trial staff, malaria, and NTD program managers were interviewed using purpose-designed topic guides. Transcripts obtained from the interviews were coded and common themes identified using content analysis were triangulated. Fifty-seven study participants comprising 26 parents/caregivers, 10 study children aged ≥ 10 years, 15 trial staff, four healthcare providers, and two managers from the Senegal Ministry of Health were interviewed. Thirty-eight of the participants (66.7%) were males, and their ages ranged from 10 to 65 years. Overall, the integrated malaria-helminth treatment approach was considered acceptable, but the study participants expressed concerns about the taste, smell, and side effects associated with amodiaquine and praziquantel in the combination package. Reluctance to accept the medications was also observed among children aged 10 to 14 years due to peer influence and gender-sensitive cultural beliefs. Addressing concerns about the taste and smell of amodiaquine and praziquantel is needed to optimize the uptake of the integrated treatment program. Also, culturally appropriate strategies need to be put in place to cater for the inclusion of children aged 10 to 14 years in this approach.

Women attending antenatal care as a sentinel surveillance population for malaria in Geita region, Tanzania: feasibility and acceptability to women and providers

BACKGROUND

Measurement of malaria prevalence is conventionally estimated through infrequent cross-sectional household surveys that do not provide continuous information regarding malaria parasitaemia. Recent studies have suggested that malaria parasitaemia prevalence among women attending antenatal care (ANC) correlates with prevalence among children under 5 years old and that pregnant women could be a sentinel population for tracking malaria prevalence. In mainland Tanzania, 97% of women are tested for malaria parasitaemia during first ANC visits. However, acceptability among pregnant women and healthcare providers of collecting malaria risk factor data during ANC visits is limited.

METHODS

A tablet-based questionnaire including 15 questions on insecticide-treated net ownership and use and care-seeking for febrile children was introduced at 40 healthcare facilities in Geita Region, Tanzania. Facilities were randomly selected from among those with 15-120 first ANC visits per month. To assess perspectives regarding introduction of the questionnaire, 21 semi-structured interviews were held with providers and facility in-charges at 12 facilities. Thirty pregnant and recently delivered women participated in focus group discussions at seven facilities to assess the acceptability of spending additional time answering questions about malaria risk.

RESULTS

All pregnant women reported that introduction of ANC surveillance and spending 10 more minutes with providers answering questions about their health would be neutral or beneficial. They perceived being asked about their health as standard of care. Providers and in-charges reported that introduction of ANC surveillance was within their scope of practice. Nine of 21 indicated it could potentially benefit women's health. Six providers expressed concern about staffing shortages and need for reimbursement for extra time and noted that data management occurs after hours.

CONCLUSIONS

Pregnant women and providers generally perceived ANC surveillance for malaria as acceptable and positive. Pregnant and recently delivered women saw this as a reasonable and even helpful intervention. To be seen as a part of standard practice, efforts are needed to ensure providers perceive a benefit for ANC clients and that staffing concerns are addressed. In addition, staff should receive feedback related to data submissions regarding malaria prevalence and risk factors among women at their facility, with actions to take.

Routine Healthcare Facility- and Antenatal Care-Based Malaria Surveillance: Challenges and Opportunities

Most monitoring and evaluation tools for measuring malaria burden, intervention coverage, and impact of interventions use periodic nationally representative cross-sectional household surveys. These provide advantages in terms of selecting a large, unbiased, population-based sample; however, they are infrequently conducted, are resource-intensive, and do not provide longitudinal data with sufficient granularity. Given the heterogeneity of malaria transmission within most endemic countries, systems with the capacity to provide more granular and frequent data would be more actionable by national malaria control programs and local implementing partners. There is increasing interest in using routine health facility data, usually from outpatient department visits, for monitoring malaria burden. Data from pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) could minimize bias related to fever care-seeking among outpatient department visits and provide more granular parasite prevalence data. Most pregnant women attend ANC at least once and are thus highly representative of the overall pregnant population. A growing body of evidence suggests that malaria parasitemia in pregnant women is correlated with parasitemia in children aged < 5 years in moderate to high transmission areas, allowing for monitoring parasitemia in real time. Additional data are needed to assess whether pregnant women are sufficiently representative of the overall population to yield valid malaria prevalence and intervention coverage estimates. Although use of routinely collected ANC data faces many of the same challenges experienced by other routinely collected health facility data, the opportunity to improve parasite prevalence monitoring and the associated health benefits to mothers and infants of early detection of parasitemia make these efforts valuable.

Systematic Review of Mixed Studies on Malaria in Pregnancy: Individual, Cultural and Socioeconomic Determinants of Its Treatment and Prevention

Malaria in pregnancy (MiP) is a global public health problem; its research is predominantly quantitative. The objective was to analyze the individual, cultural and socioeconomic determinants of the treatment and prevention of MiP with a systematic review of mixed studies (search had no date restriction). Reproducibility and evaluation of the methodological quality were guaranteed. 21 studies were included (20 from Africa). The quantitative component included 7816 pregnant women and 483 health workers. The qualitative component included 800 subjects (pregnant women, health workers, family members and community leaders). The main topics were the use and acceptability of WHO strategies to prevent MiP, individual determinants related with knowledge, perceptions, attitudes and behaviors on MiP, and cultural and socioeconomic barriers for its treatment and prevention. The main determinants of MiP were long distance to the clinic, lack of economic resources, low-coverage antenatal care, few health workers in the communities, drug shortages, cultural rules that prevent women's participation in health issues, and misconceptions about MiP. MiP has determinants related to economic conditions, the structure and functioning of the health system, symbolic and cultural aspects, as well as knowledge, beliefs, perceptions and behavior of pregnant women, which prevent optimal access and use of preventive strategies. This study evidences the importance of intersectional, intersectoral, and interdisciplinary work to prevent MiP.