Abstract
BackgroundMalaria remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children under 5 years of age in Equatorial Guinea. Early appropriate treatment can reduce progression of the illness to severe stages, thus reducing of mortality, morbidity and onward transmission. The factors that contribute to malaria treatment delay have not been studied previously in Equatorial Guinea. The objective of this study was to assess the determinants of delay in seeking malaria treatment for children in the Bata district, in mainland Equatorial Guinea.MethodologyA cross-sectional study was conducted in Bata district, in 2013, which involved 428 houses in 18 rural villages and 26 urban neighbourhoods. Household caregivers were identified in each house and asked about their knowledge of malaria and about the management of the last reported malaria episode in a child 15 years and younger under their care. Bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses were conducted to determine the relevance of socio-economic, geographical and behavioural factors on delays in care-seeking behaviour.ResultsNearly half of the children sought treatment at least 24 h after the onset of the symptoms. The median delay in seeking care was 2.8 days. Children from households with the highest socio-economic status were less likely to be delayed in seeking care than those from households with the lowest socio-economic status (OR 0.37, 95 % CI 0.19–0.72). Children that first received treatment at home, mainly paracetamol, were more than twice more likely to be delayed for seeking care, than children who did not first receive treatment at home (OR 2.36, 95 % CI 1.45–3.83). Children living in a distance >3 km from the nearest health facility were almost two times more likely to be delayed in seeking care than those living closer to a facility but with non significant association once adjusted for other variables (OR 1.75, 95 % CI 0.88–3.47).ConclusionTo decrease malaria morbidity and mortality in Bata district, efforts should be addressed to reduce household delays in seeking care. It is necessary to provide free access to effective malaria diagnosis and treatment, to reinforce malaria management at community level through community health workers and drug sellers and to increase awareness on the severity of malaria, the importance of early diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
Highlights
Malaria remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children under 5 years of age in Equatorial Guinea
Descriptive statistics Of 428 caregivers who were interviewed about the last malaria episode in a child under their care, 62 only provided treatment at home, two provided no treatment at all and 28 did not remember the time that elapsed between the onset of the malaria symptoms and the time at which they sought treatment outside the home
Consistent with this, the present study found that Bata district caregivers who reported having a death in the family that was caused by malaria did not seek treatment for their child earlier than other caregivers
Summary
Malaria remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children under 5 years of age in Equatorial Guinea. Appropriate treatment can reduce progression of the illness to severe stages, reducing of mortal‐ ity, morbidity and onward transmission. The factors that contribute to malaria treatment delay have not been studied previously in Equatorial Guinea. The objective of this study was to assess the determinants of delay in seeking malaria treatment for children in the Bata district, in mainland Equatorial Guinea. And appropriate treatment reduce illness progression to. The risk of death from severe malaria is greatest within the first 24 h, but in most endemic countries, a long time passes before the patient receives care, delaying the start of appropriate anti-malarial treatment [7]. The World Health Organization established that early diagnosis and prompt treatment should occur within 24 h of the onset of malaria symptoms [8]. Most African countries are far from meeting this target [10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
