Level of Antimalarial Drug Utilization Amongst Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff of University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

Malaria is still a threat to public health till date in all malaria endemic regions of the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) African Region continues to carry a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden with malaria being the 2^nd leading cause of death from infectious diseases in Africa, after HIV/AIDS. Assessment of drug use patterns is becoming increasingly necessary toward promoting rational use of drugs globally. Misuse of drugs occurs in all countries and irrational practices are especially common and costly in developing countries. The study investigated the level of antimalarial drug utilization amongst Teaching and non-Teaching staff of University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State. It was a cross sectional questionnaire based study. The study assessed the knowledge, attitude and malaria preventive practices of three hundred and sixty seven (367) respondents gotten from amongst the Teaching and Non-Teaching staff of the University. SPSS version 20 was used for the analysis. Chi squared test was used to assess relationships. The study revealed that three hundred and forty four (93.7%) of the Staff frequently treated malaria with Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) while monotherapy stood at 3.6%. Most of the Staff also had a good knowledge of symptoms of malaria and got treatment from authorized sources such as hospitals and pharmacies. Eighty six (23.4%) of the Staff do not complete the treatment regimen. The major preventive practices prevalent among the study group are covering home windows with net (91%) and spraying of insecticides (86.7%). ACTs are the most predominantly used antimalarial amongst staffers of the University. If drug utilization pattern of anti-malarial drugs is however not monitored, there is the possibility of early emergence of resistance to the highly effective anti-malarial drugs presently in use.