Treatment-seeking Paths in the Management of Severe Malaria in Children under 15 Years of Age Treated in Reference Hospitals of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

Tropical Medicine and Health
Félicien Ilunga-IlungaMichèle Dramaix

Abstract

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), few studies have focused on treatment-seeking paths selected by caretakers for the management of severe childhood malaria in an urban environment. The present study aims at describing the treatment-seeking paths according to the characteristics of households, as well as the subsequent impact on pre-hospitalisation delay and malarial fatality and on the main syndromes associated with severe childhood malaria. This descriptive study included data collected at nine hospitals in Kinshasa between January and November 2011. A total of 1,350 children, under 15 years of age and hospitalised for severe malaria, were included in the study. Regarding the management of malaria, 31.5% of households went directly to the health centre or hospital while 68.5% opted for self-medication, church and/or traditional healing therapy. The most frequent first-line option was self-medication, adopted by more than 61.5% of households. Nevertheless, rational self-medication using antimalarial drugs recommended by the WHO (artemisinin-based combinations) was reported for only 5.5% of children. Only 12.5% of households combined 2 or 3 traditional options. The following criteria influenced the choice of a modern vs...Continue Reading

References

Sep 28, 2005·Tropical Medicine & International Health : TM & IH·Eve WorrallKara Hanson
Mar 2, 2006·International Journal of Epidemiology·Alexander K RoweRichard W Steketee
Dec 11, 2007·Santé publique : revue multidisciplinaire pour la recherche et l'action·David HouétoAlain Deccache
Mar 28, 2008·Tropical Medicine & International Health : TM & IH·Arantxa Roca-FeltrerJoanna R M Armstrong Schellenberg
May 14, 2010·Santé : cahiers d'étude et de recherches francophones·Ibrahima SyGuéladio Cisse

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Citations

Jan 13, 2016·Malaria Journal·Katherine E BattlePeter W Gething
May 6, 2016·Frontiers in Public Health·Yinjun Zhao, Shuangge Ma
Oct 11, 2017·The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·Arthur MpimbazaCharles Karamagi
Jul 15, 2020·BMC Infectious Diseases·Arthur MpimbazaRobert W Snow

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Stata TM
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