Malaria

Care for Malaria

Caregivers appropriately manage care for signs and symptoms of Malaria for children

Prompt diagnosis and appropriate care for malaria could prevent over 300,000 deaths of children under five each year.1 Fact Sheet: World Malaria Report 2015
World Health Organization
2015 This is an occasional, often seasonal, behavior that needs to be practiced within 24 to 48 hours of the onset of suspected symptoms.

Key Points from Global Research

  • Quality provider care, accurate diagnosis, treatment and counseling ensure caregivers respond better and return as needed because they feel respected and have confidence in a provider’s ability to help their children.
  • Easy and continual access to qualified providers and medicines encourages caregivers to seek care within 24 hours of a fever, instead of waiting until their child’s condition worsens.
  • Support from community members assures that caregivers can seek care and fully complete prescribed treatments.

Behavior Profile Sample: Care for Malaria

A Behavior Profile is a summary analysis of each behavior. This sample draws from global evidence and illustrates the result of using the Create Behavior Profiles Tool to analyze factors, supporting actors and strategies and to ensure logical pathways exist between strategies proposed and factors related to the practice of the behavior. This sample may be used as a starting point or reference for creating Behavior Profiles. 

Create Behavior Profiles

Improve maternal and child survival
Caregivers appropriately manage care for signs and symptoms of Malaria for children
Among children under age five with fever in the two weeks preceding the survey, percentage for whom advice or treatment was sought from a health facility or provider

Behavior Analysis

Strategy

STEPS

What steps are needed to practice this behavior?
  1. Recognize signs and symptoms of malaria
  2. Decide to seek care
  3. Mobilize transport, resources and logistics to get to a qualified provider who can test properly for malaria
  4. Obtain appropriate diagnosis from a qualified provider
  5. Obtain treatment based on diagnosis of the provider
  6. Adhere to full course of prescribed treatment

Click on any box
        to see the pathwaysA pathway illustrates how elements in the Behavior Profile are linked. When read from right to left, a pathway highlights how strategies are expected to address the factors to enable adoption of the Accelerator Behavior.  
        of the behavior.

FACTORS

What factors may prevent or support practice of this behavior? These should be analyzed for each country context.
Structural
Accessibility: Clinics are often far from homes and the journey to one is only undertaken when local options are exhausted
Accessibility: There is a lack of stock and regulation of malaria diagnostic and treatment supplies in the public and private sector
Service Provider Competencies: Caregivers perceive quality of care received as inadequate as providers often make diagnosis based on symptoms instead of proper diagnostics
Service Provider Competencies: Caregivers are often treated poorly by providers and do not want to seek their help
Social
Norms: Childhood illness is frequent and normalized so many delay seeking care until the illness is severe
Internal
Attitudes and Beliefs: Caregivers often prefer to seek care from unqualified providers who are closer and cheaper
Knowledge: Many caregivers do not understand that while malaria is common, careseeking and treatment within the first 24 hours can help prevent death and other serious complications of the illness (convulsions, not eating, lethargy and vomiting)

SUPPORTING ACTORS AND ACTIONS

Who must support the practice of this behavior?
Institutional
Logistics Personnel: Ensure that malaria diagnostic and treatment supplies are available
Providers: Use all interactions with caregivers to counsel on malaria, treatment, danger signs and when to seek care
Providers: (Public and Private) treat caregivers respectfully
Providers: Correctly diagnose malaria using rapid diagnostic tests or slide microscopy and correctly prescribe anti-malarials only for positive results

POSSIBLE PROGRAM STRATEGIES

How might we focus our efforts based on this analysis?
Enabling Environment
Financing: Establish transportation systems and transport within communities
Policies and Governance: Establish and enforce clear malaria drug policies
Systems, Products and Services
Supply Chain: Set up effective supply chain and quality control systems to public and private sectors to ensure diagnostic tools and treatment for other febrile illnesses are available
Quality Improvement: Train providers to adhere to test results and ensure treatment as per national guidelines, and explain protocol to caregivers
Demand and Use
Communication: Develop essential materials package, e.g. adherence reminders, symptoms, danger signs, etc. Explore distribution during ANC visits and immunization
Collective Engagement: Conduct community mobilization activities for caregiver and caregiver support systems around malaria care seeking, diagnosis, treatment and counseling
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Global Status of Accelerator Behavior

Among children under age five with fever in the two weeks preceding the survey, percentage for whom advice or treatment was sought from a health facility or provider

Demographic and Health Survey, Malaria Indicator Survey