Unlicensed medical practitioners in tribal dominated rural areas of central India: bottleneck in malaria elimination
Abstract Background In India, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) deliver services for diagnosis and treatment of malaria, although unlicensed medical practitioners (UMPs) (informal health providers) are most preferred in communities. A cross sectional survey was conducted to: (i) assess know...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:2799d9bcf63c43ca9c6538fbf7e48c48 2023-05-15T15:11:09+02:00 Unlicensed medical practitioners in tribal dominated rural areas of central India: bottleneck in malaria elimination Mrigendra Pal Singh Sunil Kumar Chand Kalyan Brata Saha Neetiraj Singh Ramesh C. Dhiman Lora L. Sabin 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-020-3109-z https://doaj.org/article/2799d9bcf63c43ca9c6538fbf7e48c48 EN eng BMC https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-020-3109-z https://doaj.org/toc/1475-2875 doi:10.1186/s12936-020-3109-z 1475-2875 https://doaj.org/article/2799d9bcf63c43ca9c6538fbf7e48c48 Malaria Journal, Vol 19, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2020) Irrational use of antimalarial drugs Monotherapy of artemisinin Plasmodium falciparum Tribal malaria Unlicensed medical practitioner Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-020-3109-z 2022-12-31T07:25:10Z Abstract Background In India, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) deliver services for diagnosis and treatment of malaria, although unlicensed medical practitioners (UMPs) (informal health providers) are most preferred in communities. A cross sectional survey was conducted to: (i) assess knowledge and treatment-seeking practices in the community, and (ii) explore the diagnosis and treatment practices related to malaria of UMPs working in rural and tribal-dominated high malaria endemic areas of central India, and whether they adhere to the national guidelines. Methods A multi-stage sampling method and survey technique was adopted. Heads of the households and UMPs were interviewed using a structured interview schedule to assess knowledge and malaria treatment practices. Results Knowledge regarding malaria symptoms was generally accurate, but misconceptions emerged related to malaria transmission and mosquito breeding places. Modern preventive measures were poorly accessed by the households. UMPs were the most preferred health providers (49%) and the first choice in households for seeking treatment. UMPs typically lacked knowledge of the names of malaria parasite species and species-specific diagnosis and treatment. Further, irrational use of anti-malarial drugs was common. Conclusions UMPs were the most preferred type of health care providers in rural communities where health infrastructure is poor. The study suggests enhancing training of UMPs on national guidelines for malaria diagnosis and treatment to strengthen their ability to contribute to achievement of India’s malaria elimination goals. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Malaria Journal 19 1 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Irrational use of antimalarial drugs Monotherapy of artemisinin Plasmodium falciparum Tribal malaria Unlicensed medical practitioner Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
spellingShingle |
Irrational use of antimalarial drugs Monotherapy of artemisinin Plasmodium falciparum Tribal malaria Unlicensed medical practitioner Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Mrigendra Pal Singh Sunil Kumar Chand Kalyan Brata Saha Neetiraj Singh Ramesh C. Dhiman Lora L. Sabin Unlicensed medical practitioners in tribal dominated rural areas of central India: bottleneck in malaria elimination |
topic_facet |
Irrational use of antimalarial drugs Monotherapy of artemisinin Plasmodium falciparum Tribal malaria Unlicensed medical practitioner Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
description |
Abstract Background In India, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) deliver services for diagnosis and treatment of malaria, although unlicensed medical practitioners (UMPs) (informal health providers) are most preferred in communities. A cross sectional survey was conducted to: (i) assess knowledge and treatment-seeking practices in the community, and (ii) explore the diagnosis and treatment practices related to malaria of UMPs working in rural and tribal-dominated high malaria endemic areas of central India, and whether they adhere to the national guidelines. Methods A multi-stage sampling method and survey technique was adopted. Heads of the households and UMPs were interviewed using a structured interview schedule to assess knowledge and malaria treatment practices. Results Knowledge regarding malaria symptoms was generally accurate, but misconceptions emerged related to malaria transmission and mosquito breeding places. Modern preventive measures were poorly accessed by the households. UMPs were the most preferred health providers (49%) and the first choice in households for seeking treatment. UMPs typically lacked knowledge of the names of malaria parasite species and species-specific diagnosis and treatment. Further, irrational use of anti-malarial drugs was common. Conclusions UMPs were the most preferred type of health care providers in rural communities where health infrastructure is poor. The study suggests enhancing training of UMPs on national guidelines for malaria diagnosis and treatment to strengthen their ability to contribute to achievement of India’s malaria elimination goals. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mrigendra Pal Singh Sunil Kumar Chand Kalyan Brata Saha Neetiraj Singh Ramesh C. Dhiman Lora L. Sabin |
author_facet |
Mrigendra Pal Singh Sunil Kumar Chand Kalyan Brata Saha Neetiraj Singh Ramesh C. Dhiman Lora L. Sabin |
author_sort |
Mrigendra Pal Singh |
title |
Unlicensed medical practitioners in tribal dominated rural areas of central India: bottleneck in malaria elimination |
title_short |
Unlicensed medical practitioners in tribal dominated rural areas of central India: bottleneck in malaria elimination |
title_full |
Unlicensed medical practitioners in tribal dominated rural areas of central India: bottleneck in malaria elimination |
title_fullStr |
Unlicensed medical practitioners in tribal dominated rural areas of central India: bottleneck in malaria elimination |
title_full_unstemmed |
Unlicensed medical practitioners in tribal dominated rural areas of central India: bottleneck in malaria elimination |
title_sort |
unlicensed medical practitioners in tribal dominated rural areas of central india: bottleneck in malaria elimination |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-020-3109-z https://doaj.org/article/2799d9bcf63c43ca9c6538fbf7e48c48 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Malaria Journal, Vol 19, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-020-3109-z https://doaj.org/toc/1475-2875 doi:10.1186/s12936-020-3109-z 1475-2875 https://doaj.org/article/2799d9bcf63c43ca9c6538fbf7e48c48 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-020-3109-z |
container_title |
Malaria Journal |
container_volume |
19 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766342055748960256 |