Determinants of malaria treatment delay in northwestern zone of Tigray region, Northern Ethiopia, 2018

• Published in: Malaria Journal
• Main Authors: Afewerki Tesfahunegn, Dawit Zenebe, Alefech Addisu
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2019
• Subjects: Malaria; Malaria treatment; Malaria treatment delay; Health-seeking for malaria treatment; Northwestern zone of Tigray; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-019-2992-7; https://doaj.org/article/2ae68be11e1d4ae589b317458c4aa51b

Abstract Background Globally malaria affects 212 million people and causes 438,000 deaths each year. Ensuring early and timely treatment of malaria is important for preventing and controlling of life-threatening complications and further transmission. Even though malaria treatment is widely available in Ethiopia, 47–84% of patients present after 24 h of onset of first symptoms. This study assessed the determinants of delay for malaria treatment in Tigray, Ethiopia. Methods A health facility-based case–control study design in northwestern zone of Tigray was conducted from September 2018 to January 2019. All the study participants enrolled were confirmed malaria patients (by microscopy or rapid diagnostic test) and who sought treatment. Cases were defined as malaria patients who sought treatment after 24 h of the onset of the first symptom and control were those who sought treatment within 24 h onset of symptom. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the determinants of malaria treatment delay. Data were entered into EpiInfo 7.0 and exported to SPSS 20.0 for analysis. Binary logistic regression was computed to identify predictors of delay for malaria treatment. Results In total 161 cases and 161 controls were identified. Being residents of Tahtay Adyabo district (AOR = 2.84, 95% CI 1.29–6.27), having no formal education (AOR = 2.39, 95% CI 1.09–5.22), the decisions to seek health care being taken by the patient (AOR = 2.38 95% CI 1.09–5.2), the decisions to seek health care being taken by their fathers (AOR = 2.52, 95% CI 1.13–5.62), and having good knowledge about malaria symptoms (AOR = 2.02, 95% CI 1.21–3.39) were found determinants of delay for malaria treatment. Conclusion In this study, delays in obtaining treatment for malaria were associated with having no formal education, knowing about the signs and symptoms of malaria, living in Tahtay Adyabo district, and decision-making on seeking malaria treatment. The results suggests having treatment commenced at sites closer to the community and ...