What happens when the test is negative: Evaluating adherence to malaria diagnostic algorithms among under-five children in the Northern zone of Volta Region, Ghana
What happens when the test is negative: Evaluating adherence to malaria diagnostic algorithms among under-five children in the Northern zone of Volta Region, Ghana
Gmanyami Jonathan Mawutor,Ameko Asiwome,3 Authors,Ansah Evelyn Korkor
TLDR
The proportion of under-five children who received diagnosis of malaria from clinicians even when the test was negative for malaria was determined, to determine the proportion of patients given antimalarial drugs without confirmation of malaria.
Abstract
Background: In Ghana, the Ministry of Health (MOH-GH) have recommended that every suspected malaria case is tested and treatment given should be based on test results. However, several patients are still given antimalarial drugs without confirmation of malaria. The objective of this study was to determine the proportion of under-five children who received diagnosis of malaria from clinicians even when the test was negative for malaria.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was used which involved two randomly selected government-owned hospitals in the Northern zone of Volta region in Ghana. For each hospital, 439 under-five children participated in the study. Adherence to the malaria test results was based on the mRDT and expert microscopy test results in the selected hospitals.