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Presumptive self-diagnosis of malaria and other febrile illnesses in Sierra Leone.

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Ansumana, Rashid, Jacobsen, Kathryn H, Gbakima, Aiah Albert, Hodges, Mary Hamer, Lamin, Joseph Morrison, Leski, Tomasz Andrzej, Malanoski, Anthony Peter, Lin, Baochuan, Bockarie, Moses and Stenger, David Andrew (2013) 'Presumptive self-diagnosis of malaria and other febrile illnesses in Sierra Leone.'. The Pan African Medical Journal, Vol 15, p. 34.

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Abstract

INTRODUCTION

The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of self-diagnosis of malaria and other febrile illnesses in Bo, Sierra Leone.

METHODS

All households in two neighboring sections of Bo were invited to participate in a cross-sectional survey.

RESULTS

A total of 882 households (an 85% participation rate) that were home to 5410 individuals participated in the study. Of the 910 individuals reported to have had what the household considered to be malaria in the past month, only 41% were diagnosed by a healthcare professional or a laboratory test. Of the 1402 individuals reported to have had any type of febrile illness within the past six months, only 34% had sought a clinical or laboratory diagnosis. Self-diagnosis of influenza, yellow fever, typhoid, and pneumonia was also common.

CONCLUSION

Self-diagnosis and presumptive treatment with antimalarial drugs and other antibiotic medications that are readily available without a prescription may compromise health outcomes for febrile adults and children.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	WA Public Health > WA 30 Socioeconomic factors in public health (General) WA Public Health > Health Problems of Special Population Groups > WA 395 Health in developing countries WB Practice of Medicine > Diagnosis > General Diagnosis > WB 141 General works WC Communicable Diseases > Tropical and Parasitic Diseases > WC 750 Malaria
Faculty: Department:	Biological Sciences > Department of Tropical Disease Biology
Digital Object Identifer (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.2013.15.34.2291
Depositing User:	Mary Creegan
Date Deposited:	28 Nov 2014 15:35
Last Modified:	06 Feb 2018 13:07
URI:	https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/4560

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