Effectiveness of a community intervention on malaria in rural Tanzania: a randomised controlled trial
Background - Malaria infections are a major public health problem in Africa and prompt treatment is one way of controlling the disease and saving lives. - Methods - This cluster-randomised controlled community intervention conducted in 2003-2005 aimed at improving early malaria case management in un...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
December 2010
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| In: |
African health sciences
Year: 2010, Volume: 10, Issue: 4, Pages: 332-340 |
| ISSN: | 1729-0503 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3052812/
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| Author Notes: | Eriksen J, Mujinja P, Warsame M, Nsimba S, Kouyaté B, Gustafsson LL, Jahn A, Müller O, Sauerborn R, Tomson G |
| Summary: | Background - Malaria infections are a major public health problem in Africa and prompt treatment is one way of controlling the disease and saving lives. - Methods - This cluster-randomised controlled community intervention conducted in 2003-2005 aimed at improving early malaria case management in under five children. Health workers were trained to train community-based women groups in recognizing malaria symptoms, providing first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria and referring severe cases. Evaluation was through a pre- (2004) and a post-intervention survey (2005). Anaemia prevalence was the primary outcome. - Results - 1715 children aged 6-59 months were included in the pre-intervention survey and 2169 in the post-intervention survey. The prevalence of anaemia decreased significantly from 37% [95% CI 34.7-39.3] to 0.5% [95% CI 0.2-0.7] after the intervention (p<0.001); slightly more in the intervention (from 43.9% to 0.8%) than in the control (30.8% to 0.17%) group (p=0.038). Fever and reported fever decreased significantly and the mean body weight of the children increased significantly over the study period in both control and intervention groups. - Conclusion - The decrease in anaemia was significantly associated with the intervention, whereas the fever and body weight trends might be explained by other malaria control activities or seasonal/climate effects in the area. The community intervention was shown to be feasible in the study context. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 27.03.2023 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1729-0503 |