The use of non-prescribed anti-malarial drugs for the treatment of malaria in the Bolgatanga municipality, northern Ghana.
Malar J
; 12: 266, 2013 Jul 31.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-23902654
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The use of non-prescribed anti-malarial drugs can lead to treatment failure and development of drug-resistant parasites. This study investigated the use of non-prescribed anti-malarial drugs for the treatment of malaria in the Bolgatanga Municipality of northern Ghana.METHODS:
This was a cross-sectional survey of a random sample of 392 adults and children with episodes of malaria in the last four weeks prior to the study.RESULTS:
Majority of survey respondents 96.9% (380) knew the symptoms of malaria, 75% (294) knew the causes of malaria and 93.1% (365) were aware of mode of transmission of malaria. The use of non-prescribed anti-malarial drugs was 16.8% (95% CI 13.3-21.0) among the respondents. About 56% (95% CI 43.3-68.3) of the respondents who took non-prescribed anti-malaria drugs took non-artemisinin-based combination therapy (chloroquine, artemether, amodiaquine and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine). Respondents above five years of age were more likely to use non-prescribed anti-malarial drugs than those below five years of age [P < 0.001]; respondents who knew the right source of malaria treatment were less likely to use non-prescribed anti-malarial drugs than those who did not [P = 0.002]. Respondents using non-prescribed anti-malarials were influenced by people around them who used non-prescribed anti-malarials. Thus, these respondents were more likely to use non-prescribed anti-malarials than those who were not influenced [P = 0.004].CONCLUSIONS:
Respondents' knowledge of malaria treatment and the influence of people using non-prescribed anti-malarials are factors affecting use of non-prescribed anti-malarials. The study concludes that there is high use of non-prescribed anti-malarial drugs in the municipality and most of the non-prescribed anti-malarias were non-artemisinin-based combination therapy. The study recommends education of the general public and chemical sellers to reduce the use of non-prescribe anti-malaria drugs.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Uso de Medicamentos
/
Medicamentos sem Prescrição
/
Malária
/
Antimaláricos
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Qualitative_research
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adult
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Humans
/
Infant
País/Região como assunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Malar J
Assunto da revista:
MEDICINA TROPICAL
Ano de publicação:
2013
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Gana