Adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures among residents in selected townships, Yangon Region, Myanmar: a community-based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: To fight the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, many countries have implemented various mitigation measures to contain the spread of the disease. By engaging with health service providers, the community's participation in adherence to preventive measures is certainly required in the implementation of COVID-19 mitigation strategies. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the level of adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures and its associated factors among the residents, Yangon Region, Myanmar. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 636 residents in Yangon Region, Myanmar, from October to December 2021. A multistage non-probability sampling method, purposively selected for three townships in Yangon Region and convenience sampling for 212 participants from each township, was applied and the data were collected by face-to-face interviews using structured and pretested questionnaires. Data were entered, coded, and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 25.0. Simple and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed to identify the significant variables of adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures. RESULTS: As a level of adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures, the proportion of residents who had good adherence was 39.3% (95% CI 35.5-43.2%), moderate adherence was 37.6% (95% CI 33.8-41.5%), and poor adherence was 23.1% (95% CI 19.9-26.6%). The age group of 31-40 years (AOR: 3.13, 95% CI 1.62-6.05), 30 years and younger (AOR: 3.22, 95% CI 1.75-5.92), Burmese ethnicity (AOR: 2.52, 95% CI 1.44-4.39), own business (AOR: 3.19, 95% CI 1.15-8.87), high school education level and below (AOR: 1.64, 95% CI 1.02-2.69), less than 280.90 USD of monthly family income (AOR: 1.51, 95% CI 1.01-2.29), low knowledge about COVID-19 (AOR: 1.90, 95% CI 1.26-2.88) were significantly associated with poor adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, nearly one-fourth of the residents were experiencing poor adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures. Therefore, building up the risk communication through the community using widely used mainstream media, the continuation of disease surveillance and announcement of updated information or advice for the public to increase awareness towards COVID-19, and enforcement to follow the recommended directions and regulations of health institutions are vital to consider for improving the adherence to preventive measures against COVID-19 among the residents.

Improving the quality of paediatric malaria diagnosis and treatment by rural providers in Myanmar: an evaluation of a training and support intervention.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluates the effectiveness of a training programme for improving the diagnostic and treatment quality of the most complex service offered by Sun Primary Health (SPH) providers, paediatric malaria. The study further assesses whether any quality improvements were sustained over the following 12 months. METHODS: The study took place in 13 townships in central Myanmar between January 2011 and October 2012. A total of 251 community health workers were recruited and trained in the provision of paediatric and adult malaria diagnosis and treatment; 197 were surveyed in all three rounds: baseline, 6 and 12 months. Townships were selected based on a lack of alterative sources of medical care, averaging 20 km from government or private professional health care treatment facilities. Seventy percent of recruits were assistant nurse midwives or had other basic health training; the rest had no health training experience. Recruits were evaluated on their ability to properly diagnosis and treat a simulated 5-year-old patient using a previously validated method known as Observed Simulated Patient. A trained observer scored SPH providers on a scale of 1-100, based on WHO and Myanmar MOH established best practices. During a pilot test, 20 established private physicians operating in malaria-endemic areas of Myanmar scored an average of 70/100. RESULTS: Average quality scores of newly recruited SPH providers prior to training (baseline) were 12/100. Six months after training, average quality scores were 48/100. This increase was statistically significant (p < 0.001). At 12 months after training, providers were retested and average quality scores were 45/100 (R3-R1, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The SPH training programme was able to improve the quality of paediatric malaria care significantly, and to maintain that improvement over time. Quality of care remains lower than that of trained physicians; however, SPH providers operate in rural areas where no trained physicians operate. More research is needed to establish acceptable and achievable levels of quality for community health workers in rural communities, especially when there are no other care options.

Improving uptake and use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests in the context of artemisinin drug resistance containment in eastern Myanmar: an evaluation of incentive schemes among informal private healthcare providers.

BACKGROUND: As efforts to contain artemisinin resistance and eliminate Plasmodium falciparum intensify, the accurate diagnosis and prompt effective treatment of malaria are increasingly needed in Myanmar and the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS). Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) have been shown to be safe, feasible, and effective at promoting appropriate treatment for suspected malaria, which are of particular importance to drug resistance containment. The informal private sector is often the first point of care for fever cases in malaria endemic areas across Myanmar and the GMS, but there is little published information about informal private provider practices, quality of service provision, or potential to contribute to malaria control and elimination efforts. This study tested different incentives to increase RDT use and improve the quality of care among informal private healthcare providers in Myanmar. METHODS: The study randomized six townships in the Mon and Shan states of rural Myanmar into three intervention arms: 1) RDT price subsidies, 2) price subsidies with product-related financial incentives, and 3) price subsidies with intensified information, education and counselling (IEC). The study assessed the uptake of RDT use in the communities by cross-sectional surveys of 3,150 households at baseline and six months post-intervention (6,400 households total, 832 fever cases). The study also used mystery clients among 171 providers to assess quality of service provision across intervention arms. RESULTS: The pilot intervention trained over 600 informal private healthcare providers. The study found a price subsidy with intensified IEC, resulted in the highest uptake of RDTs in the community, as compared to subsidies alone or merchandise-related financial incentives. Moreover, intensified IEC led to improvements in the quality of care, with mystery client surveys showing almost double the number of correct treatment following diagnostic test results as compared to a simple subsidy. CONCLUSIONS: Results show that training and quality supervision of informal private healthcare providers can result in improved demand for, and appropriate use of RDTs in drug resistance containment areas in eastern Myanmar. Future studies should assess the sustainability of such interventions and the scale and level of intensity required over time as public sector service provision expands.

Improving malaria knowledge and practices in rural Myanmar through a village health worker intervention: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Since 2008 the Sun Primary Health (SPH) franchise programme has networked and branded community health workers in rural Myanmar to provide high quality malaria information and treatment. The purpose of this paper is to compare the malaria knowledge level and health practices of individuals in SPH intervention areas to individuals without SPH intervention METHODS: This study uses data from a cross-sectional household survey of 1,040 individuals living in eight rural townships to compare the knowledge level of individuals in SPH intervention areas to individuals without SPH intervention. RESULTS: This study found that the presence of a SPH provider in the community is associated with increased malaria knowledge and higher likelihood of going to trained providers for fevers. Furthermore, the study found a dose-response, where the longer the duration of the programme in a community, the greater the community knowledge level. CONCLUSION: The study suggests that community health workers might have significant impact on malaria-related mortality and morbidity in rural Myanmar.