Person:

Cohen, Jessica

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the impact – on diagnosis and treatment of malaria – of introducing rapid diagnostic tests to drug shops in eastern Uganda. Methods: Overall, 2193 households in 79 study villages with at least one licensed drug shop were enrolled and monitored for 12 months. After 3 months of monitoring, drug shop vendors in 67 villages randomly selected for the intervention were offered training in the use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests and – if trained – offered access to such tests at a subsidized price. The remaining 12 study villages served as controls. A difference-in-differences regression model was used to estimate the impact of the intervention. Findings: Vendors from 92 drug shops successfully completed training and 50 actively stocked and performed the rapid tests. Over 9 months, trained vendors did an average of 146 tests per shop. Households reported 22 697 episodes of febrile illness. The availability of rapid tests at local drug shops significantly increased the probability of any febrile illness being tested for malaria by 23.15% (P = 0.015) and being treated with an antimalarial drug by 8.84% (P = 0.056). The probability that artemisinin combination therapy was bought increased by a statistically insignificant 5.48% (P = 0.574). Conclusion: In our study area, testing for malaria was increased by training drug shop vendors in the use of rapid tests and providing them access to such tests at a subsidized price. Additional interventions may be needed to achieve a higher coverage of testing and a higher rate of appropriate responses to test results.

Background: Many patients with malaria-like symptoms seek treatment in private medicine retail outlets (PMR) that distribute malaria medicines but do not traditionally provide diagnostic services, potentially leading to overtreatment with antimalarial drugs. To achieve universal access to prompt parasite-based diagnosis, many malaria-endemic countries are considering scaling up malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) in these outlets, an intervention that may require legislative changes and major investments in supporting programs and infrastructures. This review identifies studies that introduced malaria RDTs in PMRs and examines study outcomes and success factors to inform scale up decisions. Methods: Published and unpublished studies that introduced malaria RDTs in PMRs were systematically identified and reviewed. Literature published before November 2016 was searched in six electronic databases, and unpublished studies were identified through personal contacts and stakeholder meetings. Outcomes were extracted from publications or provided by principal investigators. Results: Six published and six unpublished studies were found. Most studies took place in sub-Saharan Africa and were small-scale pilots of RDT introduction in drug shops or pharmacies. None of the studies assessed large-scale implementation in PMRs. RDT uptake varied widely from 8%-100%. Provision of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) for patients testing positive ranged from 30%-99%, and was more than 85% in five studies. Of those testing negative, provision of antimalarials varied from 2%-83% and was less than 20% in eight studies. Longer provider training, lower RDT retail prices and frequent supervision appeared to have a positive effect on RDT uptake and provider adherence to test results. Performance of RDTs by PMR vendors was generally good, but disposal of medical waste and referral of patients to public facilities were common challenges. Conclusions: Expanding services of PMRs to include malaria diagnostic services may hold great promise to improve malaria case management and curb overtreatment with antimalarials. However, doing so will require careful planning, investment and additional research to develop and sustain effective training, supervision, waste-management, referral and surveillance programs beyond the public sector.

Background: In Uganda, as in most other malaria-endemic countries, presumptive treatment for malaria based on symptoms without a diagnostic blood test is still very common. While diagnostic testing in public sector facilities is increasing, many people in Uganda who suspect malaria visit private sector outlets to purchase medications. Increasing the availability and uptake of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for malaria in private outlets could help increase diagnostic testing for malaria but raises questions about the patient demand for and valuation of testing that are less critical for public sector introduction. Methods: In preparation for a behaviour change campaign to encourage and sustain the demand for RDTs in drug shops, eight focus group discussions with a total of 84 community members were conducted in six districts across Uganda’s Eastern Region in November-December 2011. Focus groups explored incentives and barriers to seeking diagnosis for malaria, how people react to test results and why, and what can be done to increase the willingness to pay for RDTs. Results: Overall, participants were very familiar with malaria diagnostic testing and understood its importance, yet when faced with limited financial resources, patients preferred to spend their money on medication and sought testing only when presumptive treatment proved ineffective. While side effects did seem to be a concern, participants did not mention other potential costs of taking unnecessary or ineffective medications, such as money wasted on excess drugs or delays in resolution of symptoms. Very few individuals were familiar with RDTs. Conclusion: In order to boost demand, these results suggest that private sector RDTs will have to be made convenient and affordable and that targeted behaviour change campaigns should strive to increase the perceived value of diagnosis.