ArticleMalaria journal2017
School-based diagnosis and treatment of malaria by teachers using rapid diagnostic tests and artemisinin-based combination therapy: experiences and perceptions of users and implementers of the Learner Treatment Kit, southern Malawi.
Article in Malaria journal, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Targeted Testing and Treatment To Reduce Human Malaria Transmission in High-Risk Populations: A Systematic Review.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of malaria prevention education on bed net utilization, incidence of malaria and treatment seeking among school-aged children in Southern Ethiopia; cluster randomized controlled trial.BMC infectious diseases · 2023Trial
- Impact of school-based malaria case management on school attendance, health and education outcomes: a cluster randomised trial in southern Malawi.BMJ global health · 2020Trial
- Repeated biannual cross-sectional surveys in primary schools set baseline seasonal and spatial surveillance for malaria and schistosomiasis in the Shire Valley Transformation Programme (SVTP), Malawi.Current research in parasitology & vector-borne diseases · 2026Article
- Barriers to accessing malaria treatment amongst school-age children in rural Malawi.Malaria journal · 2023Article
- Impact of school-based malaria intervention on primary school teachers' time in Malawi: evidence from a time and motion study.Malaria journal · 2022Article
- Malawi ICEMR Malaria Research: Interactions and Results Influencing Health Policies and Practices.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2022Article
- Malaria risk factors in northern Namibia: The importance of occupation, age and mobility in characterizing high-risk populations.PloS one · 2021Article
- Social innovation in diagnostics: three case studies.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2020Review
- School-aged children based seasonal malaria chemoprevention using artesunate-amodiaquine in Mali.Parasite epidemiology and control · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTraining teachers to diagnose uncomplicated malaria using malaria rapid diagnostic tests and treat with artemisinin-based combination therapy has the potential to improve the access of primary school children (6-14 years) to prompt and efficient treatment for malaria, but little is known about the acceptability of such an intervention. This qualitative study explored experiences and perceptions of users and implementers of a programme of school-based malaria case management via a first-aid kit-the Learner Treatment Kit (LTK)-implemented as part of a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Zomba district, Malawi.
methodsFrom 29 primary schools where teachers were trained to test and treat school children for malaria using the LTK, six schools were purposively selected on the basis of relative intervention usage (low, medium or high); school size and geographical location. In total eight focus group discussions were held with school children, parents and guardians, and teachers; and 20 in-depth interviews were conducted with key stakeholders at the school, district and national levels. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed using a thematic analysis approach.
resultsThe LTK was widely perceived by respondents to be a worthwhile intervention, with the opinion that trained teachers were trusted providers of malaria testing and treatment to school children. Benefits of the programme included a perception of improved access to malaria treatment for school children; decreased school absenteeism; and that the programme supported broader national health and education policies. Potential barriers to successful implementation expressed included increased teacher workloads, a feeling of inadequate supervision from health workers, lack of incentives and concerns for the sustainability of the programme regarding the supply of drugs and commodities.
conclusionTraining teachers to test for and treat uncomplicated malaria in schools was well received by both users and implementers alike, and was perceived by the majority of stakeholders to be a valuable programme. Factors raised as critical to the success of such a programme included ensuring an effective supervisory system, a reliable supply chain, and the training of greater numbers of teachers per school to manage high consultation numbers, especially during the peak malaria transmission season.
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