ArticleMalariaWorld journal2025
Issues associated with malaria self-medication in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis.
Article in MalariaWorld journal, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Prevalence and determinants of asymptomatic malaria infection among schoolchildren in Africa: insights from a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Pooled it
- Young children with severe malaria in the Kapolowe health zone: an analysis of their parents' health-seeking behaviors and the challenges they face.Malaria journal · 2026Article
- High prevalence and emerging positive association of kelch13 R622I and HRP2-based RDT negativity in Plasmodium falciparum in northern Ethiopia.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
- Genomic Surveillance ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
Background: Malaria is a leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa, which is home to more than 90% of both cases and deaths globally. Self-medication with antimalarials is a common practice in the region, mainly due to high malaria endemicity, poverty, and difficulty in accessing services in formal settings. Malaria self-medication is implicated in the rising trend of antimalarial drug resistance which threatens decades of gains made in controlling the disease. Previous studies have somewhat itemised the reasons for malaria self-medication and the factors driving it but have not been able to estimate the overall prevalence of the practice and its dynamics over time regarding period, region and country. Materials and Methods: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), a systematic review of literature and meta-analysis on malaria self-medication in sub-Saharan Africa was conducted by searching PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus and Embase databases for relevant studies written in English and published up to 12th April, 2023, using a combination of different keywords derived from the main keywords ('malaria', 'self-medication' and 'sub-Saharan Africa'), broadening chances of retrieval by using Boolean operators 'OR' and 'AND'. Results: Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review, giving rise to a pooled prevalence of 55.3% for malaria self-medication. Factors driving self-medication with antimalarials in the region include low-income level, cheap availability of non-prescription drugs, large family size, lack of health insurance, difficulty in accessing healthcare in formal settings and previous satisfactory use of specific drugs. Conclusion: Due to the underlying factors driving the practice, health authorities and regulatory agencies in sub-Saharan Africa should step up actions by incorporating stakeholders in the informal drug market into a framework that advocates for an enlightened use of antimalarial drugs in the management of the disease.
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Registered trials
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