Plasmodium falciparum malaria in pregnancy: prevalence of peripheral parasitaemia, anaemia and malaria care-seeking behaviour among pregnant women attending two antenatal clinics in Edo State, Nigeria

SUMMARY: This study evaluated malaria care-seeking behaviour, as well as the prevalence of parasitaemia and anaemia among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics of two tertiary healthcare facilities in Edo State, Nigeria. Malaria was highly prevalent in the study group (20% by microscopy and estimated 25% by PCR), but parasitaemia and incidence decreased with increasing number of pregnancies. Although the level of education of the study participants was relatively high, antimalarial control measures during pregnancy were found to be poorly utilised by the women and malaria care-seeking was often delayed. A minority of the interviewed pregnant women said they had received sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine-based intermittent preventive therapy (IPT) during current pregnancy. Moreover, the use of inferior antimalaria treatment (e.g. chloroquine) was frequent. The majority of the pregnant women, mainly primigravidae, were anaemic. Efforts to improve antimalaria healthcare must be intensified, targeting pregnant women, particularly the primigravidae and secundigravidae and the healthcare provider

What Is the Role of Informal Healthcare Providers in Developing Countries? A Systematic Review

Informal health care providers (IPs) comprise a significant component of health systems in developing nations. Yet little is known about the most basic characteristics of performance, cost, quality, utilization, and size of this sector. To address this gap we conducted a comprehensive literature review on the informal health care sector in developing countries. We searched for studies published since 2000 through electronic databases PubMed, Google Scholar, and relevant grey literature from The New York Academy of Medicine, The World Bank, The Center for Global Development, USAID, SHOPS (formerly PSP-One), The World Health Organization, DFID, Human Resources for Health Global Resource Center. In total, 334 articles were retrieved, and 122 met inclusion criteria and chosen for data abstraction. Results indicate that IPs make up a significant portion of the healthcare sector globally, with almost half of studies (48%) from Sub-Saharan Africa. Utilization estimates from 24 studies in the literature of IP for healthcare services ranged from 9% to 90% of all healthcare interactions, depending on the country, the disease in question, and methods of measurement. IPs operate in a variety of health areas, although baseline information on quality is notably incomplete and poor quality of care is generally assumed. There was a wide variation in how quality of care is measured. The review found that IPs reported inadequate drug provision, poor adherence to clinical national guidelines, and that there were gaps in knowledge and provider practice; however, studies also found that the formal sector also reported poor provider practices. Reasons for using IPs included convenience, affordability, and social and cultural effects. Recommendations from the literature amount to a call for more engagement with the IP sector. IPs are a large component of nearly all developing country health systems. Research and policies of engagement are needed