TREATMENT OF MALARIA FEVER EPISODES AMONG CHILDREN IN MALAWI - RESULTS OF A KAP SURVEY

Caretakers of children (< 10 years of age) were questioned about manag ement of pediatric malarial fever episodes in a nation-wide knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey conducted in Malawi. A total of 1,531 households in 30 randomly selected clusters of 51 households each wer e sampled and interviewed. Overall 557 caretakers reported a fever in their child in the previous 2 weeks; 43 % judged the illness as severe . Fifty-two percent of caretakers brought their febrile children to cl inic. Clinic attendance was positively correlated with young age of th e child (< 4 years), severe illness, and higher socioeconomic status. Seventy-four percent of clinic attenders gave their child an antimalar ial; in contrast, only 42 % of those not attending clinic gave an anti malarial. Optimal therapy (administration of an antimalarial promptly and at the proper dosage) was received by only 7 % of febrile children . Children taken to clinic were twice as likely to receive optimal the rapy as were non-attenders. Identification of critical points in the o ptimal therapy algorithm and characteristics of caretakers linked with sub-optimal therapy may help malaria control programs target specific groups and health education messages to improve treatment of malaria fever episodes.