Treatment seeking for malaria in Morong, Bataan, The Philippines

Early diagnosis and treatment for malaria has a significant impact on the s everity of the disease and contributes to the interruption of its transmiss ion. Fourteen high-risk families and nine locality-matched families, with n o recent history of malaria, participated in an ethnographic study which ai med to document malaria episodes and to examine treatment paths for fevers locally termed malarya and perceived to be malaria. The study, conducted in Morong, Bataan, a low malaria endemic area in the Philippines, used a comb ination of qualitative and quantitative methods over a period of 12 months. Six treatment categories were identified; self-treatment with Western medi cines and clinic consultations had almost equal frequencies. Twenty-six tre atment paths were recognised which consisted of the six categories singly o r in combination. More than 80% of the undiagnosed malarya a illnesses were treated with antimalarials of inappropriate dosages. More adult men than w omen self-treated, but there was no significant difference by gender in ter ms of clinic consultation for illness. The majority of clinic consultations were made for young children. The implications for control are discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.