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Acceptability of malaria rapid diagnostic tests administered by village health workers in Pangani District, North eastern Tanzania

Overview of attention for article published in Malaria Journal, August 2016
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  • Good Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (71st percentile)
  • Good Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (68th percentile)

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8 X users

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Title
Acceptability of malaria rapid diagnostic tests administered by village health workers in Pangani District, North eastern Tanzania
Published in
Malaria Journal, August 2016
DOI 10.1186/s12936-016-1495-z
Pubmed ID
Authors

Adiel K. Mushi, Julius J. Massaga, Celine I. Mandara, Godfrey M. Mubyazi, Filbert Francis, Mathias Kamugisha, Jenesta Urassa, Martha Lemnge, Fidelis Mgohamwende, Sigbert Mkude, Joanna Armstrong Schellenberg

Abstract

Malaria continues to top the list of the ten most threatening diseases to child survival in Tanzania. The country has a functional policy for appropriate case management of malaria with rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) from hospital level all the way to dispensaries, which are the first points of healthcare services in the national referral system. However, access to these health services in Tanzania is limited, especially in rural areas. Formalization of trained village health workers (VHWs) can strengthen and extend the scope of public health services, including diagnosis and management of uncomplicated malaria in resource-constrained settings. Despite long experience with VHWs in various health interventions, Tanzania has not yet formalized its involvement in malaria case management. This study presents evidence on acceptability of RDTs used by VHWs in rural northeastern Tanzania. A cross-sectional study using quantitative and qualitative approaches was conducted between March and May 2012 in Pangani district, northeastern Tanzania, on community perceptions, practices and acceptance of RDTs used by VHWs. Among 346 caregivers of children under 5 years old, no evidence was found of differences in awareness of HIV rapid diagnostic tests and RDTs (54 vs. 46 %, p = 0.134). Of all respondents, 92 % expressed trust in RDT results, 96 % reported readiness to accept RDTs by VHWs, while 92 % expressed willingness to contribute towards the cost of RDTs used by VHWs. Qualitative results matched positive perceptions, attitudes and acceptance of mothers towards the use of RDTs by VHWs reported in the household surveys. Appropriate training, reliable supplies, affordability and close supervision emerged as important recommendations for implementation of RDTs by VHWs. RDTs implemented by VHWs are acceptable to rural communities in northeastern Tanzania. While families are willing to contribute towards costs of sustaining these services, policy decisions for scaling-up will need to consider the available and innovative lessons for successful universally accessible and acceptable services in keeping with national health policy and sustainable development goals.

X Demographics

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The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 8 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 173 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 173 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 33 19%
Researcher 23 13%
Student > Ph. D. Student 22 13%
Student > Doctoral Student 13 8%
Student > Bachelor 11 6%
Other 33 19%
Unknown 38 22%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 34 20%
Nursing and Health Professions 24 14%
Social Sciences 20 12%
Psychology 9 5%
Economics, Econometrics and Finance 8 5%
Other 31 18%
Unknown 47 27%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 5. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 11 September 2016.
All research outputs
#6,262,937
of 23,306,612 outputs
Outputs from Malaria Journal
#1,698
of 5,652 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#96,974
of 339,915 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Malaria Journal
#43
of 134 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,306,612 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 73rd percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 5,652 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.8. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 69% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 339,915 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 71% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 134 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 68% of its contemporaries.