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Table 2 Characteristics of the facilities and prescribers in the study

From: Prescriber and patient-oriented behavioural interventions to improve use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests in Tanzania: facility-based cluster randomised trial

Characteristics

Control

HW arm

HWP arm

FACILITY (CLUSTER) LEVEL

 

N c   = 12 a

N c   = 12

N c   = 12

Number of health workers per facility (median, range)

4 (2 to 13)

4 (2 to 11)

4 (2 to 7)

% of health workers who are regular prescribers (median, range)

80% (15 to 100%)

100% (20 to 100%)

75% (29 to 100%)

Facility type

   

Government

12 (100%)

11 (92%)

11 (92%)

Mission

0 (0%)

1 (8%)

1 (8%)

% Consultations diagnosed with malaria per year b (mean, SD)

   

<5 years of age

37% (17%)

34% (17%)

34% (20%)

≥5 years of age

32% (13%)

32% (14%)

33% (19%)

% Consultations treated with c : (mean, SD)

   

AM

52% (16%)

48% (20%)

40% (21%)

Recommended AMd

46% (15%)

41% (20%)

31% (20%)

Antibiotics

64% (15%)

67% (11%)

62% (10%)

% Consultations presenting with fever treated with c : (mean, SD)

   

Antimalarial (AM)

68% (20%)

67% (27%)

63% (29%)

Recommended AMd

61% (19%)

58% (26%)

50% (29%)

Antibiotics

63% (17%)

66% (13%)

58% (15%)

% Consultations presenting without fever treated with c : (mean, SD)

   

Antimalarial (AM)

15% (12%)

15% (14%)

7% (8%)

Recommended AMd

12% (12%)

12% (13%)

4% (3%)

Antibiotics

70% (14%)

70% (16%)

69% (8%)

Provision of malaria training materials

   

Posters

8 (67%)

9 (75%)

7 (58%)

Books

9 (75%)

10 (83%)

9 (75%)

MoH monitoring visit in the past year

12 (100%)

12 (100%)

11 (92%)

PRESCRIBER LEVEL

 

N hw   = 35a

N hw   = 35

N hw   = 35

Number per facility (median, range)

3 (2 to 4)

3 (2 to 5)

3 (2 to 4)

Age (years) e

   

21 to 34

3 (9%)

7 (21%)

6 (17%)

35 to 44

8 (23%)

4 (15%)

7 (20%)

45 to 54

11 (31%)

18 (53%)

16 (46%)

≥55

13 (37%)

4 (12%)

6 (17%)

Gender

   

Male

8 (23%)

10 (29%)

10 (29%)

Female

27 (77%)

25 (71%)

25 (71%)

Highest education level

   

Primary

17 (49%)

13 (37%)

11 (31%)

Secondary

8 (23%)

13 (37%)

12 (34%)

Higher (college, training etc.)

10 (29%)

9 (26%)

12 (34%)

Cadre e

   

Clinician

12 (34%)

10 (29%)

12 (34%)

Registered nurse

7 (20%)

9 (26%)

8 (23%)

Nursing/medical attendant

16 (46%)

15 (44%)

15 (43%)

Length of time at facility e

   

1 to 5 years

14 (45%)

15 (48%)

16 (47%)

5 to 10 years

6 (19%)

4 (13%)

3 (9%)

More than 10 years

11 (35%)

12 (39%)

15 (48%)

Training in past 3 years f

   

Integrated logistics system (ILS)

10 (29%)

12 (34%)

9 (26%)

IMCI

9 (27%)

10 (32%)

13 (41%)

Malaria (not specific)

3 (9%)

4 (11%)

2 (6%)

  1. aNc represents the number of clusters (facilities); Nhw represents the number of prescribers present at the facilities who consented to participate in the study; any new prescribers throughout the study duration who consented to participate were also included. bMean (SD: standard deviation) proportion of consultations diagnosed with malaria. Based on information available 2007 to 2009. cNew consultation of a non-severe illness. Fever defined as history of fever in the past two days. dRecommended AM defined as Quinine for children weighing less than 5 kg (assuming all children over two months of age will weigh >5 kg), ALu or quinine for women of childbearing age (age 15 to 45 years inclusive), ALu for all others. eAge and cadre is missing for one prescriber in the HW arm. Time at facility missing for four prescribers in the control and HW arms and one prescriber in the HWP arm. fILS is a mobile health alert and reporting system designed to increase the visibility of logistics data and improve product availability. IMCI = integrated management of childhood illness. IMCI training missing for two prescribers in the control arm, four in HW arm, and three in HWP arm. Numbers and percentages are presented unless stated otherwise. Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.
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BMC Medicine

ISSN: 1741-7015

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