Malaria rapid diagnostic test capture and reporting assessment (MaCRA)

The Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030 (GTS) upgraded surveillance (the collection, analysis and use of malaria data to plan, implement and evaluate programs) to a core intervention within national malaria strategies. While the elevation of surveillance as an intervention has corresponded with improvements in malaria surveillance, continued attention is needed to ensure that the information collected through routine surveillance systems is of sufficient quality to be useful in identifying areas and population groups that are most affected by malaria, planning interventions and monitoring progress over time in controlling and eliminating malaria. The accuracy of surveillance for malaria depends on the correct administration, interpretation, adherence, recording and reporting of rapid diagnostic test (RDT) results where RDTs are the predominant parasitological test. For case management, there is the additional consideration of HCW adherence to RDT results. Despite the accuracy and quality of RDTs and their expanding use in SSA, there remain persistent concerns over HCWs’ ability to correctly implement and interpret RDT results, the adherence of prescription practices to the results, and the fidelity of the recording and reporting of RDT results within the HMIS.

PMI Insights is conducting operations research in Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Uganda to measure the degree of agreement between RDT results as recorded in health facility registers and results determined by an independent, objective panel that will independently review high-quality photographs of the RDTs taken through a phone-based application. The study also seeks to identify factors at the level of the individual patient, healthcare worker, facility, transmission season and transmission setting that affect the type of agreement or disagreement between healthcare worker and panel RDT results. The study, led by local research partners in each of the four focus countries (listed below), will include a six-month observational study in peripheral health facilities; a knowledge, attitudes, practices, and behaviors (KAPB) survey with healthcare workers; and in-depth interviews with healthcare workers to further explore the factors that contribute to RDT administration and reporting practices.

Mixed-methods, observational study of RDT results in peripheral health facilities in four countries.

Project details

Diagnostics
Health Workforce
Surveillance

Dec 2022 — Jun 2024

$4.18M

Benin
Côte d'Ivoire
Nigeria
Uganda

PMI Insights

Tracking progress against the PMI Insights Research Priorities