CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES
Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA
EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
TESIS DOCTORAL
DIRECTORES
Dr. AGUSTÍN BENITO LLANES
Dra. PATRICIA MARÍN GARCÍA
Madrid, 2017
FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS DE LA SALUD
PROGRAMA DE DOCTORADO EN EPIDEMIOLOGÍA
Y SALUD PÚBLICA
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES
Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA
EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
Madrid, 2017
FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS DE LA SALUD
DEPARTAMENTO DE MEDICINA Y CIRUGÍA, PSICOLOGÍA,
MEDICINA PREVENTIVA Y SALUD PÚBLICA E INMUNOLOGÍA Y
MICROBIOLOGÍA MÉDICA Y ENFERMERÍA Y ESTOMATOLOGÍA
CERTIFICAN:
Fdo.: Prof. Dra. Patricia Marín García Fdo.: Dr. Agustín Benito Llanes
A mi madre
Nunca te entregues, ni te apartes,
junto al camino, nunca digas
no puedo más y aquí me quedo,
y aquí me quedo.
Palabras para Julia. J. A. Goytisolo
A Agustín Benito, por darme la oportunidad de realizar este estudio, por apo-
Este trabajo no podría haberlo realizado sin el apoyo del Centro de Referen-
na y Pablo. Por hacer el trabajo de campo más agradable, a pesar de las palizas
y los madrugones.
A todas las familias ecuatoguineanas del distrito de Bata que nos abrieron la
puerta de sus casas de par en par, por la alegría y paciencia con la que contesta-
ron a nuestras preguntas y por agradecernos tanto nuestro tiempo e interés. Les
bría sido posible. Espero que con los resultados de este estudio podamos incidir
A Fani, porque sin su osadía, esta tesis no hubiera arrancado y a todas las
7
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
A mis compas del Centro Nacional de Medicina Tropical, por las risas y las
CNMT siga adelante. También a los compas que se fueron pero siguen ahí, a mi
vera.
A mi gran familia y en especial a mis queridísimas tías Ayita y Lola, por la ilu-
cuánto os quiero.
8
ÍNDICE
ABREVIATURAS ......................................................................................................................... 11
1. INTRODUCCIÓN .................................................................................................................... 19
1.1. La malaria .......................................................................................................................... 21
1.2. La situación de la malaria y las estrategias de control .................... 30
1.3. El comportamiento humano y el control de la malaria ..................... 33
1.4. La malaria en Guinea Ecuatorial ...................................................................... 37
2. OBJETIVOS ............................................................................................................................... 43
2.1. Objetivo general............................................................................................................. 45
2.2. Objetivos específicos.................................................................................................. 45
4. RESULTADOS ......................................................................................................................... 63
4.1. Conocimientos, creencias, actitudes sobre la malaria
de los cuidadores en el distrito de Bata, Guinea Ecuatorial
y factores asociados ............................................................................................................ 65
4.2. Diferencias entre los hogares rurales y urbanos del distrito
de Bata en la búsqueda de tratamiento para los casos
sospechosos de malaria en niños, Guinea Ecuatorial ................................ 91
4.3. Determinantes del retraso en la búsqueda de tratamiento
para la malaria en niños menores de 15 años en el distrito
de Bata, Guinea Ecuatorial ............................................................................................. 117
9
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
10
ABREVIATURAS
11
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
KM: kilómetro
P: Plasmodium
12
RESUMEN EJECUTIVO
13
ANTECEDENTES
del género Plasmodium (Marchiafava & Celli 1885) que se transmite a través de
& Feletti 1890), pero las infecciones en humanos también pueden ser causadas
por P. ovale (Stephens 1922), P. malariae (Laveran 1881) y, en partes del sudes-
Según la OMS, la malaria causó en el año 2015, más de 212 millones de casos
y 429 mil muertes. El África subsahariana es la región del mundo que soporta la
92% de las muertes, siendo los menores de 5 años y las mujeres embarazadas
15
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
OBJETIVO
METODOLOGÍA
durante los meses de julio y agosto del año 2013. Se entrevistaron a 440 perso-
nas responsables del cuidado de los niños enfermos de cada casa. A través esta
16
RESUMEN EJECUTIVO
CONCLUSIONES
Los resultados del presente estudio muestran que la población del distrito de
muy baja.
miento para los niños con malaria. Los factores asociados a este retraso fueron
casa.
nores de 15 años.
17
1. INTRODUCCIÓN
19
1.1. La malaria
La malaria o paludismo es una enfermedad causada por un parásito protozoo
del género Plasmodium (Marchiafava & Celli 1885) que se transmite a través de
& Feletti 1890), pero las infecciones en humanos también pueden ser causadas
por P. ovale (Stephens 1922), P. malariae (Laveran 1881) y, en partes del sudes-
por la malaria en todo el mundo (1). El P. Vivax, aunque con mucha menos fre-
El ciclo biológico del parásito P. falciparum incluye una fase sexual exógena y
una fase asexual endógena (esquizogonia). La fase sexual exógena tiene lugar
en el huésped vertebrado tras ser picado por una hembra de mosquito infectada
21
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
hígado, cada esporozoito “invade” una célula hepática induciendo una invagi-
Esta etapa dura en promedio entre 5,5 (P. falciparum) y 15 días (P. malariae) an-
hepático que produce miles de merozoítos en cada célula infectada (10.000 para
P. falciparum y hasta 30.000 para P. vivax) (4,9). Esta fase es asintomática para el
huésped humano (7). Entonces, el hepatocito infectado se rompe y libera los me-
rosomas que contienen cientos de merozoítos (10), los cuales se dirigen a los ca-
así los merozoítos que contienen. Los merozoitos liberados en el torrente sanguí-
neo son formas móviles ovaladas que invaden rápidamente los glóbulos rojos en
(11). Así, el parásito evoluciona en una forma de anillo que posteriormente se con-
vierte en trofozoíto (12) que madura dando lugar a un esquizonte, que se rompe
tos femeninos y masculinos (5), que son esenciales para transmitir la infección.
22
1. INTRODUCCIÓN
nes, son detectables por microscopia o por las Pruebas de Diagnóstico Rápido y
que los esporozoitos pueden persistir en el hígado semanas o incluso años y causar
La última fase del ciclo de la malaria, la fase sexuada, ocurre cuando la hem-
bra del mosquito anofeles pica a un individuo infectado por Plasmodium spp,
Figura 1. Ciclo vital del parásito de la malaria (14). El mosquito infectado por Plasmodium spp inyecta espo-
rozoitos en el huésped humano, y estos migran al hígado, invaden los hepatocitos y se desarrollan a merozoí-
tos. Estos merozoítos se liberan al torrente sanguíneo, invaden los eritrocitos y en su interior pasa por varios
estadios de desarrollo hasta producir nuevamente merozoítos, que se liberan de nuevo y son capaces de in-
vadir otros eritrocitos. Algunos merozoítos se pueden convertir en gametocitos, formas sexuales del parásito.
Estos pasan a otro mosquito durante la picadura del mismo, desarrollando gametos en el intestino del insecto,
los cuales tras varias etapas forman los esporozoítos capaces de alimentar un nuevo ciclo infectivo (12).
23
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
vide mediante meiosis para formar esporozoitos (4). Un sólo ooquiste forma más
las glándulas salivares del mosquito y las invaden de modo que los mosquitos
malaria son poco específicos e incluyen malestar general, dolor de cabeza, fa-
pués de varios días suele aparecer la anemia leve y un bazo palpable. En los
niños pequeños que viven en las regiones donde la transmisión es estable, las
24
1. INTRODUCCIÓN
tonces aparecerían las convulsiones que podrían derivar en coma (malaria ce-
El patrón en la malaria grave difiere entre niños y adultos, así las convulsiones
son más frecuentes en los niños mientras que la ictericia y el edema pulmonar
Los lactantes, los niños menores de cinco años, las embarazadas y los pa-
cientes con VIH/sida son grupos de población que corren un riesgo considera-
taciones graves. Los niños menores de 5 años de edad son uno de los grupos
menores de 12 meses, puesto que tienen mayor riesgo de una rápida progresión
25
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
edades (3).
a malaria grave. Destacamos aquí la o las especies del parásito infectante, los
niveles de inmunidad innata y/o adquirida del huésped, así como el momento y
malaria (18).
del paciente pero es algo difícil de alcanzar en muchas zonas del mundo en las
26
1. INTRODUCCIÓN
son los métodos moleculares, pero son más caros y se requiere personal muy
cualificado (19). Por esta razón, la microscopía y las PDRs son un componente
frotis de otra gota de sangre, en una lámina de microscopio teñida con colorante
acceso esta técnica en muchas zonas del mundo ya que precisa de un micros-
(16,21).
la sangre de los individuos infectados. Algunas PDR pueden detectar sólo una
sensibilidad en parasitemias muy bajas (23), las PDR se han convertido en una
calidad.
De esta manera se pueden descartar otras infecciones que también causan fie-
27
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
1.1.4 Tratamiento
normalmente cada 3-4 semanas, mientras que en las zonas templadas, P. vivax
y jóvenes.
28
1. INTRODUCCIÓN
calidad (26).
damente eliminan las fases asexuales del parásito y las formas sexuales tempra-
cida en los últimos años en la región del sureste asiático (28), se debe principal-
29
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
trosas en la salud de las personas en las zonas endémicas (29). Para evitar la
Pese a los enormes progresos alcanzados durante los últimos años, la malaria
que corren el riesgo de padecer malaria (30). La malaria está concentrada en los
países de renta baja y medio baja (Figura 2), en los que las comunidades más
afectadas son las más pobres y las más alejadas, con menor acceso a servicios
La malaria causó, en el año 2015, más de 212 millones de casos y 429 mil
muertes (31). El África subsahariana es la región del mundo que soporta la ma-
Así, la malaria sigue siendo una de las principales causas de mortalidad infantil
el mundo son de niños menores de 5 años y que el 95% se estas muertes tienen
lugar en esta región. Además, la mayoría de estas muertes por malaria ocurren
30
1. INTRODUCCIÓN
En el año 2011, la Alianza Roll Back Malaria (33) revisó los Objetivos del Mile-
nio y las metas establecidas para el 2015 por el Plan de Acción Mundial contra la
Objetivo 1. Reducir las muertes mundiales por malaria hasta cerca de cero (1
muerte por malaria confirmada por cada 100.000 habitantes en riesgo) para fines
de 2015
o la remisión adecuada
de la malaria.
ción, es decir, que todas las personas en riesgo duerman bajo una Mosquitera
31
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
miento Intradomiciliario con insecticidas Residuales (RRI) y que cada mujer em-
Gracias a estas metas tan ambiciosas, en los últimos años se han producido
2004 al 67% en 2015 (31). No obstante, solo el 29% de los hogares disponían
Para cumplir con el primer objetivo de reducir las muertes por malaria, la OMS
marcó como prioridad: alcanzar una gestión de casos efectiva a través del acce-
(24). Sin embrago, se estima que la proporción de niños menores de 5 años con
en el año 2005 a un 16% en el 2014, muy por debajo del objetivo del acceso uni-
versal para el manejo de casos de malaria del PAMM. Una de las razones prin-
32
1. INTRODUCCIÓN
las 24 h del inicio de los síntomas de la malaria (35). Para lograrlo, la Alianza
80% de los pacientes con malaria fueran diagnosticados y tratados con me-
objetivo (36).
fermedad (37).
33
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
buena práctica. Varios estudios han demostrado que la adherencia a las activi-
hogar (18,32).
de control.
34
1. INTRODUCCIÓN
riesgo de muerte por malaria grave es mayor en las primeras 24 h, pero en la ma-
yoría de los países endémicos, transcurre más tiempo antes de que el paciente
reciba una atención adecuada, retrasando así el inicio del tratamiento antipalú-
hay una amplia gama de variación en los patrones de búsqueda del tratamiento
(51), por lo que se necesitan estudios a nivel local para comprender la dinámica
Las encuestas en los hogares permiten conocer, entre otras cosas, el lugar
privado con su amplia gama de proveedores. Así, el sector privado formal está
formado por hospitales y clínicas privadas, mientras que el sector privado infor-
Las encuestas sobre Conocimientos, Actitudes y Prácticas (CAP) son las más
35
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
(54) el cual puede ser una persona, un hecho social o cualquier producto perso-
nal de la actividad humana (55). Las actitudes son importantes para entender el
otras (56).
Las preguntas relacionadas con las prácticas en las encuestas CAP se cen-
Según la OMS, las encuestas CAP sirven para identificar lagunas de conoci-
así como para identificar posibles soluciones para mejorar la calidad y acce-
sibilidad de los servicios. Además, las encuestas CAP pueden identificar los
las fuentes que son clave para definir actividades y mensajes efectivos en la
por las encuestas CAP permiten a los programas de lucha contra la malaria es-
36
1. INTRODUCCIÓN
promoción (56).
las causas de muerte en niños menores de cinco años (58). Según la OMS, en
(24,30).
rante todo el año (59). Cuatro de las cinco especies de Plasmodium responsable
de malaria en los seres humanos pueden ser encontradas en este país, siendo
Guinea Ecuatorial está divida en dos regiones, una insular, formada por las
islas de Bioko y Anobon, y una región continental formada por las provincias Li-
toral, Kie-Ntem, Centro Sur y Wele-Nzas (Figura 3). Bioko es la isla más grande
con 749.529 habitantes, siendo la ciudad de Bata el núcleo urbano más grande
(62,63).
37
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
Figura 3. Mapa de Guinea Ecuatorial. Fuente: Departamento de cartografía de Naciones Unidas 2005 (64).
38
1. INTRODUCCIÓN
en la isla (66).
Sin embrago, no fue hasta el año 2007 que una intervención similar fue intro-
ducida en la región continental del país. Financiada por el Fondo Mundial de Lu-
cha contra el SIDA, la Tuberculosis y la Malaria (GFATM), la Iniciativa de Control
tratadas con insecticidas, en las provincias Centro Sur y Wele-Nzas (Figura 4).
la malaria.
39
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
financiación por parte del GFATM, lo que supuso que la Iniciativa EGMCI fuera
40
1. INTRODUCCIÓN
45,3% de los niños no buscaban tratamiento fuera del hogar y el 22,8% busca-
41
2. OBJETIVOS
43
La malaria sigue siendo una de las primeras causas de morbilidad y mortalidad
entre los niños menores de cinco años en Guinea Ecuatorial y muy especialmen-
del 46,2% (69). Se conoce muy poco sobre el comportamiento y los conocimien-
cuidadores en las familias del distrito de Bata, Guinea Ecuatorial y los fac-
niños menores de 15 años, entre las familias de las zonas rurales y las
3.
Evaluar los factores que afectan el retraso de los cuidadores en la bús-
45
3. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS
47
Este trabajo de investigación forma parte del proyecto Estudio de la Línea
de Guinea Ecuatorial. Este distrito, que limita al norte con Camerún y al oeste
con el océano Atlántico, tiene un área de 1.806 km2 y una población de 249.056
nental.
49
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
años (71).
Figura 5. Pirámide poblacional de Guinea Ecuatorial, año 2017. Fuente: EEUU Census Bureau (71).
Hasta los años 90, la economía del país estaba basada principalmente en la
Ecuatorial fuera, junto con China, uno de los dos países que registró el crecimiento
máximo en el ingreso per cápita anual entre 1990 y 2012 (72) , por lo que entró a
formar parte del grupo de países de renta alta, según el Banco Mundial (73), lle-
gando a ocupar el puesto 118 del Índice de Desarrollo Humano (IDH) que elabora
el PNUD (74).
50
3. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS
país en la última década, los ingresos por crudo han ido descendiendo y Guinea
nea Ecuatorial ocupa el puesto 138, lo que le sitúa en la cola de los países con
un Índice de Desarrollo Humano medio (75), veinte puestos por debajo que su
do en Guinea Ecuatorial del 27,1% en el año 1975 al 48,3% en 2003 (47), llegan-
do a alcanzar el 54,52% en el distrito de Bata en el año 2011 (61). La mayoría de
en el que la sanidad pública está formada por una red de siete centros de salud,
en el zona urbana de la ciudad de Bata, incluye tres centros de salud, dos hospi-
51
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
Figura 6. Mapa de los servicios de salud públicos y privados en el distrito de Bata, Guinea Ecua-
torial. El mapa C corresponde a la zona urbana (barrios de Bata ciudad) y el A, B y D a las comunidades
rurales. Los mapas muestran detalles de la ruta más corta entre las comunidades y los servicios de salud
más cercanos.
52
3. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS
tegia dividió su actividad por provincias siendo la provincia Litoral, y con ella el
que el 50% de la población conocía los síntomas de la malaria, con una potencia
53
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
fianza del 95%. Para hacer el cálculo se utilizó el programa estadístico Epi-Info
3.1. El cálculo resultó en un total de 384 individuos/hogar (un cuidador por ho-
gar). Puesto que la muestra final del estudio de prevalencia del proyecto en el
que se enmarca esta encuesta era de 440 hogares (69), se decidió finalmente
realizar la encuesta CAP en los 440 hogares del proyecto, lo que permitiría au-
Figura 7. Vista de la comunidad rural de Selíes, Figura 8. Vista del barrio urbano de Nkolombong,
ciudad distrito de Bata. de Bata.
malaria, que habían sido realizadas por el Centro Nacional de Medicina Tropical/
54
3. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS
Una vez generado el cuestionario, el trabajo de campo se llevó a cabo durante los
meses de julio y agosto del año 2013. Ocho estudiantes de enfermería, en su último
rio CAP, para garantizar que todos utilizaban conceptos y procedimientos comunes.
formación y la supervisión corrieron a cargo del personal del MINSAB y del ISCIII.
para dar a todos los cuidadores encuestados la opción de ser entrevistados en Fang
o en español, los dos idiomas oficiales del país. El cuestionario fue pilotado en dos
en una reunión a todos los jefes de barrio y de poblado solicitándoles que aporta-
explicar el propósito del estudio que íbamos a realizar y presentar a los equipos
cuesta que se comunicó a los jefes de cada poblado/barrio para asegurar, dentro
55
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
jefe de la familia y del cuidador a entrevistar (Anexo II). Así, el equipo identificaba
10). A través del estudio CAP se obtuvo información sobre las características so-
como el tipo de tratamiento recibido, el tiempo empleado para lograr ese trata-
Figura 9. Encuesta CAP en Machinda, distrito de Figura 10. Encuesta CAP en Nkolombong, ciudad
Bata. de Bata.
zando el software EpiData versión 3.1, realizando una doble entrada de cada
datos fue depurada en Acces 2010. Se crearon nuevas categorías con respues-
56
3. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS
continuas y se crearon los índices que requerían los objetivos del estudio. Los
primeros análisis descriptivos se realizaron con IBM SPSS Statistics 22.Ink, pos-
fueron clasificadas según su estructura: nivel Bajo, todas las casas con suelo
(76,77) utilizando los bienes del hogar, las características de la vivienda, el tipo
conómico como: más pobre, segundo, medio, cuarto y más rico, de acuerdo a la
3.4.2 El conocimiento
tos que permitió categorizar a los encuestados como cuidadores con Bajo o Alto
57
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
dador, donde cada respuesta correcta recibía un punto. Esta puntuación incluye
tros de tratamiento. Para lograr una puntuación máxima, los encuestados tenían
que es una enfermedad que puede ser letal (1 punto); que es más peligrosa en
los niños (1 punto); que puede causar síntomas como fiebre (1 punto), así como
tela mosquitera como método para prevenir la malaria (1 punto), así como el
punto). Además, los encuestados debían saber que el agua estancada es el sitio
un niño (1 punto cada uno) y el centro de salud u hospital como el lugar donde ir
a buscar tratamiento para un niño con malaria (1 punto). La puntuación más alta
3.4.3 Distancia
Para poder estimar la ruta más corta desde los hogares rurales y urbanos
58
3. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS
3.4.4 Tiempo
las 24 h del inicio de los síntomas de la malaria (35) por lo que el tiempo transcu-
centajes para las variables categóricas; media y desviación estándar para las
las variables independientes por zona, rural o urbano, fueron valoradas por el
sobre la malaria de los cuidadores en las familias del distrito de Bata, se realizó
59
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
los factores asociados con una puntuación de Conocimiento de Malaria alta fue
ajustado por zona: urbana o rural. Se calcularon los odds ratio (OR) y los interva-
los de confianza del 95% (IC del 95%). Los valores p inferiores o iguales a 0,05
nas rurales y las urbanas del distrito de Bata, se evaluaron las diferencias en las
miento para los niños con malaria entre cuidadores rurales y urbanos a través de
Finalmente, para alcanzar el objetivo 3: evaluar los factores que afectan el re-
con retraso en con un valor de p <0,10, así como la edad del niño, se incluyeron
el procedimiento manual de paso a paso hacia atrás. Se calcularon los odds ratio
60
3. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS
ajustados (aOR) y el intervalo de confianza del 95% (IC del 95%); Los valores
61
4. RESULTADOS
63
PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0168668 December 30, 2016
Abstract
cause of morbidity and mortality among children of less than five years of age in
knowledge of malaria, their beliefs and attitudes about this disease, and their so-
volving 440 houses selected from 18 rural villages and 26 urban neighbourhoods.
65
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
and best place to seek treatment. Multivariate logistic regressions analyses were
performed to assess those factors that are associated with knowledge about ma-
laria.
Results: A total of 428 caregivers were interviewed; 255 (59.6%) and 173
(40.4%) lived in urban and rural areas respectively. Significant differences be-
tween rural and urban households were observed in caregivers’ malaria knowled-
ges and beliefs. Almost 42% of urban and 65% of rural caregivers were unaware
as to how malaria is transmitted (OR=2.69; 95% CI: 1.78-4.05). Together with ru-
rality, the factors most significantly associated with the Malaria Knowledge were
the level of education of the caregiver and the socioeconomic status of the hou-
sehold.
the most vulnerable households such that they can pro-actively implement ma-
tion strategy aimed at changing individual and community behaviours, and deli-
vered by suitably trained community health workers and indoor residual spraying
personnel.
Introduction
The increasing investments in malaria have contributed to a substantial de-
crease in incidence and mortality during the last decade even though the disease
remains a major public health problem in Africa. There are over 200 million cases
of malaria each year, most of which (88%) occur in children under five years of
66
4. RESULTADOS
and mortality, but its everyday practice in households is related to local percep-
tions of risk and knowledge about malaria [2,3]. Adequate community knowledge
applied and disease exposure reduced [4]. However, misconceptions about ma-
laria frequently persist among communities and individual households that may
Several characteristics distinguish urban from rural malaria [7]. Rural and ur-
are generally younger and better educated than rural populations [8]. Rural areas
are linked with increased levels of poverty together with diminished access to
healthcare facilities due to their remoteness [9]. -Both rural and urban popula-
tions should be taken into account to improve the efficacy and efficiency of con-
trol interventions.
attitudes and practices in Africa concluding that the knowledge about malaria is
mes [12].
mass media campaigns [14]. In the assessment of the potential ways of impro-
67
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
operational research that would help to create context specific messages based
a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children under five years of age
[16,17]. A malaria control programme was introduced in 2007 in the mainland re-
gion, under the Equatorial Guinea Malaria Control Initiative (EGMCI). The strategy
consisted, mainly, of indoor spraying in the Litoral and Kie-Ntem provinces, as well
as the mass distribution of nets treated with long-lasting insecticide in the Centro
Sur and Wele-Nzas provinces. Case management was improved through the dis-
mulgated [18]. The initiative was largely funded by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
amodiaquine (AS + AQ) while quinine is recommended for severe malaria cases.
Unfortunately, with the withdrawal of the GFATM funding in 2011, the EGMCI pro-
gram stopped its main activities and free universal access to ACT was not sustai-
ned in mainland region of Equatorial Guinea, including the Bata District [18,19].
Despite the efforts made by the EGMCI program, the prevalence of malaria has
remained high (41.2 %) in the Bata district in children under 15 years of age [20].
disease prevention and control. The purpose of this study was to assess the ca-
68
4. RESULTADOS
The District of Bata, with its population of 244,264 inhabitants, is the largest
in the country according to the latest national census [21]. As described in detail
previously [22], the District’s public health facilities comprise a network of ten
health centres, two rural and eight urban, and one regional hospital located in the
city of Bata. There are also private health facilities in the Bata District, including
two hospitals, and about 23 clinics, all in the urban area of Bata city. Therefore,
trated in urban areas (S1 Fig.). In rural areas, where the majority of the popula-
tion lives further than 3 km from a health facility, 99 Community Health Workers
This cross-sectional study was carried out from June–August 2013, in the Bata
district of mainland Equatorial Guinea. The study was part of a project that aimed
ces of households related to malaria episodes for children 15 years and under.
titudes and practices of rural and urban households related to malaria in the District
of Bata. Sampling was carried out with a multistage stratified cluster strategy. First,
18 rural villages, out of 70, and 26 urban neighbourhoods, out of 111, were randomly
69
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
the sample design. Then, 440 households were randomly selected from an updated
census from each cluster provided by the head of the village or neighbourhood. The
Household caregivers were identified in each house with at least one child
under 15 years of age, and asked about their knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes
and translated into the main local language, Fang. Information regarding house-
Data analyses
was created with household-owned assets, housing characteristics and the type
of access to water and sanitation using principal component analysis [18,19]. The
out using frequency tables for categorical variables and mean and standard de-
viation or median and interquartile range for normally and not-normally distributed
between rural and urban caregivers were assessed using the chi-squared test and
the Student-t test for categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Compari-
sons for which p values were below 0.05 were considered significant. Odds ratio
(OR) and confidence interval (CI) were estimated by using logistic regression.
70
4. RESULTADOS
dge of malaria, a Knowledge Score was created allowing for categorizing respon-
a composite malaria knowledge score was created for each caregiver where
every correct answer received a single point. These included caregivers’ correct
for children and treatment centres. To achieve a maximum score the respondents
respondent also needed to know that bed net could be used to prevent malaria
point). Also, the respondents had to know that the stagnant water is a mosquito
breeding site (1 point) as well as to know the correct malaria mosquito biting time
(1 point each) and a health facility as the place to seek treatment for a child with
malaria (1 point). Altogether, the highest possible score was 13 points. High and
Low Knowledge of Malaria were defined as scores either above or within and
mic variables and the Knowledge of Malaria score was performed using logistic
of collinearity, the variable explaining less of data distribution was removed. The
a high Knowledge of Malaria score was then adjusted by area: urban or rural. The
odds ratio (OR) and 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) were computed; p values
less than or equal to 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The design
71
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
effect associated with the sampling strategy applied for this study was estimated
in the analysis using the Stata function “svyset” to declare the survey design.
Ethics statement
This study was approved by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Equa-
torial Guinea and the Ethics Committee of the Spanish National Health Institute,
Carlos III (CEI PI 22_2013-v3). Written informed consent for participation in this
study was obtained from the caregivers interviewed, and from the heads of hou-
sehold.
RESULTS
Socio-demographic characteristics
A total of 428 caregivers were interviewed about their malaria knowledge, be-
liefs and attitudes out of which 255 (59.58%) lived in urban area (Table 1). Care-
givers were younger in urban than in rural areas, with a median age of 30 (IQR:
70) years respectively. In urban Bata, 63.92% of caregivers had attained secon-
dary school or more, whereas this percentage fell to 36.99% in rural area (p =
<0.001). The presence of a malaria case was 1.25 times more frequent in rural
than in urban Bata, where 78.91% of the households had experienced at least
one case of malaria at the time of the survey compared to 62.15% households in
urban areas.
72
4. RESULTADOS
(Table 2), malaria was the primary issue for 87.86% of rural respondents versus
73
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
was the second most common symptom (20.85%) mentioned in rural areas, with
nausea being the second most common symptom mentioned (22.75%) in urban
74
4. RESULTADOS
transmission patterns versus 41.96% of urban caregivers, and only 35.26% of ru-
ral households (versus 58.04% of urban) knew that a mosquito bite is the means
of transmission.
Malaria caregivers were asked separately about the best way to prevent ma-
laria and the best way to avoid mosquito bites (Table3). Regarding the first,
54.12% of urban caregivers and 33.53% of rural answered bed nets as the best
like believing that boiling drinking water could prevent malaria are still present
in Bata district, even in urban caregivers. Regarding the best way to avoid
mosquito bites, most caregivers mentioned bed nets (71.76%), with no signi-
most caregivers answered that they would allow government workers to spray
their house, with no significant differences between areas (89.02% urban and
91.91% rural).
could serve as breeding site for mosquitoes. Also, 18.46% of caregivers in both
areas said that puddles could serve as breeding site. Only 12.94% of urban ca-
regivers, and 4.62% of rural, knew that stagnant water is the breeding place for
mosquitoes. Regarding the time when malaria mosquitoes are most likely to bite,
most caregivers (79.67%) answered that night-time was the riskiest, while rural
households were less likely to give this answer than urban ones (OR: 0.45 95%
CI: 0.24-0.86).
75
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
76
4. RESULTADOS
would go to seek treatment for a child with malaria, caregivers from both areas
answered hospital, mainly, although this answer was significantly less mentioned
from rural caregivers (OR: 0.56 95%CI:0.37-0.87). Caregivers in rural areas had
2.36 times the odds of mentioning Health Centres compared to urban areas..
Regarding optimal medicines for use with children with malaria, the commonest
Table 4. BEST TREATMENT, BEST PLACE TO SEEK TREATMENT FOR A CHILD WITH MALARIA
AND SOURCES OF INFORMATION BY AREA
Urban (n=255) Rural (n=173)
n % n % P-value OR (95% CI)
Best treatment for a child with malaria
Artemether 82 32.16 28 16.18 <0.001 0.41 (0.25-0.67)
Paracetamol 70 27.45 52 30.06 0.558
Fansidar 53 20.78 19 10.98 0.008 0.47 (0.27-0.83)
AS/AQ 50 19.61 21 12.14 0.041 0.57 (0.33-0.99)
Quinina 37 14.51 17 9.83 0.152
Chloroquine 17 6.67 17 9.83 0.235
Amoxicillin 6 2.35 4 2.31 0.978
Coartem 6 2.35 2 1.16 0.370
Traditional medicine 1 0.39 2 1.16 0.353
Best place to go when a child has malaria
Hospital 195 76.47 112 64.74 0.008 0.56 (0.37-0.87)
Health Center 44 17.25 57 32.95 <0.001 2.36 (1.48-3.74)
Private doctor 13 5.10 1 0.58 0.010 0.11 (0.01-0.85)
Pharmacy 2 0.78 2 1.16 0.695
Traditional healer 1 0.39 1 0.58 0.782
Have you received any advice related to malaria?
no 169 66.27 123 71.10
yes 86 33.73 50 28.90 0.293 0.80 (0.52-1.22)
Sources of information regarding malaria
Hospital/Health Center 43 16.86 27 15.61 0.73 0.91 (0.54-1.54)
Family member 27 10.59 11 6.36 0.131 0.57 (0.28-1.19)
Neighbour 11 4.31 5 2.89 0.446 0.66 (0.22-1.94)
CHW 0 0.00 7 4.05 0.001 - -
Radio 5 1.96 0 0.00 0.064 - -
None 169 66.27 123 71.10 0.293 1.25 (0.82-1.91)
77
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
Asked about if they had received any advice related to malaria, only 33.73% of ur-
ban caregivers and 28.90% of rural reported to had received any information about
malaria from one or more sources (Table 4). Of several interpersonal sources of
information, most caregivers (16%) reported that they have received information
(4%). Only rural caregivers reported receiving information from community health
workers, and only urban caregivers mentioned the radio as a source of information.
The majority of Bata district caregivers’ (58.41%) had a low Knowledge of Ma-
laria Score with none of the 428 caregivers’ interviewed achieving the maximum
score of 13 points (S2 Fig.). The total median score was 6 with most of rural ca-
regivers (69.94%) scoring Low Knowledge and half of urban caregivers (49.41%)
scoring above the median (OR: 0.44 95% CI: 0.29-0.66). In general, rural caregi-
vers’ malaria knowledge was lower than urban caregivers (Fig 1).
78
4. RESULTADOS
Caregivers with a secondary school education (at least), and belonging to the
richest socioeconomic status had the highest odds of having a high knowledge of
malaria score (Table 5). On the other hand, caregivers from houses with at least
one case of malaria at the time of the survey had 0.65 times the odds of having
a high malaria score than caregivers from houses without a malaria case (95%
C.I. 0.42-0.99).
After adjusting by area, the associations between malaria knowledge and care-
givers’ level of education and wealth remained. Caregivers with secondary edu-
cation had 2.34 times the odds of receiving a high malaria knowledge score com-
pared to those with primary school education or less (95% C.I. 1.44-3.80). The
association between wealth and the high Knowledge of Malaria showed a trend,
with the richest households having 4.3 times the odds of receiving a high Knowle-
dge of Malaria score compared to the poorest households (95% C.I. 1.37-7.77).
79
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
DISCUSSION
prevention and treatment has proven to be crucial for the success of control pro-
This study provides relevant information about the extent of malaria knowledge,
beliefs and attitudes in the Bata district of Equatorial Guinea. The caregivers from
Bata were generally aware of malaria but their depth of knowledge was poor, es-
re, this study found that households with at least one child with malaria at home,
level or less and households with a poor socioeconomic status were correlated
In the Bata District, malaria was reported to be the most important health pro-
awareness of this among rural caregivers could correlate with greater disease
The recognition of two or more symptoms of malaria is essential for the in-ho-
were familiar with the main signs and symptoms associated with malaria, as are
many other populations living in malaria endemic areas [4,5,27]. Although rural
caregivers had 3 times lower odds of mentioning fever as a symptom, they had 4
district, delay in seeking treatment for children with malaria is more frequently in
rural households [22] and this delay could be responsible for the more frequent
80
4. RESULTADOS
treatment [19], suggesting that there is a need for more study about caregiver
Similarly to findings from other studies [30–32], malaria transmission and pre-
vention was not well understood in Bata district, especially in rural area where
households were less likely to mention that mosquitos transmit malaria. This gap
mosquitoes transmits malaria is crucial for the adequate use of the available ma-
transmission were also evident in responses about prevention and the avoidance
of mosquito bites. Most caregivers knew that malaria is preventable but “sleep
under a bed” net was mentioned more frequently in the context of avoiding mos-
quito bites rather than malaria prevention, especially in rural areas. A poor appre-
ciation of the protective effects of mosquito nets has been found elsewhere [3,35]
use mosquito nets [36,37]. This misconception could be one of the reasons why
in Equatorial Guinea bed nets are more frequently used to protect adults than
children [21].
Indoor residual spraying (IRS) was the principal activity implemented by the
This approach was also more frequently described as a method of mosquito bite
81
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
avoidance rather than prevention. Despite this, most caregivers in the Bata dis-
trict said that they would permit government workers to spray their houses and
and when exactly these bites occurs, there were important misconceptions about
Most Bata caregivers believed that mosquito’s breed in garbage and bushes ra-
ring bushes and grasses instead of draining stagnant water in or near the house
[30,31,38].
Any mention of AS+AQ or Quinine as first line treatments for children with
malaria in Equatorial Guinea was very low, especially in rural areas. The com-
adherence to national treatment guidelines and the preference for this artemisinin
monotherapy in the Bata district has been already described [19]. It becomes
about the risks linked with this long treatment [39]. Improving the quantity and
quality of this message could have a large impact on children receiving effective
ACTs [25].
As with other countries in the region [4,11], most of the caregivers in the Bata
district affirmed that they would seek treatment for a child with malaria at a health
82
4. RESULTADOS
care facility and hospitals were most frequently mentioned, with rural caregivers
having twice the odds of visiting a health centre and urban caregivers had nine
times the odds of visiting a private doctor. This might reflect the availability of
to use communication channels that are most likely to be used by local house-
holds. As commonly found in this region, Bata caregivers have received pertinent
information about malaria from a health facility or family member more frequently,
and less frequently from mass media [2,11,25]. Accordingly, the burden of health
care provision falls on health facilities and workers, who should be supported
households that had received any information or advice related to malaria in ei-
ther area is a concern that should be addressed, especially for those households
most at risk. Home education has been shown to be valuable in terms of malaria
management [25] but in Bata district only few rural caregivers mentioned to have
In the Bata district, the factors most significantly associated with the Knowledge
of Malaria were rurality, level of education and socioeconomic status, factors also
correlated with malaria knowledge in other studies in the region [40–42]. Usua-
lly, urban households receive more information due to their proximity to health
83
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
tion may help caregivers to understand key aspects of the disease and improve
gy, based on the key elements of malaria control interventions, has been proven
vision [14,45].
To have at least one case of malaria at home at the time of the survey was as-
caregivers about malaria has been found to correlate with reduced morbidity and
This study has some limitations. First, this is a cross sectional study conducted
in the Bata district alone, thus findings might not generalize to the whole coun-
try. Secondly, due to sample size, some associations may not show significance
CONCLUSIONS
Caregivers’ from the poorest wealth quintile, with a primary school level of edu-
cation or less, and living in rural areas, had the lowest knowledge of malaria in
the Bata District. Capacity now needs to be built in such households to empower
se prevention. The EGM Control Initiative should now update its health educa-
84
4. RESULTADOS
those regarding the role of the mosquito in transmission, together with the most
efficacious forms of prevention and treatment for children. This could be achieved
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank the study participants for volunteering, and the
data collectors for their fieldwork effort, the Bata Nursing School, and the Ministry
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dicator survey 2007, Ethiopia: coverage and use of major malaria prevention and control
interventions. Malar J. 2010;9: 58. doi:10.1186/1475-2875-9-58
41. Sachs J, Malaney P. The economic and social burden of malaria. Nature. 2002;415: 680–
685. doi:10.1038/415680a
42. Sharma AK, Bhasin S, Chaturvedi S. Predictors of knowledge about malaria in India. J Vec-
tor Borne Dis. 2007;44: 189–197.
43. Adedotun AA, Morenikeji OA, Odaibo AB. Knowledge, attitudes and practices about malaria
in an urban community in south-western Nigeria. J Vector Borne Dis. 2010;47: 155–159.
44. Hanafi-Bojd AA, Vatandoost H, Oshaghi MA, Eshraghian MR, Haghdoost AA, Abedi F, et al.
Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding malaria control in an endemic area of southern
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45. Koenker H, Keating J, Alilio M, Acosta A, Lynch M, Nafo-Traore F. Strategic roles for be-
haviour change communication in a changing malaria landscape. Malar J. 2014;13: 1.
doi:10.1186/1475-2875-13-1
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SUPPORTING INFORMATION
S2 Fig. Caregivers’ Malaria Knowledge Score achieved by area in Bata district, Equatorial Guinea.
89
PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0135887 August 18, 2015
Maria Romay-Barja1,2,3*, Inma Jarrin4, Policarpo Ncogo5, Gloria Nseng6, Maria Jose Sagrado3, Maria
A. Santana-Morales2,7, Pilar Aparcio1,2, Basilio Valladares2,7, Matilde Riloha6, Agustin Benito1,2
1
Centro Nacional de Medicina Tropical, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
2
Red de Investigación Colaborativa en Enfermedades Tropicales, RICET
3
Doctoranda de la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
4
Centro Nacional de Epidemiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
5
Centro de Referencia de Control de Endemias, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
6
Ministerio de Salud y Bienestar Social, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
7
Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain
* Corresponding author
Abstract
among children under five years old in Equatorial Guinea. However, little is
Bata District.
and 440 houses were selected from 18 rural villages and 26 urban neighbour-
hoods. Differences between rural and urban caregivers and children with repor-
ted malaria were assessed through the chi-squared test for independence for
91
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
with malaria in both areas. Malaria was treated first at home, particularly in rural
areas. The second step was to seek treatment outside the home, mainly at hos-
pital and Health Centre for rural households and at hospital and private clinic for
most often. Households waited for more than 24 hours before seeking treatment
outside and delays were longest in rural areas. The total cost of treatment was
Conclusions: The delays in seeking treatment, the type of malaria therapy re-
ceived and the cost of treatment are the principal problems found in Bata District.
Important steps for reducing malaria morbidity and mortality in this area are to
INTRODUCTION
Malaria is endemic in Equatorial Guinea with stable transmission [1] and re-
mains the major cause of morbidity and mortality among children under five years
of age [2].
in 2004 and achieved large reductions in infection, anaemia and child mortality
[3]. Since 2007, similar interventions have been implemented in the four main-
land provinces, under the Equatorial Guinea Malaria Control Initiative (EGMCI).
The strategy consisted mainly in indoor residual spraying in Litoral and Kie-Ntem
92
4. RESULTADOS
Sur and Wele-Nzas provinces. Case management was improved in the public
combination therapy treatment, and other measures [4]. The initiative was largely
funded by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (GFATM),
ned extremely high (52.2% ) in children under five years old [4].
bring about the desired change. Several studies have demonstrated that complian-
important role in explaining the health seeking behaviour of the people [7].
Early diagnosis and prompt treatment has been the cornerstone of malaria con-
king patterns [9]. Therefore, studies are needed at the local level to understand
been mainly conducted in Bioko Island and focused on prevention activities like
bed nets usage [3, 4]. Related with household treatment-seeking behaviour, one
study reported that 45.3% of the children did not seek treatment outside home
93
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
and 22.8% looked for treatment the same day of the fever onset [10]. There is
in Equatorial Guinea and especially in the mainland region, where most of the
Several features distinguish urban from rural malaria [11]. Differences in ma-
laria transmission rates and different risk factors may lead to different disease
burdens [12]. Also, rural and urban populations differ in their cultural practices,
tus [13]. Differences between rural and urban populations should be taken into
king behaviour, treatment administered, timeliness and costs related to the last
reported malaria episode of children up to 15 years old, in rural and urban areas
Study area
This cross-sectional study was carried out in June – August 2013, in the Bata
of Plasmodium, and the vectors for malaria transmission in the area. The project
also aimed to provide information about the knowledge, practices, and attitudes
94
4. RESULTADOS
The district of Bata, with a population of 244,264 inhabitants, is the largest dis-
trict in the country, according to the latest national census (DHS, 2011)[14]. The
proportion of the population living in urban areas increased from 27.1% in 1975
to 48.3% in 2003 (UNDP, 2006)[10]. The District´s public health facilities compri-
se a network of seven health centres, two rural and five urban, and one regional
hospital located in the city of Bata. There are also private health facilities in the
Bata District, including three health centres, two hospitals, and about 20 clinics,
all in the urban area of Bata city. Drug stores and pharmacies are distributed
The first line treatment for uncomplicated malaria in Equatorial Guinea is arte-
ne (AL), and for severe malaria, quinine is recommended. However, with the with-
drawal of GFTAM funding in 2011, the EGMCI stopped its main activities and stock
shortages of first line treatment occurred since 2012 (MoH unpublished report).
were able to recognize malaria symptoms and to compare the knowledge, attitudes
and treatment practices of rural and urban households related to the last reported
malaria episode of children up to 15 years old in the district of Bata. Sampling was
carried out with a multistage stratified cluster strategy. First, 18 rural villages out of
70 and 26 urban neighbourhoods out of 111 were randomly selected with probability
quate sample size was computed to be able to detect statistical significant differences
between urban and rural respondents and also to improve precision using a power
of 80%, 95% confidence level and assuming a knowledge about malaria symptoms
of 50%. The EPIDAT software version 3.1 was used to calculate sample size. The
95
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
allocation of this sample size into those for urban and rural areas was done using
size of 440 households. Second, households were randomly selected from an upda-
ted census from each cluster provided by the head of the village or neighbourhood.
Household caregivers were identified in each house and asked about their
and costs related to the last reported malaria episode in a child up to 15 years old.
Eight nursing students, in their final year of training, were recruited and trained for
and translated into the main local language, Fang. All care providers were given
the option to be interviewed in Fang or Spanish, the two official languages of the
country.
Data analysis
Houses were classified by their structures as follows: low: all houses with soil
floors; middle: houses with cement or wood floors, plank wood walls, and iron
sheet roofs; and high: cement or tile floors, cement or brick walls, and iron sheet
or cement roofs. Drinking water was considered clean when it came from a well,
from a communal source, or bottled water. Water from the river was considered
dirty or unprotected.
quency tables for categorical variables and mean and standard deviation or median
96
4. RESULTADOS
king behaviours between rural and urban caregivers of children with reported ma-
laria episodes were assessed through the chi-squared test for independence for
lues <0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. Data was doubly entered
with EpiData software v.3.1, and analysed with IBM SPSS Statistics 22.Ink.
ETHICS STATEMENT
This study was approved by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Equatorial
Guinea and the Ethics Committee of the Spanish National Health Institute, Carlos
III (CEI PI 22_2013-v3). Written informed consent for participation in the study was
obtained from the caregivers interviewed and from the heads of the households.
RESULTS
Characteristics of caregivers
A total of 440 caregivers were interviewed but 12 were withdrawn from the
viewed about the last malaria episode in a child under their care, 173 (40.4%)
lived in rural area and 255 (59.6%) in urban Bata. Table 1 summarizes the so-
holds. Differences between rural and urban households are clear. Caregivers
were older in rural than in urban areas, with a median age of 40 (IQR: 30-50; mi-
respectively. In rural areas, 21.0% of caregivers were illiterate but only 11.4%
in urban areas (p=0.008), where they also completed a higher educational le-
vel. Males were the heads of households in both rural (75.1%) and urban areas
97
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
98
4. RESULTADOS
(58.8%), (p=<0.001). Employment was the main source of income in both areas,
but subsistence farming was the main source of income in 24.9% of the rural fa-
milies and 2.0% of the urban ones. Most houses were of the medium structure,
but more households in rural areas than in urban areas had soil floors (27.2%
vs. 8.6%), no access to electricity (47.4% vs. 9 0%), or no access to clean water
(29.5% vs. 1.2%) . A total of 2,242 children were living in the 428 houses. In both
areas, there was a median of 1 child under one year old per house (p=0.401).
The median number of children aged 1 to 15 years per house was 4 in rural and
The characteristics of the children with reported malaria and the features of
their last malaria episode are shown in Table 2. The percentage of males was
slightly higher in rural than in urban areas (56.6% vs. 48.6%) and most of children
were between 1-5 years old in both areas (61.3% vs. 56.9%,). Malaria episodes
had occurred more recently among rural children: 52.0% of rural children had a
malaria episode during the prior two weeks in compared to 35.3% of urban chil-
dren (p=0.001).
99
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
100
4. RESULTADOS
The two malaria symptoms most often identified in children by rural and urban
caretakers were fever (identified by 81.5% of rural and 90.2% of urban caretakers)
and weakness (identified by 32.9% of rural and 31.8% of urban caretakers). The
third most common symptom identified was nausea (21.6%) by urban caretakers
and either convulsions (15.0%) or nausea (15.0%) by rural caretakers. When loo-
overall was found. Most symptoms were not reported alone, Figure 1 shows the
multiple signs and symptoms mentioned by caretakers. The two symptoms most
mentioned in both areas were fever alone and fever and weakness together.
The second symptom most mentioned alone in both areas was convulsions; this
symptom was more frequently reported in rural areas (7.5%) than in urban areas
(3.5%).
Figure 1. Multiple signs and symptoms mentioned by caretakers of children with reported malaria
in Bata District
101
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
Treatment-seeking behaviour
with reported malaria in rural and urban areas, respectively. Overall, the three steps
taken were significantly different between urban and rural respondents (all p<0.05).
Figure 2. Treatment-seeking behaviours of caretakers for children with reported malaria in rural area
of Bata District
Figure 3. Treatment-seeking behaviours of caretakers for children with reported malaria in urban
area of Bata District
Treatment at home was the first option most mentioned for both urban and rural
caretakers of a child with reported malaria. The rural caretakers were more likely
than urban caretakers to opt for home treatment (rural 74.0% vs. urban 68.6%).
102
4. RESULTADOS
Also, rural children received treatment only at home (28.1%) more frequently than
urban children (14.9%). Caretakers reported that, among the children treated
only at home, 97.2% and 88.5% recovered in rural and urban areas, respectively.
Treatment more frequently received at home was paracetamol (58.6% rural vs.
72.6% urban) followed by metamizol (13.3% vs. 15. 4%). A traditional herbal treatment,
Nfoo and Eku, was the third option for rural caretakers (10.9%) and the fifth option for
urban caretakers (2.3%). Antimalarial drugs were given to 26.6% of rural children trea-
ted at home, but only 10.3% of urban children. The conventional antimalarial adminis-
tered most often at home in both areas was artemether (-6.3% rural vs. 3.4% urban).
When looking at drugs administered by age of children, a similar pattern to that obser-
ved overall was found. Most treatments were not administered alone, Figure 4 shows
Figure 4. Drugs administered for children that received treatment at home in Bata District
103
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
When the children were taken to a health service as a first step in see-
king treatment, the most common first options were a hospital (51.1% rural
vs. 52.6% urban) or a Health Centre (HC) (33.3% rural vs. 21.8% urban). The
private clinic was also an important first option for urban caretakers (19.2%),
but not for rural caretakers (6.7%). When the first step was treatment outside
the home, caretakers reported that 91.1% of rural children and 97.4% of urban
recovered.
Among the children that received a first step of treatment at home, 71.9% of
rural and 85.1% of urban children received a second step of treatment outside
the home. In both areas hospital was the first option, particularly in rural areas
(63.0%). The second option in rural areas was the HC (18.5%), and the second
The treatments children received outside the home were most often arteme-
ther monotherapy (29.9% rural vs 33.5% urban) and paracetamol (26.3% rural
vs 28.6% urban), regardless of where they went to seek a cure. The third most
13.9% of rural children. This treatment was administered most often in urban HCs
and hospitals. Table 3 shows the drugs administered and the treatment places for
children that received treatments outside the home in the Bata District. AS+AQ
was the third treatment most administrated in pharmacies but is almost non-exis-
tent among treatment reported by caretakers that went to a private clinics and
hospitals.
104
4. RESULTADOS
Table 3. DRUGS ADMINISTERED AND THE TREATMENT PLACES FOR CHILDREN THAT RECEIVED
TREATMENT OUTSIDE THE HOME IN THE BATA
Pharmacy Private Clinic Health Centre Hospital
Survey respondents were also asked to state the time interval between the
onset of the malaria symptoms and the time they sought treatment outside home.
found that 57.3% of urban caretakers and only 35.8% of rural caretakers sought
treatment on the first day of illness onset (p<0.001). Among those, 19.8% of ur-
ban caretakers and only 9.5% of rural caretakers sought treatment immediately
(p=0.009).
Of 428 children with reported malaria, 338 (79.0%) of their caretakers remem-
bered that they have paid something for the treatment. Figure 5 shows the median
treatment cost by place and area. The median treatment costs were 12,000 (IQR:
5,375 - 16,000) CFA francs in rural areas and 12,500 (IQR: 8,000 - 20,000) CFA
francs in urban Bata (p=0.064). In both areas, treatments were least expensive
105
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
cies and hospitals were lower in rural than in urban areas, but the differences did
not reach statistical significance. Only one urban caretaker remembered that the
cost for the traditional healer was 58,000 CFA, which was more expensive than
DISCUSSION
This study offered several insights about the health-seeking behaviour of ca-
regivers for children with reported malaria, the household diagnoses, the treat-
ments administered, and the treatment costs in the district of Bata, Equatorial
Guinea. The marked differences between the rural and urban areas in population
structures and access to treatment providers were in some extent present in the
In both rural and urban Bata households, fever was the main symptom associa-
ted with reported malaria in children, mostly reported alone, but it was also com-
106
4. RESULTADOS
bined with other symptoms, like weakness, nausea, and headache. For many
years, malaria has been considered the primary cause of all febrile illnesses in
shed by Bata caretakers. Nevertheless, convulsions was the second most repor-
ted symptom alone in both rural and urban households. Elsewhere, convulsions
were considered a key symptom associated with severe malaria, and its occu-
rrence frequently led to a change in treatment actions [16,17]. However, this at-
titude was not apparent in Bata, because the occurrence of convulsions was not
Up to three different lines of treatment were identified in Bata for a single ma-
laria episode. Most household caregivers sought out more than one line of treat-
ment for children with reported malaria starting at home and then seeking care
elsewhere if the child’s condition did not improve [12,18,19]. The percentage of
caregivers that sought a second line of treatment in the Bata District was higher
than that observed in other African countries [20–22]. However, the proportion of
caregivers that sought a third line of treatment was very low, particularly in urban
Bata.
Home treatment was the first option for most caregivers in the Bata District.
This option was chosen significantly more frequently in rural than in urban areas,
bility [12]. This behaviour was found in most African areas of high transmission
[9,19,23,24], even in areas with widely available and accessible biomedical and
Bata. The use of traditional herbs for treating malaria at home is widespread in
Africa [19], but in the Bata District, the use of herbs at home was less frequent
107
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
than elsewhere [25]. Moreover, this practice was much more extensive in rural
than in urban areas. This finding could be attributed to the low availability of
between rural and urban caretakers. Rural caretakers were older and less literate
than urban caretakers; thus, they may have more reliance in traditional treat-
ments. However, the herbs, Nfoo and Eku, have been identified as Enanthiachio-
rantha and Aistoniaboonei [26], respectively. These plants are known to have
The high recovery rate reported of malaria cases that received only home
treatment suggested that some cases might not have been malaria. This pos-
sibility points to the need to increase the availability of malaria diagnostic tools
that used traditional herbs at home reported that most children recovered; the-
refore, the efficacy and household dosage of Nfoo and Eku should be further
explored.
Seeking care at health facility mainly comes after the failure of care at home
[31] or caregivers might directly seek treatment from health facilities without ini-
tiating treatment at home [8]. In rural Bata, households mainly sought care in
hospitals and health centres but in urban areas households mainly sought care
in hospitals and private clinics. The relatively high use of hospitals in the Bata
District may be associated, as in other countries, with the notion that such fa-
cility could better treat severe cases of malaria [22]. Community-based Health
Workers (CHWs) were not mentioned by the households surveyed, even when
they were available in rural Bata. Unfortunately, CHWs have not had access to
diagnostic tools or treatments since 2011. Rural households in Bata were more
likely to get treatment from their neighbours than urban households. This finding
could be due to the homogeneous nature of rural residents [12]. The insignificant
108
4. RESULTADOS
use of traditional healers for malaria treatment in Bata has been also reported
ment throughout the Bata District. This therapy did not correspond to the first line
these relatively long treatment regimens is low [31]. This lack of adherence may
result in late recrudescence or it may induce drug resistance. Moreover, the use
of AS+AQ in the Bata District was very low. Health practitioners generally per-
ceived AS+AQ as a drug with some side-effects; thus, some practitioners either
documented case management practices in public health systems that did not
adhere to national policies in sub-Saharan Africa [32]. However, the EGMCI have
inappropriate prescription practices have also extended into the private sectors.
The majority of Bata households waited for more than 24 hours before they
sought outside treatment, but delays were longest in rural areas. Early recog-
nition and diagnosis have been shown to be key factors in malaria control [32]
in urban areas. In addition, rural households were predominantly poor, and their
inability to pay for health care may have caused delays in action, even though
109
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
The reported cost of malaria treatment in the Bata District varied from 200 to
58,000 CFA francs. The lower costs reported by rural Bata households may have
reflected the fact that they received less healthcare than the urban households.
Alternatively, it may reflect the use of lower level health care providers. Another
possibility was that the rural households may not have been able to pay for all the
drug policies would have the maximum impact on efforts to reduce the mortality
This study has some limitations. Firstly, the treatment-seeking behaviour regis-
tered is based on reported malaria thus some cases may not currently be mala-
ria. However, this would not have changed the reported behaviour of caregivers
because they suspected it was truly malaria and acted accordingly. Secondly,
there could be a problem of recall when the most recent malaria episode occu-
rred long time back. However, we do not think it can influence our results as we
did not find significant differences in the main variables analysed according to the
time length since the last malaria episode. Thirdly, although there could be con-
in children less than one year old, as headache and nausea, these symptoms
CONCLUSIONS
Although rural and urban households in the Bata District recognized fever as
targets for maximizing the effects of the EGMCI programme. We found that de-
lays in seeking treatment outside home, the type of malaria therapy received, and
the treatment cost were the principal problems that need to be addressed. These
110
4. RESULTADOS
issues are imbued with the notion that treatment failures are patient failures while
Access to free diagnoses and treatments have been shown to be a major de-
terminant in malaria control [34]. The available health care options, including pro-
The low accomplishment of national treatment policies in the Bata District indi-
cate the need for intensified interventions that target the community, health facili-
ties, and drug vendors, to educate individuals on policy changes and the dangers
of ineffective drugs that should not be used to treat malaria. National treatment
guidelines on drug utilization should be revised, and information about the correct
To reduce malaria morbidity and mortality in the area will require stressing the
malaria treatment skills in households and in health care workers are needed in
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
MRB, MJS, PN, GN and MS designed, coordinated, and carried out the sur-
veys. MRB and IJ conceived and designed the data analysis methods. GN and
111
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
manuscript. MRB performed the data analyses and wrote the manuscript. IJ par-
ticipated in the data analysis. IJ, MJS, and MS reviewed and corrected the ma-
nuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank the study participants for volunteering, the data collectors for
the fieldwork effort, the Bata Nursing School, and the MoHSW of Equatorial Gui-
nea. We also thank P. Berzosa for his useful comments. Corresponding author’s
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Malaria Journal
Malaria Journal DOI 10.1186/s12936-016-1239-0 March 31, 2016
Maria Romay-Barja1,2,3*, Jorge Cano4, Policarpo Ncogo5, Gloria Nseng6, Maria A. Santana-Mora-
les2,7, Basilio Valladares7, Matilde Riloha6, Agustin Benito1,2
1
Centro Nacional de Medicina Tropical, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
2
Red de Investigación Colaborativa en Enfermedades Tropicales, RICET, Madrid, Spain
3
Doctoranda de la Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
4
Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine,
London, UK
5
Centro de Referencia de Control de Endemias, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
6
Ministerio de Salud y Bienestar Social, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
7
Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain
*Corresponding autor
Abstract
dren under five years of age in Equatorial Guinea. Early appropriate treatment
can reduce progression of the illness to severe stages, thus reducing of mortality,
morbidity and onward transmission. The factors that contribute to malaria treat-
ment delay have not been studied previously in Equatorial Guinea. The objective
of this study was to assess the determinants of delay in seeking malaria treat-
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which involved 428 houses in 18 rural villages and 26 urban neighbourhoods. Hou-
sehold caregivers were identified in each house and asked about their knowledge
of malaria and about the management of the last reported malaria episode in a
child 15 years and younger under their care. Bivariate and multivariate statistical
Results: Nearly half of the children sought treatment at least 24 hours after the
onset of the symptoms. The median delay in seeking care was 2.8 days. Children
from households with the highest socio-economic status were less likely to be
delayed in seeking care than those from households with the lowest socio-eco-
nomic status (OR=0.37, 95% CI: 0.19-0.72). Children that first received treatment
at home, mainly paracetamol, were more than twice more likely to be delayed for
seeking care, than children who did not first receive treatment at home (OR=2.36,
95% CI: 1.45-3.83). Also, children living in a distance >3 kilometres from the nea-
rest health facility were more likely to be delayed in seeking care than those living
Workers and drug sellers and to increase awareness on the severity of malaria,
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4. RESULTADOS
BACKGROUND
malaria deaths occur each year in the region, and 74% of the deaths are in
children under five years of age [1]. Most of these malaria deaths occur at
home without receiving appropriate medical care and, when care is sought, it
Early diagnosis and prompt treatment have been the cornerstones of suc-
cessful malaria control. Early and appropriate treatment reduce illness progres-
sion to severe stages and, therefore, reduce mortality and morbidity rates, and
onward transmission [3–6]. The risk of death from severe malaria is greatest
within the first 24h, but in most endemic countries, a long time passes before
the patient receives care, delaying the start of appropriate anti-malarial treat-
ment [7].
The World Health Organization established that early diagnosis and prompt
treatment should occur within 24 hours of the onset of malaria symptoms [8].
In 2010, the Roll Back Malaria partnership set a goal of ensuring that 80% of
malaria patients are diagnosed and treated with effective anti-malarial medi-
cines within one day of the onset of illness, particularly those in the lowest
two economic quintiles [9]. Most African countries are far from meeting this
target [10].
remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality of children under five years of
age [12]. A malaria control programme was introduced in 2007 in the mainland
region, under the Equatorial Guinea Malaria Control Initiative (EGMCI). Case
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bination therapy (ACT) to all health facilities, including the Community Heal-
th Workers (CHWs) trained to use both rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and ACT
treatment. The initiative was largely funded by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Unfortunately, with the withdrawal of the GFATM funding in 2011, the EGMCI
and its universal access to ACT were not maintained [13]. Despite the efforts of
the EGMCI, malaria prevalence has remained high (41.2%) in the Bata district
in children under 15 years old [14]. Previous studies showed an important delay
in seeking malaria treatment at the national level [15] and in the Bata district in
caregiver’s level of education, the perception of the severity of the disease and
ment delay may help strengthen interventions that aim to improve timely diagno-
sis and treatment of malaria. The purpose of this study was to assess the factors
that affect delay in seeking treatment for malaria in children up to 15 years of age
METHODS
district in the country, according to the latest national census [18]. The District´s
public health facilities comprise a network of ten health centres, two rural and
eight urban, and one regional hospital located in the city of Bata. There are also
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4. RESULTADOS
private health facilities in the Bata District, including two hospitals, and about 23
clinics, all in the urban area of Bata city (Figure 1). About 156 pharmacies and
other drug sellers are distributed throughout the rural and urban areas of the
severe malaria.
A cross-sectional study was carried out in June–August 2013, in the Bata dis-
trict, which is in the mainland region of Equatorial Guinea. The study was part of
a project that aimed to provide baseline data on the prevalence of malaria, the
retakers were able to recognize malaria symptoms and to analyse the knowle-
dge, attitudes and treatment practices households related to the last reported
was carried out with a multistage stratified cluster strategy. The strata were
rural and urban settings, assuming that the 50% of the population knew about
malaria symptoms. First, rural villages and urban neighbourhoods were rando-
were randomly selected from an updated census from each cluster provided by
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S1 Fig. Map of public and private health facilities at Bata District, Equatorial Guinea. Inset maps
shows details of the shortest route between communities and nearest health facilities, correspon-
ding map A to urban communities (Bata quarters) and B.C and D to rural communities.
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4. RESULTADOS
The household caregivers were identified in each house and asked about
their knowledge of malaria and about their treatment-seeking behaviour for the
last reported malaria episode in a child under their care. A structured ques-
ted knowledge and child symptoms, and about treatment and treatment time-
lines related to the last reported malaria episode in a child up to 15 years old
was recorded.
project [19] for the entire area of mainland Equatorial Guinea in order to estimate
the shortest route from the villages and quarters to the nearest health facility, ei-
ther public or private. An OSM layer with geographical feature was downloaded
from the OSM project site, cropped to show the mainland region and converted
into a compatible ArcGIS format using the OSM Network tools that are available
in ArcGIS toolbox v10.2 (ESRI Inc., Redlands CA, USA). Finally, a road layer was
transformed into a network dataset with connectivity across the entire network
using rules for determining standard driving times. Standard driving rules were
used to estimate impedance or cost of circulating across the road network as the
use of vehicle, either particular or service transport (ie. shared taxis), is widely
extended and the most popular among Equatorial Guinea population above other
means of transport such as bicycle or motorbikes [19]. In this way, it was possible
to simulate driving on the road network and estimate the optimal routes between
communities and health facilities. Impedance, namely the cost of moving across
the network, was set in minutes, so that the optimal route was the one involving
the shorted driving time. Travel time and total distance were calculated for each
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Data analysis
The time elapsed between the onset of symptoms and the time when outside
treatment was sought was defined as early if care was sought within 24 hours
and as delayed if more than 24 hours passed between the onset of the symptoms
proxy for socio-economic status was created using household-owned assets, housing
characteristics and the type of access to water and sanitation [20,21]. The first princi-
and subsequently divided into quintiles to assign houses to different wealth strata.
The multistage cluster sampling strategy used for this study was considered in
the analysis by assessing the effect of the design on the variables of interest and
centages were used to summarize data and to assess factors related to delay,
Student’s t test and x2 tests for continuous and categorical variables, respectively,
were performed. Comparisons for which p values were below 0.05 were consi-
dered significant. Mean and standard deviation or median and interquartile range
were calculated for continuous variables that were or were not normally distribu-
variables and delay was conducted using simple logistic regression. Independent
variables that were significantly associated with delay at de p <0.10 level, as well
as child age, were included in the multivariable analysis. The absence of multicolli-
procedure. The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI)
were computed. P values less than or equal to 0.05 were considered statistically
significant. Data analysis was performed using STATA software version 12.
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4. RESULTADOS
Ethics statement
This study was approved by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Equa-
torial Guinea and the Ethics Committee of the Spanish National Health Institute,
Carlos III (CEI PI 22_2013-v3). Written informed consent for participation in the
study was obtained from the caregivers interviewed and from the heads of the
households.
RESULTS
Descriptive statistics
Of 428 caregivers who were interviewed about the last malaria episode in
a child under their care, 62 only provided treatment at home, two provided no
treatment at all and 28 did not remember the time that elapsed between the
onset of the malaria symptoms and the time at which they sought treatment out-
side the home. Therefore, a total of 336 caregivers were included in this study.
The caregivers interviewed had a median age of 31 years (IQR: 25–43; mini-
mum:15; maximum: 70), and most were female (98.5%). In terms of educatio-
nal background, 56.8% of the caregivers had attended secondary school. The
of 905 children were living in the 336 houses. There was a median of 1.3 chil-
dren under one year of age per house (IQR: 1-1; minimum: 0; maximum: 6) and
a median of four children aged 1 to 15 years per house (IQR: 2-6; minimum: 0;
maximum: 22). Most of the households (63.4%) lived three kilometres or less
from the nearest health facility and those who lived farther than three kilometres
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CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
their reported malaria episode according to the delay in seeking treatment after
the onset of symptoms. Most of the children were between one and five years
of age (58.9%). There were a slightly higher percentage of boys (53.65%) than
girls, and most of the children were taken to the health facility by their mothers
(77.7%). The two malaria symptoms that were most often identified in children
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4. RESULTADOS
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CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
by their caregivers were fever (86.0%) and weakness (32.1%), followed by nau-
sea (20.8%) and convulsions (11.3%). Most of the children received treatment at
home (67.9%) before they were taken to a health facility. Paracetamol was the
treatment that was most frequently administered at home (70.13%). Only 9.96%
of the children who were first treated at home received anti-malarial medica-
tion, artemether being the anti-malarial that was administrated most frequently
(3.45%). Nearly half of the children (46.7%) sought treatment at least 24 hours
after the onset of the symptoms (95% CI: 41.4%-52.1%). The median of delay in
seeking care was 2.8 days with a range of 2 to 15 days. Figure 2 shows the dis-
tribution of children with reported malaria according the time that passed before
Figure 2. The time elapsed between malaria symptoms onset and seeking treatment for children in
Bata district, Equatorial Guinea
higher in rural areas (58.1%), in boys (51.7%) and in children that first received
treatment at home (52.3%). Delay in seeking treatment outside home was also
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4. RESULTADOS
significantly higher in those who lived more than three kilometres from the nea-
rest health centre (59.4%), and in children whose caregivers did not know that
poorest households (62.9%) and showed a significant trend: the higher the weal-
th level, the shorter the delay (p<0.0001). Figure 3 shows the mean of delay in
3.23
2.85
2.70 2.69
2.29
Figure 3. The delay between malaria symptoms onset and seeking treatment for children in the Bata
district, according to household wealth (divided into quintiles)
In the multiple logistic regression analysis (Table 2), those children that recei-
ved treatment at home first were 2.4 times more likely to be taken for care later
than those who did not after adjusting for other variables (95% CI: 1.45-3.83).
Low socio-economic status was also a significant factor for delay. The richest
households were 2.7 times more likely to seek early treatment than the poorest
once adjusted for other variables. Children who lived more than three kilometres
away from the nearest health facility were almost two times more likely to show a
delay in seeking care than those who lived closer, with no significant association
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CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
DISCUSSION
Delay in seeking treatment for malaria is an important risk factor for severe
sub-Saharan Africa, including Equatorial Guinea. This study found that being
treated at home first, the socioeconomic level of the household and the distance
to the nearest health facility were determinants of delay in seeking-care for chil-
Almost half of the children in the study, between 41.4% and 52.1% of children
in Bata district, were not taken to seek health care for at least 24 hours after the
130
4. RESULTADOS
onset of symptoms. This delay is similar to that found in a previous national study
Treating malaria at home was the first option for most caregivers in the Bata
district [16]. This behaviour is common in most African areas with high malaria
transmission rates, even in areas in which biomedical and health services are
widely available and accessible [25, 26]. Receiving home treatment first, mainly
paracetamol, was one of the most important factors associated with delay in see-
king care in Bata district and it may contribute to the development of severe com-
in malaria infections [27]. Unfortunately, CHWs have not had access to diagnos-
tic tools or to treatments in Bata district since 2011, due to financial constraints
Although most heads of households in the Bata district recognized the main
symptoms of malaria, this knowledge was not associated with early treatment
as caregivers seem to perceive their child’s illness as being mild [28]. In many
places, knowledge about malaria symptoms is not associated with seeking timely
treatment for children [23, 29]. Consistent with this, the present study found that
Bata district caregivers who reported having a death in the family that was cau-
sed by malaria did not seek treatment for their child earlier than other caregivers.
These data indicates that caregivers in Bata district may have a low perception of
the caregivers are not always associated with delay in seeking treatment for ma-
laria [29] and this was found in Bata district as well. In addition, the age of the
child was not a determinant for delay in seeking care, in contrast with the asso-
ciation found in other studies [30]. Furthermore, the sex of the child is not usually
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CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
associated with delay in malaria diagnosis and treatment [31, 32], but one study
in a Nairobi slum area showed that boys were more likely to get early diagnosis
and treatment of malaria [33]. In Bata district, the sex of the children was not
significantly associated with delay, but boys were taken later than girls to seek
In the Bata district, households that were three kilometres or less from the
nearest health facility tended to seek malaria treatment for children earlier. This
finding is consistent with many other studies [29, 34] showing that mothers who
have to travel less than three kilometres are more likely to seek early treatment
for their children with malaria compared to those who had to travel farther. Most
of these children lived in urban Bata. In rural areas, the most accessible healthca-
re providers for caregivers are some drug sellers, the CHWs and two government
health posts poorly provided, while in urban areas there is a wider offer of public
and private health facilities. When a caregiver must pay for transportation, those
with limited resources may not seek timely treatment for a child who is thought
to have malaria because they may need to find money for transport first [29, 30].
between socioeconomic status and delay in seeking care [24, 34, 35]. In Bata
status and delay in seeking care. The trend was clear: households at the highest
socioeconomic level were almost three times less likely to delay seeking care
compared to the poorest families. In Bata district, the delay in seeking treatment
for children with malaria depended much more on household wealth than on the
18.24 euros for the last malaria treatment for their child [16], a cost very difficult
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4. RESULTADOS
This study has some limitations. Firstly, the treatment-seeking behaviour registe-
red was based on reported malaria thus some cases may not have been malaria.
However, this would not have changed the behaviour of caregivers because they
thought it was malaria and proceeded accordingly. Secondly, due to sample size,
some associations may not show significant in multivariable logistic regression such
as the association between distance to a health centre and delay in seeking care.
CONCLUSIONS
Low socio-economic status, provide treatment at home before seeking care and li-
ving more than three kilometres from the nearest health centre were factors significant-
ly associated with delay in seeking care for children with reported malaria in the Bata
district. The Equatorial Guinea Malaria Control Initiative should focus its strategy in the
cially to the poorest families. Reinforcing malaria management at home and providing
rapid diagnostic tools and adequate treatment to Community Health Workers and drug
sellers have proven to be crucial for timely access to quality malaria treatment. Pro-
grammes that increase the community awareness of the seriousness of malaria and
the importance of early diagnosis and proper treatment are also needed.
COMPETING INTERESTS
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
AUTHORS’ CONTRIBUTIONS
MRB, PN, GN and MS designed, coordinated, and carried out the surveys.
MRB conceived and designed the data analysis methods. JC design and imple-
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in survey coordination and reviewed the manuscript. MRB performed the data
analyses and wrote the manuscript. JC and MS reviewed and corrected the ma-
nuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank the study participants for volunteering, the data collectors for
conducting the fieldwork and the Bata Nursing School, and the MoHSW of Equa-
torial Guinea. We also thank S. Walter and P. Berzosa for their useful comments.
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5. DISCUSIÓN
137
El presente estudio realiza un análisis en profundidad de los conocimientos,
actitudes y prácticas que tiene la población del distrito de Bata, en relación con
cupante el bajo nivel de conocimiento sobre la malaria que tienen en las zonas
rurales, donde hay una mayor prevalencia. Además de los hogares rurales, este
encuesta.
Como ocurre en otros países (40,84–86), los cuidadores del distrito de Bata
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CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
para el manejo de esta enfermedad en el hogar (41). Al igual que otras poblacio-
nes que viven en zonas endémicas de malaria (82,84,85), los cuidadores en el dis-
trito de Bata reconocen los principales síntomas asociados con la malaria. Aunque
los cuidadores rurales mencionaron la fiebre 1,3 veces menos que los urbanos y
sin embargo, mencionaron las convulsiones 3,5 veces más. Esta mayor mención
de las convulsiones como síntoma de la malaria en la zona rural, puede estar rela-
cionada con la mayor frecuencia con la que también describen la aparición de con-
vulsiones, en el último caso de malaria, en los niños de los hogares de esa zona.
que los mosquitos transmiten la malaria es crucial para el uso adecuado de las
que como un método para prevenir la malaria, especialmente en las zonas rura-
les. Una apreciación pobre del efecto protector de las telas mosquiteras fente la
malaria se ha encontrado en otros lugares (41,92) en los que el evitar las moles-
tas picaduras de mosquito era también la razón principal para el uso de las telas
mosquiteras (93,94). Esta baja conexión entre las picaduras de los mosquitos y
140
5. DISCUSIÓN
la transmisión de la malaria podría ser una de las razones por las que, en Guinea
Ecuatorial, las mosquiteras se utilizan con mayor frecuencia para proteger a los
trito de Bata, fue poco mencionada por los cuidadores como un medio de pre-
vención de la malaria, especialmente en las zonas rurales. Al igual que las mos-
el distrito de Bata dijeron que permitirían a los trabajadores del gobierno rociar
sus casas. Estas visitas podrían ser una valiosa oportunidad para mejorar el co-
nocimiento de la malaria en los hogares, aunque parece que los mensajes trans-
mitidos por los trabajadores encargados del rociamiento deberán ser reforzados
sobre el momento del día en el que pica el mosquito que transmite la malaria, se
sobre el tratamiento que deben tomar los niños con malaria, la mención del trata-
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miento de primera línea AS/AQ o Quinina fue muy baja, especialmente en zonas
res fue Arteméter. Esto puede estar relacionado con que esta monoterapia con
distrito de Bata. Parece urgente educar en los hogares y en general a todos los
nados con este largo tratamiento (27). La mejora de la calidad de este mensaje
podría tener un gran impacto en que los niños del distrito de Bata reciban una
en el distrito de Bata afirmaron con más frecuencia que el lugar dónde irían a
centro de salud y los cuidadores urbanos tenían nueve veces más probabilida-
ciarse una asistencia médica privada. Hay que señalar que los cuidadores del
escasa distribución de tratamiento a los ASC, por parte del Programa Nacional
Los cuidadores de Bata dicen haber recibido con más frecuencia información
eficaz, es importante emplear los canales de comunicación que tienen más pro-
142
5. DISCUSIÓN
babilidades de ser utilizados por los hogares locales. En consecuencia, todos los
preocupación que debe ser abordada, especialmente para aquellos hogares que
los hogares urbanos reciben más información debido a su proximidad a los esta-
blecimientos de salud (81). Además, los grupos sociales más educados suelen
tienen un nivel educativo más bajo (79,99). Si bien el analfabetismo excluye del
yor conocimiento sobre la malaria por parte de los cuidadores suele promover un
143
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
(101,102).
cuesta. Una vez más, el conocimiento de los cuidadores sobre la malaria parece
dos por los servicios de salud y su coste en el Distrito de Bata. Las diferencias
urbanos.
años, la principal causa de todas las fiebres (104). Tanto en los hogares rurales
como en los urbanos del distrito de Bata, la fiebre fue el principal síntoma repor-
tado en niños con malaria, sola o combinada con otros síntomas como debilidad,
el segundo síntoma más veces mencionado solo, tanto en los hogares rurales
144
5. DISCUSIÓN
estudiar más en profundidad la percepción que tienen, en los hogares del distrito
que buscaron tratamiento por tercera vez, para el mismo caso de malaria, fue
mente en las zonas rurales que en las urbanas, posiblemente debido a un alto
costo de tratamiento y una peor accesibilidad a los servicios de salud (46). El dar
145
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
aunque en el Distrito de Bata fue menos frecuente que en otros lugares (112),
siendo más habitual en las zonas rurales que en las urbanas. Esto podría atri-
que los cuidadores urbanos, lo que puede hacer que tengan más confianza en
los tratamientos tradicionales. Cabe destacar que las hierbas nombradas por los
antipalúdicas (114,115).
La alta tasa de recuperación reportada de los casos de malaria que sólo reci-
que también pueden ser muy graves en los niños menores de 15 años. Además,
cipalmente, mientras que en las zonas urbanas los hogares buscaban atención
hospital se tratan mejor los casos de malaria grave (49). Los encuestados tam-
146
5. DISCUSIÓN
el proveedor al que fueron a buscar el tratamiento. Por otro lado, los hogares
nos, que los hogares urbanos. Esto puede tener relación con la naturaleza más
países de la zona (42,111) relacionado, en estos últimos, con una baja concien-
ción también se han extendido a los sectores privados. Estas prácticas suelen
tener una base sociocultural bien arraigada que trata de responder a las expec-
147
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
Paludismo debe ser consciente de que desde la retirara del GFATM, las constan-
58.000 francos CFA, siendo los hogares rurales del distrito de Bata los que men-
cionaron menores gastos. Esto puede deberse a que la población rural acudió
más a los Centros de Salud y hospitales públicos, pero también puede deberse
a que los hogares rurales no hayan podido pagar todos los fármacos recetados
menos, económicamente viable para todas las familias, en todos los servicios de
buscar tratamiento fuera del hogar, y el retraso fue más largo en las zonas rura-
países del África subsahariana, incluida Guinea Ecuatorial, al ser uno de los
niños. Este estudio encontró que el ser tratado primero en casa y el nivel socioe-
148
5. DISCUSIÓN
Casi a la mitad de los niños del estudio, entre el 41,4% y el 52,1% de los ni-
ños del distrito de Bata, se les llevó a buscar tratamiento fuera de casa 24 horas
Tratar al niño con malaria en el hogar fue la primera opción para la mayoría de
principalmente con paracetamol, fue uno de los factores más importantes aso-
las infecciones por malaria (125) pero, como ya se ha dicho, los ASC del distrito
de el año 2011.
encontró que los cuidadores del distrito de Bata que reportaron tener una muerte
antes que otros cuidadores. Estos datos refuerzan la idea de que los cuidadores
miento adecuado.
y esto se encontró también en el distrito de Bata. Además, la edad del niño no fue
149
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
con la asociación encontrada en otros estudios (127). Por otra parte, el sexo del
malaria (128,129), pero un estudio en un barrio pobre de Nairobi mostró que los
antes que las niñas (130). En el distrito de Bata, el sexo de los niños no se asoció
significativamente con el retraso, pero los niños fueron llevados más tarde que
ciudad de Bata. Este dato es consistente con otros estudios que muestran que
las madres que tienen que viajar menos de tres kilómetros son más propensas
a buscar tratamiento temprano para sus hijos con malaria, en comparación con
aquellas que tienen que viajar más kilómetros (126,131). En las zonas rurales,
los proveedores de salud más accesibles para los cuidadores son algunos ven-
dedores, los ACS y dos puestos de salud gubernamentales, mientras que en las
zonas urbanas hay una oferta más amplia de servicios de salud públicos y pri-
vados. Cuando un cuidador debe pagar por el transporte, aquellos con recursos
tener malaria, ya que pueden necesitar encontrar primero dinero para el trans-
porte (126,127).
laria en toda África subsahariana (121). Así, varios estudios han recogido una
gares del nivel socioeconómico más alto tenían casi tres veces menos probabili-
150
5. DISCUSIÓN
niños con malaria dependía mucho más de la riqueza de los hogares que de la
distancia a al servicio sanitario más cercano. Como hemos visto, los cuidadores
para su hijo, un costo muy difícil de sufragar por las familias más pobres, sin
151
6. LIMITACIONES
153
Este estudio tiene algunas limitaciones. En primer lugar, se trata de un estudio
podría haber un problema de memoria en los casos en los que el último episodio
de malaria había ocurrido hacía tiempo, aunque no parece que esto pueda ha-
155
7. CONCLUSIONES
157
1. Las diferencias socioeconómicas y geográficas entre los hogares rurales y
la ruralidad, un bajo nivel educativo del cuidador principal y un bajo nivel socioe-
6. Los servicios de salud, públicos y privados, fueron los más utilizados para el
en el distrito de Bata.
159
CONOCIMIENTOS, ACTITUDES Y PRÁCTICAS FRENTE A LA MALARIA EN GUINEA ECUATORIAL
era sistemáticamente aplicado por los proveedores de salud del distrito de Bata
8. Casi la mitad de los cuidadores del distrito de Bata tardaron más de 24 ho-
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