Health systems readiness and management of febrile outpatients under low malaria transmission in Vanuatu

Malaria Journal

Table 1 Health facility and health worker readiness to implement ‘test and treat’ policy

Health facilities (N = 41)	n	%
Malaria diagnostic services
Routinely providing malaria microscopy service	26	63.4
Malaria microscopy service functional on survey days	20	48.8
Malaria RDTs in stock	40	97.6
Any functional diagnostics on survey days (microscopy or RDTs)	41	100
Anti-malarial medicines (non-expired)
Artemether-lumefantrine (at least one pack in stock)	39	95.1
Artemether-lumefantrine (all 4 packs in stock)	31	75.6
Artesunate suppositories	30	73.2
Artesunate injections	27	65.8
Primaquine tablets	26	63.4
Chloroquine tablets	40	97.6
Quinine tablets	26	63.4
Quinine injections	20	48.8

Health workers (N = 67)	n	%
Exposure to in-service training
Trained how to perform RDTs	47	70.2
Ever trained on malaria case management	40	59.7
Trained on malaria case management since 2009^a	36	53.7
Trained on malaria case management since 2012^a	21	31.3
Exposure to job aids
Malaria treatment guideline	46	68.7
RDT use job aid	47	70.2
Exposure to supportive supervision in past 6 months
Any supervisory visit	49	73.1
Malaria supervisory visit	45	67.2

^aAll training since 2009 recommended AL and artesunate treatment while only training from 2012 recommended testing of all patients with fever and anti-malarial treatment of only test-positive results. Training prior to 2012 did not provide testing criteria and was ambiguous about interpretation of test-negative results

ISSN: 1475-2875