Table 4 Overall rank of malaria operational research and programme evaluation topics
Rank | Operational research/programme evaluation topic | Thematic area(s) | Research priority score | Average expert agreement score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Test and evaluate different delivery mechanisms to reach and sustain high coverage of ITNs among hard-to-reach and highest risk populations | Prevention | 87.9 | 59.4 |
2 | Evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of different strategies for deploying the RTS, S AS01 malaria vaccine with chemoprevention (e.g., campaign vs. expanded programme on immunization (EPI)-linked vs combination campaign/EPI strategies) | Prevention and chemoprevention | 86.6 | 53.0 |
3 | Assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of different intervention combinations (e.g., ITNs + IRS, ITNs or IRS + LSM, vector control + chemoprevention) to better understand how interventions should be combined to maximize impact | Crosscutting | 85.3 | 53.5 |
3 | Test and evaluate approaches or interventions to reduce the frequency of stockouts of key commodities for malaria case management, especially at the community level (specifically addressing challenges related to commodity quantification, stock management capacity, reporting and use of stock data) | Case management | 85.3 | 47.9 |
5 | Evaluate and compare different insecticide management and/or rotation strategies on insecticide resistance prevalence and intensity (crosscuts use of ITNs and IRS) | Prevention | 85.1 | 54.1 |
6 | Evaluate the impact and cost-effectiveness of expanding the age range, geographical coverage, and rounds of treatment of seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) | Chemoprevention | 84.5 | 55.3 |
7 | Assess factors associated with volunteer community health worker (CHW) cadres’ motivation and retention and evaluate different approaches or interventions to improve volunteer CHW motivation and retention | Case management | 83.3 | 47.6 |
8 | Assess predictors of adherence to and determinants of uptake of SMC and evaluate different strategies to achieving high SMC coverage and adherence | Chemoprevention | 82.3 | 52.5 |
9 | Test and evaluate the effectiveness of different deployment and targeting approaches for IRS to maximize impact (e.g., testing different insecticides, duration and frequency of spraying, geographic/structural targeting strategies) | Prevention | 82.0 | 50.6 |
10 | Assess different approaches or interventions to improve the analytic and data use capacity, and data use culture at different levels of the health system | SME | 81.3 | 45.3 |
10 | Assess the impact of IRS and focal/reactive IRS on malaria burden, transmission, and insecticide resistance | Prevention | 81.3 | 52.4 |
10 | Given the challenges with ITN durability, test and evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches to improve routine/continuous distribution channels for ITNs to sustain coverage between mass campaigns | Prevention | 81.3 | 60.4 |
13 | Compare different CE/SBC strategies in terms of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness on healthcare seeking, adherence to treatment, and uptake of key prevention interventions | CE/SBC | 80.9 | 55.1 |
14 | Assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of innovative approaches to reduce the cost and/or improve the efficiency of IRS implementation (e.g., partial spraying of structures, use of a decentralized approach, targeted spraying) | Prevention | 80.8 | 55.9 |
15 | Assess structural and behavioural factors associated with delayed care-seeking across different population groups (e.g., age, gender, hard-to-reach/vulnerable populations) and compare different strategies to decrease delays in care-seeking | Case management | 80.0 | 54.7 |
16 | Assess predictors of adherence and non-adherence to case management treatment guidelines among health care providers and test/evaluate different strategies to improve adherence to guidelines | Case management | 79.5 | 46.1 |
17 | Evaluate how current surveillance systems are functioning, and whether they are producing reliable and accurate information to guide countries toward elimination | SME | 79.4 | 48.2 |
18 | Assess the operational feasibility and most effective delivery platform for perennial malaria chemoprevention administration (e.g., EPI, mass campaign, community health workers) | Chemoprevention | 78.9 | 42.8 |
19 | Assess the feasibility and benefit of different digital tools/systems for use at the community level for data capture, reporting, and transmission to HMIS/DHIS2 | SME | 78.7 | 45.3 |
20 | Evaluate different strategies for achieving high MDA coverage and adherence in different transmission contexts | Chemoprevention | 78.6 | 47.1 |
20 | Test and evaluate interventions to improve adherence to malaria treatment guidelines and reporting in the private sector (Note: Private sector is inclusive of private sector clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, drug shops, and other private sector providers) | Case management | 78.6 | 55.3 |
22 | Assess the long-term effectiveness and sustainability of different SBC approaches on key malaria treatment and prevention behaviours and the duration of their impact on intervention uptake | CE/SBC | 78.1 | 60.9 |
23 | Compare different strategies for surveillance and response in elimination settings, assessing completeness, timeliness, delivery of response, and cost-effectiveness | SME | 78.0 | 55.6 |
23 | Test the effectiveness of different strategies to improve IPTp coverage | Chemoprevention | 78.0 | 58.2 |
25 | Test and evaluate strategies to improve the efficiency of the delivery of IPTp (e.g., community-based delivery through community health workers) | Chemoprevention | 77.9 | 46.8 |
26 | Test and evaluate different approaches or interventions for improving HMIS data quality (e.g., assess minimum periodicity of supervision, strategies for easing reporting burden on staff/simplification of reporting system, strategies to incentivize reporting accuracy) | SME | 77.6 | 57.1 |
27 | Evaluate different strategies to improve health care worker adherence to integrated management of childhood illness guidelines | Case management | 77.4 | 58.1 |
28 | Evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of LSM on epidemiological and entomological outcomes in different transmission contexts and the duration of impact | Prevention | 76.6 | 52.4 |
28 | Test approaches or strategies to improve cost and resource efficiency (e.g., integration of seasonal malaria chemoprevention with other delivery platforms) and to maintain effectiveness in the delivery of SMC when scaling up the intervention | Chemoprevention | 76.6 | 67.6 |
28 | Compare or evaluate different strategies/packages of interventions to prevent resurgence of malaria cases following the withdrawal of IRS | Prevention | 76.6 | 47.1 |
31 | Assess barriers and facilitators to ITN use in different settings where access to ITNs is high and evaluate the effectiveness of different SBC approaches/interventions to improve ITN use within different settings/contexts based on the identified barriers (e.g., community level strategies, provider/patient communication/SBC approaches, SBC approaches for low transmission settings) | Prevention and CE/SBC | 76.3 | 40.3 |
32 | Test different approaches for working with/incentivizing participation and collaboration of the private sector in the referral, diagnosis, treatment, and reporting of malaria cases | Case management | 75.5 | 53.5 |
33 | Assess the impact of cross border movement of people on malaria incidence/prevalence and evaluate the effectiveness of different strategies to reduce malaria transmission across international borders | Crosscutting | 71.5 | 45.0 |