Table 1 Malaria survey responses among primary care physicians
Question | All (N = 360) n (%) | < 15 years of professional practice (N = 83) n (%) | ≥ 15 years of professional practice (N = 277) n (%) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Have you had any suspected or confirmed cases of malaria in your practice? | ||||
No | 260 (67.2) | 61 (67.8) | 199 (67.0) | 0.891 |
Yes | 127 (32.8) | 29 (32.2) | 88 (33.0) | |
How would you rate your knowledge of malaria? (n = 384) | ||||
High | 22 (5.7) | 4 (4.4) | 18 (6.1) | 0.837 |
Low | 221 (57.6) | 50 (55.6) | 171 (58.2) | |
Medium | 136 (35.49) | 50 (55.6) | 171 (58.2) | |
Null | 5 (1.3) | 1 (1.1) | 4 (1.4) | |
Which of the following mosquitoes causes malaria? | ||||
Aedes | 39 (10.1) | 12 (13.3) | 27 (9.2) | 0.477 |
Anopheles | 345 (89.5) | 78 (86.7) | 267 (90.5) | |
Culex | 1 (0.3) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.3) | |
What is your course of action when travelers to malaria-endemic countries come to your practice? | ||||
I manage part and refer the rest to specialists | 151 (39.8) | 42 (48.8) | 109 (37.2) | 0.070 |
I refer them to tropical medicine units | 173 (45.6) | 30 (34.9) | 143 (48.8) | |
I manage these patients in my regular practice | 55 (14.5) | 14 (16.3) | 41 (14.0) | |
Which of these travelers do you consider to be at the highest risk of contracting malaria? | ||||
Elderly | 28 (7.3) | 4 (84.4) | 24 (8.2) | 0.227 |
Pregnant | 134 (34.9) | 39 (43.3) | 95 (32.3) | |
Child | 24 (6.3) | 5 (5.6) | 19 (6.5) | |
VFR | 198 (51.6) | 42 (46.7) | 156 (53.1) | |
When faced with a patient returning from a malaria-endemic area, which of the following symptoms do you consider most significant? | ||||
Headache | 3 (0.8) | 2 (2.2) | 1 (0.3) | 0.002 |
Diarrhea | 8 (2.1) | 5 (5.6) | 3 (1.0) | |
Fever | 78 (20.2) | 17 (19.1) | 61 (20.5) | |
All of the above | 295 (76.5) | 63 (70.8) | 232 (78.1) | |
Regarding the prevention of mosquito bites, which of the following measures do you consider most appropriate? | ||||
Mosquito net | 2 (0.5) | 1 (1.1) | 1 (0.3) | 0.030 |
Repellents | 5 (1.3) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (1.7) | |
Appropriate clothing | 1 (0.5) | 2 (2.2) | 0 (0.0) | |
All the above are valid | 376 (97.7) | 86 (96.6) | 290 (98.0) | |
What sources of information do you consult regularly? | ||||
Clinical guidelines of scientific societies | 201 (52.5) | 43 (47.8) | 158 (53.9) | 0.369 |
Spanish Ministry of Health | 109 (28.5) | 27 (30.0) | 82 (28.0) | |
Scientific journals/PubMed | 42 (11.0) | 14 (15.6) | 28 (9.6) | |
Search engines (e.g., Google)/generative artificial intelligence tools (e.g., ChatGPT) | 31 (8.19) | 6 (6.7) | 25 (8.5) | |
Which of the following pieces of advice do you think is most appropriate to give to a traveler visiting a malaria-endemic area? | ||||
Antimalarial chemoprophylaxis | 267 (69.2) | 56 (62.2) | 211 (71.3) | 0.023 |
Use of insect repellent and appropriate clothing | 84 (21.8) | 29 (32.2) | 55 (18.6) | |
Vaccination | 23 (6.0) | 2 (2.2) | 21 (7.1) | |
General advice (e.g., water, food, sunscreen, travel insurance) | 12 (3.19) | 9 (3.0) | 9 (3.0) | |
How is malaria diagnosed in your area? | ||||
Thick blood smear | 148 (41.1) | 40 (48.2) | 108 (39.0) | 0.541 |
Antigen test | 10 (2.8) | 1 (1.2) | 9 (3.2) | |
Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) | 49 (13.6) | 16 (19.3) | 33 (11.9) | |
All of the above | 153 (42.5) | 26 (31.3) | 127 (45.8) | |
In the case of a patient returning from a tropical area with fever, diarrhea, and general malaise, what do you consider the most appropriate management? | ||||
Request full battery of laboratory tests and monitor general condition | 225 (58.3) | 53 (58.9) | 172 (58.1) | 0.041 |
Refer the patient to the emergency department to rule out malaria | 158 (40.7) | 37 (41.1) | 120 (40.5) | |
Daily telephone monitoring | 4 (1.0) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (1.4) | |