Preferences of Patients and Providers in High-Burden Malaria Settings for Long-Acting Malaria Chemoprevention.



Scarsi, Kimberly K, Sayles, Harlan, Kapungu, Kelvin, Sifuna, Peter, Ippolito, Matthew M, Furl, Renae, Anderson, Matthew J, Ofimboudem, Joelle Dountio, Chongwe, Gershom, Hutter, Jack
et al (show 3 more authors) (2023) Preferences of Patients and Providers in High-Burden Malaria Settings for Long-Acting Malaria Chemoprevention. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 109 (4). pp. 752-760.

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Abstract

Antimalarial medications are recommended for chemoprevention as part of malaria control programs to decrease the morbidity and mortality related to more than 200 million infections each year. We sought to evaluate patient and provider acceptability of malaria chemoprevention in a long-acting formulation. We administered questionnaires to patients and providers in malaria endemic districts in Kenya and Zambia. Questions explored preferences and concerns around long-acting antimalarial formulations compared with oral formulations. We recruited 202 patient respondents (Kenya, n = 102; Zambia, n = 100) and 215 provider respondents (Kenya, n = 105; Zambia, n = 110). Long-acting injection was preferred to oral pills, whereas oral pills were preferred to implant or transdermal administration by patient respondents. Of 202 patient respondents, 80% indicated that they 'definitely would try' malaria chemoprevention offered by injection instead of oral pills. Of parents or guardians, 84% of 113 responded that they 'definitely would' have their child age < 12 years and 90% of 88 'definitely would' have their child ≥12 years receive an injection for malaria prevention. Provider respondents indicated that they would be more likely to prescribe a long-acting injectable product compared with an oral product for malaria chemoprevention in adults (70%), adolescents ages 12 years and older (67%), and children <12 years (81%). Potential for prolonged adverse effects with long-acting products was the highest concern for patient respondents, while higher medication-related cost was cited as the most concerning barrier to implementation by providers. Overall, these findings indicate enthusiasm for the development of long-acting injectable antimalarials to provide individual delivery method options across age groups.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Humans, Malaria, Antimalarials, Chemoprevention, Injections, Adolescent, Adult, Child, Zambia
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Science and Engineering > School of Physical Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 29 Sep 2023 15:55
Last Modified: 13 Oct 2023 10:23
DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.23-0245
Open Access URL: https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.23-0245
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3173244