A criteria-based clinical audit on the case-management of children presenting with malaria at Mangochi District Hospital, Malawi.
Malaria is a major threat to global health and is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. It is estimated that 2.3 billion people live in areas of malaria risk and each year 300-500 million cases of Plasmodium falciparum malaria occur worldwide. This parasitic infection is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in Africa and approximately 90% of cases which include life-threatening malaria are in children, the highest mortality rate being found in children under the age of five. Improvement in case-management of malaria in children is one of the strategies in the prevention of infant mortality. In particular, the health system needs to concentrate on good quality care at the first referral level of the district hospital, as health care provided at this level is crucial for reducing child mortality and for a credible and effective support for the primary health care system. The conduct of systematic assessments of clinical care of malaria including the diagnostic process, medical treatment and nursing care in order to reveal shortcomings in case-management and make improvements are vital. Clinical audit is now routinely used and accepted as part of quality assurance in the health care services of many developed countries, but it has yet to be widely applied to the developing world. The principal objective of the study conducted, was therefore to assess the clinical care of children with malaria at district hospital level in a low-income African country to highlight potential areas of improvement in the quality of care of malaria. At the same time, the specific objectives involved: Assessment of diagnostic process, medical treatment and nursing care; Identification of strengths and deficiencies in current practice; Identification of factors contributing to poor quality of care; Finding strategies to improve current practice.
Diep
Phuong Phuong
PP
University of Oslo, Norway. phuong2diep@yahoo.no
Lien
Lars
L
Hofman
Jan
J
D019090:Case Management / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006757:Hospital Units / Q000592:standards*; D006767:Hospitals, District / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000451:nursing / Q000628:therapy*; D008295:Malawi; D008485:Medical Audit; D009731:Nursing Audit; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000592:standards*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care