A randomized longitudinal factorial design to assess malaria vector control and disease management interventions in rural Tanzania.
The optimization of malaria control strategies is complicated by constraints posed by local health systems, infrastructure, limited resources, and the complex interactions between infection, disease, and treatment. The purpose of this paper is to describe the protocol of a randomized factorial study designed to address this research gap. This project will evaluate two malaria control interventions in Mvomero District, Tanzania: (1) a disease management strategy involving early detection and treatment by community health workers using rapid diagnostic technology; and (2) vector control through community-supported larviciding. Six study villages were assigned to each of four groups (control, early detection and treatment, larviciding, and early detection and treatment plus larviciding). The primary endpoint of interest was change in malaria infection prevalence across the intervention groups measured during annual longitudinal cross-sectional surveys. Recurring entomological surveying, household surveying, and focus group discussions will provide additional valuable insights. At baseline, 962 households across all 24 villages participated in a household survey; 2,884 members from 720 of these households participated in subsequent malariometric surveying. The study design will allow us to estimate the effect sizes of different intervention mixtures. Careful documentation of our study protocol may also serve other researchers designing field-based intervention trials.
Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, 310 Trent Drive, Durham, NC 27710, USA. christopher.paul@duke.edu.
Randall A
RA
Kramer
National Institute for Medical Research, 2448 Barack Obama Drive, P.O. Box 9653, Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania. lmboera@nimr.or.tz.
Leonard E G
LE
Mboera
National Institute for Medical Research, 2448 Barack Obama Drive, P.O. Box 9653, Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania. ksenkoro@nimr.or.tz.
Kesheni
K
Senkoro
Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, 310 Trent Drive, Durham, NC 27710, USA. adriane.lesser@duke.edu.
Adriane
A
Lesser
National Institute for Medical Research, 2448 Barack Obama Drive, P.O. Box 9653, Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania. eshayo@nimr.or.tz.
Elizabeth H
EH
Shayo
Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, 310 Trent Drive, Durham, NC 27710, USA. christopher.paul@duke.edu.
Christopher J
CJ
Paul
School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. mlmirand@umich.edu.
Marie Lynn
ML
Miranda
D000818:Animals; D003150:Community Health Workers; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D009033:Culicidae / Q000254:growth & development; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine; D019468:Disease Management; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000254:growth & development; D007306:Insecticides; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008288:Malaria / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000628:therapy*; D018512:Parasitemia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D012423:Rural Health; D012424:Rural Population; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013636:Tanzania / Q000453:epidemiology
D007306:Insecticides