Quality of malaria case management in Naguru hospital

Abstract

Uganda has made significant progress in managing cases of malaria. However. Clinically diagnosed malaria remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, accounting for 30-50% of outpatient visits at health facilities, 15-20% of all hospital admissions, and up to 20% of all hospital deaths. The general objective of the study is to assess the quality of health care in Naguru Hospital provided to malaria patients using process indicators. A cross sectional study was carried out for a period of one week using structured questionnaires on malaria patients (N=288). Data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires. Information on the demographics, malaria illness status, diagnosis and medication was collected. Descriptive data was analyzed using SPSS and presented as percentages. The study found that 54.17% of the patients had a parasitemia confirmatory test carried out on them, all patients were treated in line with the treatment guidelines. Most of the patients were to a greater extent satisfied by the quality of care they received at the facility. The prescribed anti-malarials were artemether/lumefantrin, artesunate, quinine, fansidar and paracetamol. The results from this study provide evidence that parasitemia confirmatory tests were not carried out on all the patients as the treatment guidelines stipulate. For those whose confirmatory test was done, they were treated in line with the treatment guidelines. It also confirms that the patients at the facility are to a greater extent satisfied by the quality of care provided at the facility.