Awareness of Yemeni Paediatricians and Other Physicians about the International Malaria Management Guidelines in the Major Public Hospitals in Sanaa, Yemen

摘要

Malaria still represents a substantial morbidity burden in the developing countries including Yemen. Keeping updated with the latest evidence-based prevention and treatment guidelines will improve the overall picture. Hence, this study was undertaken to assess the knowledge of the Yemeni physicians and paediatricians about the same.Aim: To assess awareness of the Yemeni paediatricians compared to other physicians toward the new 2015 World Health Organisation (WHO) Malaria treatment guidelines.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 175 physicians from different specialties mainly paediatricians in the four major referring hospitals in Sanaa. A questionnaire was developed with questions related to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of malaria.Results: Among the respondents, 134 (76%) of the total participants in the study and 47 (74.6%) within the group of paediatricians has correctly recognised issues of clinical diagnosis of malaria. Vulnerable groups to malaria infection were correctly recognised by 44 (69.8%) of the paediatricians. Good proportion of paediatricians knew the correct combination and duration of Artesunate Combination Therapy (ACT) according to the new guidelines. However, only 3 (4.7%) of the paediatricians has recognised correctly the treatment of choice of acute severe malaria.Conclusion: Despite the special situation in Yemen, most paediatricians are aware to the latest guidelines of Malaria management. However, National program should run more awareness and training activities to improve prevention and treatment performance of Yemeni physicians.