African Institute for Research in Infectious Diseases
Characteristics of healthcare workers associated with inaccurate recording of malaria rapid diagnostic test results: a multi-country study
Abstract
Malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) have improved case management and surveillance across sub-Saharan Africa by reducing presumptive treatment and enhancing diagnostic specificity. However, healthcare workers’ (HCWs) concerns about limitations of RDTs, the lack of other diagnostic tools and patient expectations may result in non-adherence to RDT outcomes in treatment decisions. To align antimalarial prescriptions with RDT results, outcomes may be mis-recorded in health facility registers. Prior studies assessing adherence and recording accuracy have faced limitations such as reliance on record reviews or unobserved re-testing, potentially underestimating the prevalence and drivers of misrecording.
