Assessing drivers of full adoption of test and treat policy for malaria in Senegal.

Malaria treatment policy has changed from presumptive treatment to targeted "test and treat" (T&T) with malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and artemisinin combination therapy (ACT). This transition involves changing behavior among health providers, meaning delays between introduction and full implementation are recorded in almost every instance. We investigated factors affecting successful transition, and suggest approaches for accelerating uptake of T&T.

Changing patterns of malaria during 1996-2010 in an area of moderate transmission in southern Senegal.

Background: Malaria is reportedly receding in different epidemiological settings, but local long-term surveys are limited. At Mlomp dispensary in south-western Senegal, an area of moderate malaria transmission, year-round, clinically-suspected malaria was treated with monotherapy as per WHO and national policy in the 1990s. Since 2000, there has been a staggered deployment of artesunate-amodiaquine after parasitological confirmation; this was adopted nationally in 2006.

Implementation of intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy with sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) at a district health centre in rural Senegal.

Background: Intermittent preventive treatment with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is recommended for reducing the risk of malaria in pregnancy and its consequences on mothers and babies (IPTp-SP). Indicators of implementation and effects of IPTp-SP were collected in a rural clinic in Southern Senegal.

Methods: Women seen routinely at the antenatal clinic (ANC) of a rural dispensary during 2000-2007.