Attitudes, practices, and determinants of community care-seeking behaviours for fever/malaria episodes in the context of the implementation of multiple first-line therapies for uncomplicated malaria in the health district of Kaya, Burkina Faso

BACKGROUND: Malaria case management relies on World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), and a continuous understanding of local community knowledge, attitudes, and practices may be a great support for the success of malaria disease control efforts. In this context, this study aimed to identify potential facilitators or barriers at the community level to inform a health district-wide implementation of multiple first-line therapies (MFT) as a new strategy for uncomplicated malaria case management. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study using a mixed-method design was carried out from November 2018 to February 2019, in the health district (HD) of Kaya in Burkina Faso. Quantitative data were collected using a standardized questionnaire from 1394 individuals who had fever/malaria episodes four weeks prior to the survey. In addition, 23 focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted targeting various segments of the community. Logistic regression models were used to assess the predictors of community care-seeking behaviours. RESULTS: Overall, 98% (1366/1394) of study participants sought advice or treatment, and 66.5% did so within 24 h of fever onset. 76.4% of participants preferred to seek treatment from health centres as the first recourse to care, 5.8% were treated at home with remaining drug stock, and 2.3% preferred traditional healers. Artemether-lumefantrine (AL) was by far the most used anti-malarial drug (98.2%); reported adherence to the 3-day treatment regimen was 84.3%. Multivariate analysis identified less than 5 km distance travelled for care (AOR = 2.7; 95% CI 2.1–3.7) and education/schooling (AOR = 1.8; 95% CI 1.3–2.5) as determinants of prompt care-seeking for fever. Geographical proximity (AOR = 1.5, 95% CI 1.2–2.1), having a child under five (AOR = 4.6, 95% CI 3.2–6.7), being pregnant (AOR = 6.5, 95% CI 1.9–22.5), and living in an urban area (AOR = 2.8, 95% CI 1.8–4.2) were significant predictors for visiting health centres. The FGDs showed that participants had good knowledge about malaria symptoms, prevention tools, and effective treatment. Behaviour change regarding malaria treatment and free medication for children under five were the main reasons for participants to seek care at health centres. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed appropriate knowledge about malaria and positive community care-seeking behaviour at health centres for fever/malaria episodes. This could potentially facilitate the implementation of a MFT pilot programme in the district. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04265573.