Self-Treatment Practices for Perceived Symptoms of Malaria in Ethiopia

One of the most significant public health issues faced in Ethiopia is malaria. The most influential problem of this public health issue is overcoming barriers of having proper access to professional care and treatment. This study aims to elucidate the self-interventions undertaken by individuals when they perceive symptoms of malaria in a family-member prior to, or instead of, seeking care at a healthcare facility. Our study found that the prevalence of self-medication for malaria in the Wirtu Yedi kebele is 37.3%. Almost all individuals eventually sought treatment for malaria at the healthcare facility. More than half did so in less than one day. When self-treatment was used, there was a wide array of self-medication practices used, including modern medications not prescribed by a healthcare professional, herbs, and non-pharmacological measures. The more commonly used medications were chloroquine and Coartem® (artemether and lumefantrine). Most reported obtaining these medications at a drug outlet store without a prescription and prior to seeking care at a health center. Of the various herbs reported that were used to self treat malaria the most commonly used were garlic, ginger, and harmaguse. The use of herbs was found to be less common than the use of modern medication. Of the non-pharmacological interventions, rituals were the most prevalent.

Keywords: ethiopia; malaria; treatment.