Community participation in malaria control The call for Primary Health Care approached to healthcare delivery at the Alma Ata conference in 1978 brought the need for full community participation PLX3397 solubility dmso in healthcare delivery; however this was not the case in most malaria control project implementations. Though difficult to defined, Community participation is characterized by activeness, choice and the possibility of that choice being effected.13 It thus seen as “a process whereby specific group(s) living in a defined geographical

area and interacting with each other, actively identify their needs and make decisions to meet them”.13,14 In the context of health care delivery, health professional(s) identify a health need of a community and rally for support to address it. In the process, the community takes part in the decision-making, planning and implementation of the project. It

is envisaged that when this is done, it will increase community acceptance and participation in health promotional and control activities. Materials and Methods The Study Site The Keta District is located selleck chemical on a narrow strip of coastal land between the Atlantic Ocean and many saltwater lagoons in southeastern part of Ghana. Out of the total surface area of about 1,086km2, approximately 362km2 is covered with water bodies. The district lies within Longitudes 0.30E and 1.05E and Latitudes 5.45N and 6.005N. The district falls within the Dry Coastal Equatorial Climate with an average temperature and rainfall of about 30°C and 1000mm respectively. The total population of the district was about 147,618 (2010 census) of which about 99% are Anlo-Ewe speakers.3 The Shime sub-District is made up of about 36 settlements of varied sizes. The Bumetanide people are chiefly subsistence food crop farmers, fishermen and petty traders. There are two health centers in the sub-district one of which is located in a study community (Galo-Sota).1 The study took place in four communities and

these were Galo-Sota, Agbatsivi, Agortoe and Salo. The Shime sub-District intermittent preventive treatment for children combined with timely treatment of suspected febrile malaria For the Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Children (IPTc), 10mg/kg body weight of Amodiaquine (AQ) and 4mg/kg Artesunate (AS) daily (given as single dose) drug was administered to children between the ages of 6 and 60 months for three days using the directly observed therapy (DOT) principle. It is delivered every four months beginning in July 2007 (July and November 2007, March, July and November 2008 and March 2009).1 Timely home treatment was provided by Community Assistants (CAs) to participating children with febrile illness in between IPTc rounds.