Malaria Information
Establishing a malaria control programme
Health facility based Data collection and analysis for malaria
Health facility based Data collection and analysis for malaria
A range of data should be collected as part of an overall surveillance strategy. Clinical data on people tested and diagnosed as well as the treatments undertaken and if possible the outcomes, are an important part of this surveillance strategy. These data can be used to track burden of disease – in general and in sub-groups – as well as to monitor performance of drugs.
Specific data that should be collected include:
- Details of all people tested for malaria: name, age, sex, occupation, residence, places visited in past month, malaria history. This should be linked to:
- Results of all malaria tests: type(s) of test, person(s) responsible, result(s) and action taken. This should be linked to:
- Results of all malaria treatments given including results of follow-up testing after treatment if recommended.
- Data summaries that will be useful:
- People tested by month and sub-group
- Test positivity rate by month and sub-group
- Number of malaria cases by month and sub-group
Specific uses that these data can be put to include:
- Tracking the disease burden over time. Looking at annual trends to ascertain when any peaks of malaria transmission occur by malaria type. This information can guide control approaches as well as inform commodity supply planning.
- Looking at the malaria incidence rates (number of cases per 1,000 population during a given period) in different sub groups, such as:
- Occupational groups: this could help identify high risk occupations which could benefit from targeted control measures.
- Residence (on-site, off-site or workers who move between locations; different off site locations) this could help identify where transmission is occurring and inform planning of vector control interventions or targeted personal protection for those in or visiting certain sites.
- Those using / not using chemoprophylaxis: this can help determine the effectiveness of the chemoprophylaxis as well as inform analysis of the cost benefits.
- Looking at the total burden of malaria to inform:
- estimates of economic impact of malaria on the company and local communities
- commodity planning
- impact evaluations