Clients’ perceptions on Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) use as a first line anti-malarial drug in bagamoyo district, Tanzania September 2005

Abstract

Objectives: To assess clients’ perceptions onSulfadoxine- Pyrimethamine (SP) use as a first line anti-malarial drug in Bagamoyo district, Tanzania and put forward intervention strategies based on the obtained findings. Design: Community based Cross-sectional descriptive study. Settings: Bagamoyo district in the Coastal region, Tanzania. Subjects: All individuals aged 15-49 who were present in the sampled households during the time of study. Results: More than half of the study population (52.1%) perceived SP as a bad drug, 44.5% of them thought that the drug was unsafe for use and 49.9% of them were not ready to use it for malaria treatment in future. However most of them had no knowledge on the drug itself, its course of action and the expected outcomes after using it. Recommendation: There is a great need for mass education regarding the drug, its actions, possible side effects and how to overcome these side effects if possible when introducing drugs that are recommended by the national guidelines and especially those that are widely used by the community like SP.