ASSESSMENT OF THE QUALITY OF HEALTH CARE RENDERED TO CHILDREN UNDER- FIVE WITH MALARIA AT THE PRINCESS MARIE LOUIS HOSPITAL, ACCRA

ABSTRACT

Background: In Ghana, there han: been gradual declines in malaria mortality over the years, with the

':.,tllUl!onal (ase fatalitv rate among children under five falling from 14.1% in 2000 to 0.6% in 2012 and

((l'lllly 0.5% in 2015. it is contended that the amount of resources committed to malaria prevention and

(J~t: ll~anagement is higher than the gains made. This has raised concerns about the quality of

Intc.:rvcntion delivered to patients with or at risk of malaria While there is increasing policy and research

mterest in this field, there is little attention paid to the quality of care for under-five children suffering

trl)m malaria. This study. thus, assesses the quality of care delivered to children under five with malaria

at the Princ(!ss Marie Louis hospital.

:lethodo)ogy: A quantitative approach using cross-sectional survey design was used to examine the

lJuality of care delivered to children under five diagnosed with malaria A computer generated random

':.Imple of 74 staff and 301 parents of children under five who were treated for malaria at the hospital

w(;r(! reCrllll(;J for the study. The data was statistically analysed with using the Statistical Package for

Social SCiences (SPSS) software version 20. Descriptive summary statistics was complemented with

regression analysis preceded by Pearson's correlation analyses to draw inferences.

I{csu/{II: The stuJy showed that overall, inputs availability for standard malaria case management was as

1III:'h as 81 10

0 and highest in the area of general inputs such as staff, triaging and basic equipment

,udlI1g II l'lghlllg scales and thermometers (88.8%) whilst anti-malaria medications was the least

:.liJk (66.6%.). Also, statlcompliance with the Ghana Health Service standard protocols for malaria

cd'l management was quite high (89.4%) but less than previously reported rate of 90.8%.

I!ll'lltalt:aretaker satisfaction (as proxy for patient satisfaction) was also moderate (66.1%) and lower

:1, Iii l1atll1nal a agt:. Finally, technical quality indicators had no significant influence on patient

:.1, I, 11.1 pustulated in quality of care models.

(Inclusion: Staff adherence to standard treatment malaria case management protocols is high but

~t>pl'~m; to be declining when compared with other studies. Also, anti-malarial availability is much lower

than th.: 98% availability of essential drugs in public health institutions as estimated by the Ghana health

se~~e. Addressing these would improve technical quality of care; they may not necessarily impact

POSItively on subjective. quality which was moderate and below reported national average. In-depth

nploratlOll tl'r II1novahve and customer-oriented approaches is recommendcd to boost patient