The Challenges of the Malaria Elimination Program in the South East of Iran, a Qualitative Study

Background: Despite all the efforts made to control and eliminate malaria in Iran, this disease is still considered as a priority health problem in the South East of Iran. We aimed to determine the cultural obstacles which have prevented the elimina­tion of malaria in this region. Method: This st...

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Main Authors: Khodamorad Soofi, Narges Khanjani, Fatemeh Kamiabi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2018-10-01
Series:Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases
Subjects:
Online Access:https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1098
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author Khodamorad Soofi
Narges Khanjani
Fatemeh Kamiabi
author_facet Khodamorad Soofi
Narges Khanjani
Fatemeh Kamiabi
author_sort Khodamorad Soofi
collection DOAJ
description Background: Despite all the efforts made to control and eliminate malaria in Iran, this disease is still considered as a priority health problem in the South East of Iran. We aimed to determine the cultural obstacles which have prevented the elimina­tion of malaria in this region. Method: This study was carried out through qualitative content analysis. Purposeful sampling was done from people who had malaria or were involved with malaria patients in 2015, in Sarbaz City, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Eastern Iran. Data were collected through interviews using open questions and continued until data saturation. Results: The most important barriers in malaria prevention was delay in visiting health centers, delay in diagnosis and treatment due to superstitious beliefs, lack of information about the disease, misdiagnosis and fake doctors. Other obstacles were lack of trust and cooperation with interventions offered by the health system, lack of proper use of the available facilities to prevent malaria and commuting in the high-risk neighbor countries. Conclusion: Raising awareness in people, officials and health workers about malaria and preventive health interven­tions as well as health risks associated with fake doctors, following up and re-examination of peripheral blood smear in suspected cases, establishing malaria control stations in border areas and specific measures to refer immigrants and people crossing the border toward malaria diagnosis stations is suggested.
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spelling doaj.art-00ee6f9d59e64359a81bbccfa07206c02022-12-21T19:14:06ZengTehran University of Medical SciencesJournal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases1735-71792322-22712018-10-0113110.18502/jad.v13i1.9361098The Challenges of the Malaria Elimination Program in the South East of Iran, a Qualitative StudyKhodamorad Soofi0Narges Khanjani1Fatemeh Kamiabi2Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Faculty of Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, IranResearch Center for Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, IranDepartment of Environmental Health and Medical Entomology, Faculty of Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, IranBackground: Despite all the efforts made to control and eliminate malaria in Iran, this disease is still considered as a priority health problem in the South East of Iran. We aimed to determine the cultural obstacles which have prevented the elimina­tion of malaria in this region. Method: This study was carried out through qualitative content analysis. Purposeful sampling was done from people who had malaria or were involved with malaria patients in 2015, in Sarbaz City, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Eastern Iran. Data were collected through interviews using open questions and continued until data saturation. Results: The most important barriers in malaria prevention was delay in visiting health centers, delay in diagnosis and treatment due to superstitious beliefs, lack of information about the disease, misdiagnosis and fake doctors. Other obstacles were lack of trust and cooperation with interventions offered by the health system, lack of proper use of the available facilities to prevent malaria and commuting in the high-risk neighbor countries. Conclusion: Raising awareness in people, officials and health workers about malaria and preventive health interven­tions as well as health risks associated with fake doctors, following up and re-examination of peripheral blood smear in suspected cases, establishing malaria control stations in border areas and specific measures to refer immigrants and people crossing the border toward malaria diagnosis stations is suggested.https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1098MalariaEliminationChallengeIran
spellingShingle Khodamorad Soofi
Narges Khanjani
Fatemeh Kamiabi
The Challenges of the Malaria Elimination Program in the South East of Iran, a Qualitative Study
Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases
Malaria
Elimination
Challenge
Iran
title The Challenges of the Malaria Elimination Program in the South East of Iran, a Qualitative Study
title_full The Challenges of the Malaria Elimination Program in the South East of Iran, a Qualitative Study
title_fullStr The Challenges of the Malaria Elimination Program in the South East of Iran, a Qualitative Study
title_full_unstemmed The Challenges of the Malaria Elimination Program in the South East of Iran, a Qualitative Study
title_short The Challenges of the Malaria Elimination Program in the South East of Iran, a Qualitative Study
title_sort challenges of the malaria elimination program in the south east of iran a qualitative study
topic Malaria
Elimination
Challenge
Iran
url https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1098
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