A community-based Cross-Sectional Survey of Primaquine  Adherence in Jambi Province, Indonesia

Authors

Primaquine, adherence, risk factors, malaria, community-based

Background: Plasmodium vivax is one of malaria parasite species that can lead to life-threatening disease.

Primaquine is the only known and licensed drug prominently against Plasmodium vivax hypnozoites stage.

However, lack studies have demonstrated community adherence information to such particular treatment

medication.

Material and Method: A cross-sectional community-based study design was used in the study. The study

population is the person visiting local primary health care with signs or symptoms related to malaria

and detected microscopically with Plasmodium vivax infection. After prescribed with a standard dose of

primaquine, adherence was measured by a structured questionnaire at the end of the completion day of the

medication course.

Results: Malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax in Lembah masurai sub-district started to be prevalent from

2014 to the end of 2017. The data indicated that malaria foci have been maintained in the area in the past

five years. A total of 44 individuals were recruited in the study. In total, 11.4 % of the patients were certain

non-adherence, 27.3% were probable non-adherence and 61.4% were probable adherence. Primaquine

prescription is associated with non-adherence behavior (P-value = 0.044, OR: 8 [CI: 0.81-79.02]).

Conclusion: Our study concludes that simplifying primaquine medication therapy by not adding another

non-related drug may elevate the adherence level.

Irfanul chakim1 , Tepanata pumpaibool2

1 Student, Doctor of Philosophy, 2Advisor, College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Institute

building 3 (10th – 11th floor), Chulalongkorn soi 62, Phyathai Rd., Bangkok, Thailand