Effect of Malaria Training on Community Healthcare Providers’ Compliance with Malaria Treatment Guidelines in Nigeria Using Propensity Score Matching

Community Pharmacists (CPs) and Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs) are important primary sources of care for many Nigerians. They are the first line of contact for those seeking advice or treatment for childhood fever. However, the process needs to be strengthened and aligned with the World Health Organization (WHO) malaria treatment guidelines, as these providers currently diagnose based solely on symptoms. The dataset includes 1,118 CPs and PPMVs who were assessed at baseline from eight states in Nigeria. This comprises of 816 CPs and PPMVs in five intervention states who were self-selected into the study, after expressing interest in participating in the PHC training and the comparison group of 302 CPs and PPMVs drawn from a waiting list of individuals in three other states that were yet to be trained by the IntegratE project in PHC services, using simple random sampling. Baseline and 6-month follow-up data were collected between February 2022 and March 2023, using a structured self-administered questionnaire from both the intervention and comparison groups. The purpose of the study was to examined the effect of the training on relevant outcomes and provided tangible evidence that may inform course correction during project implementation in Nigeria.