Table 1 Literature review search strategy

Databases

1. Academic Search Complete (Ebsco)

2. CINAHL

3. MEDLINE (Ovid)

4. Proquest

5. Scopus

6. AMED

Key/Search terms

Malaria or febrile or fever or ‘mosquito-borne illness’ or ‘mosquito-borne disease’ or ‘mosquito-borne infectious illness’ or ‘mosquito-borne infectious disease’ or ‘mosquito borne illness’ or ‘mosquito borne disease’ or ‘mosquito borne infectious illness’ or ‘mosquito borne infectious disease’and combine them all with ‘treatment-seeking’ or ‘health-seeking’ or ‘care-seeking’ or ‘treatment seeking’ or ‘health seeking’ or ‘care seeking’ or ‘traditional medicine’ or ‘traditional healer’ or ‘traditional therapy’ or ‘traditional health care’ or ‘traditional healthcare’ or ‘traditional treatment’ or ‘Indigenous medicine’ or ‘indigenous healer’ or ‘indigenous therapy’ or ‘indigenous health care’ or ‘indigenous healthcare’ or ‘indigenous treatment’ or ‘traditional Chinese medicine’ or ‘traditional Chinese healer’ or ‘traditional Chinese therapy’ or ‘traditional Chinese health care’ or ‘traditional Chinese healthcare’ or ‘traditional Chinese treatment’ or Jamu or ‘herb’ or ‘medicinal plant’ or acupuncture or ‘Ayurveda/ayurvedic’ or ‘unani’ or ‘herbal oil’ or ‘faith healer’ or ‘mosquito repellent’

Month/year published

January 2003-October 2014

Language

English

Types of population

Humans of all ages (people with malaria or people living in malaria-endemic areas)

Location

Low- to middle-income countries in the Asia-Pacific region

Type of publication

Peer-reviewed article

Types of studies

Any studies reporting empirical research findings on treatment or prevention of malaria using traditional medicine or traditional healers

Exclusion criteria

editorials, correspondence, commentaries, case reports, clinical studies (including those utilizing randomized controlled trial designs), and papers not adopting systematic research design or data reporting procedures.