Table 1 Description of drug information sources used to determine anti-malarial and malaria exposure status
Approach | Format | Drug information available |
|---|---|---|
EMEP self-report | Retrospective self-report of illness and medication used since the beginning of the pregnancy collected at every ANC visit and at pregnancy outcome follow-up visit. A general open question about any drug use as well as a directed question for specific anti-malarials were included as using medication/indication-specific questions have been shown to improve accuracy. Photographs of all anti-malarial drugs found in the study area were used to facilitate recognition of drug names. A calendar marking public holidays and school closures was also used to enhance recall of dates | Drug name Drug start date Duration Number of tablets per day Indication and indication diagnosis Drug source |
Lwak-OPD records | Prospective documentation by health facility clinic staff of diagnosis and treatment prescribed at outpatient department (OPD) whenever a PBIDS participant sought care at Lwak Hospital for an infectious syndrome | Date of visit Diagnosis Prescribed treatment |
PBIDS weekly and twice-monthly home visits | Self-report of symptoms, health-seeking behaviour and medication. This information was collected continuously on a weekly (from 5 January, 2010 to 26 May, 2011) and then twice-monthly basis (27 May, 2011 onwards). The same visual aids as described above were used for recall of drug intake | Date of visit Symptoms in previous week/2 weeks Treatment taken for the symptoms including drug name If and where care was sought |