Factors Affecting the Use of Job Aid Posters as a Guide for Malaria Diagnosis among Primary Healthcare Workers in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

Introduction: Malaria is the major cause of mortality worldwide. Accurate diagnosis is key for effective management of the disease. Non-adherence to diagnosis guidelines by primary healthcare (PHC) workers affects quality healthcare provisions. Job aid posters help enhance adherence to guidelines for several diseases. Thus, this study determined PHC worker’s use of job aid posters and identified factors affecting its use as a guide for malaria diagnosis.

Methods: The study was a hospital-based cross-sectional survey, a multistage sampling technique was used to select 384 PHC workers from seventy-eight PHC facilities in Ibadan Oyo State, Nigeria. A semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain participant’s socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge and adherence to malaria diagnosis guidelines, and factors affecting the use of job aid posters as a guide for malaria diagnosis. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics, chi-square, and logistic regression with P-Value=0.05 declared as statistically significant.

Results: Two hundred and forty-four (63.5%) PHC workers were knowledgeable about malaria diagnosis guidelines whereas only 58.1% of the total respondents adhere to the guidelines. Just less than half (45.3%) of participants uses job aid posters always. Knowledge of malaria diagnosis guidelines (AOR = 0.272, 95% C.I = 0.115-0.643), comprehensiveness of job aid poster (AOR = 0.345, 95% C.I = 0.148-0.807), physical integrity of job aid posters (AOR = 0.219, 95% C.I = 0.092-0.522), and positioning of job aid posters (AOR = 5.704, 95% C.I = 2.375-13.67) were significant predictors of use of job aid posters for malaria diagnosis.

Conclusion: the healthcare worker’s adherence to guidelines for malaria diagnosis was inadequate. Provision of comprehensive job aid posters on malaria diagnosis, replacement of damaged ones, and strategic display of the job aid posters is recommended to enhance use and adherence.