Table 5.
Perception and experience of completing course of drugs (N = 607)
| Frequency (n) |
Proportion (%) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Perception on completing course of drugs | ||
| Should finish all drugs prescribed/given | 522 | 86.0 |
| Should stop once you feel better | 79 | 13.0 |
| Depending on the type of malaria | 2 | 0.3 |
| Do not know | 4 | 0.6 |
| Drugs received during the trial/in the last malaria episode (can have multiple answers) | ||
| Blue drugs | 527 | 86.8 |
| Brown drugs | 357 | 58.8 |
| Yellow drugs | 136 | 22.4 |
| Small drugs | 32 | 5.3 |
| Spleen drugs | 8 | 13.2 |
| Primaquine | 41 | 6.8 |
| Green drugs | 39 | 6.4 |
| Paracetamol (incl. Dumin*/drugs for fever) | 212 | 34.9 |
| White drugs | 136 | 22.4 |
| Drugs finished during the trial/in the last malaria episode | ||
| All drugs b | 511 | 84.2 |
| Some of the drugs a c | 88 | 14.9 |
| Did not finish any drugs c | 6 | 1.0 |
| Do not remember | 2 | 0.3 |
| Which drugs were finished (asked to those who finished some of the drugs, N = 88) a | ||
| Blue drugs | 76 | 86.4 |
| Brown drugs | 20 | 22.7 |
| Small drugs | 2 | 2.3 |
| Primaquine | 4 | 4.6 |
| Yellow drugs | 5 | 5.7 |
| Green drugs | 3 | 3.4 |
| Paracetamol (incl. Dumin*) | 6 | 6.8 |
| White drugs | 6 | 6.8 |
| Others (antibiotics/drugs for nausea) | 2 | 2.3 |
| Reasons for finishing the drugs (asked to those who finished all drugs, N = 511) b | ||
| Wanting to get better | 298 | 58.3 |
| Not wanting to get malaria again | 126 | 24.7 |
| The doctor/trial staff told me to | 87 | 17.0 |
| To stay healthy after feeling better | 12 | 13.6 |
| To kill the germs/the illness | 5 | 1.0 |
| Liking taking drugs | 2 | 0.4 |
| Considering it poor practice not to finish the drugs | 1 | 0.2 |
| I do not know | 3 | 0.6 |
| Reasons for not finishing (asked to those who finished some of the drugs and who did not finish any drugs, N = 94) c | ||
| Feeling better/no more fever or nausea | 69 | 73.4 |
| Forgetting to take the drug | 14 | 14.9 |
| The taste of the drug/Not liking drugs | 12 | 12.8 |
| Nausea/dizziness | 5 | 5.3 |
| Others (course was too long/took other drugs/someone told me not to/prefer the blue drugs) | 5 | 5.3 |
*A local brand of paracetamol
a Which drugs were finished (asked to those who finished some of the drugs, N = 88)
b Reasons for finishing the drugs (asked to those who finished all drugs, N = 511)
c Reasons for not finishing (asked to those who finished some of the drugs and who did not finish any drugs, N = 94)