Table 4.

Major findings in the procedures of microscopy diagnosis obtained from supervisory visits to 17 PHCs in four districts of Aceh, 2011

Microscopy Diagnostic Components	Districts
	Aceh Besar	Aceh Jaya	Aceh Timur	Sabang
Preparation:
Cleaned object glasses	●	o	●	●
Frosted-end object glasses	o	●	●	●
Patients identities	o	o	o	o
Laboratory utilities	o	o	o	o
Making malaria smears:
Blood volume	o	o	o	●
Quality of smears production	o	o	o	o
Staining:
Fixation	●	●	o	●
Materials and supplies	o	o	o	o
Composition of Giemsa and buffer	●	●	o	●
Quality smears after staining	●	o	o	●
Quality control for reagents	o	o	●	●
Slide examination:
Using microscope	o	o	o	●
Observe 200 fields	o	o	o	o
Time consuming (>10 min)	o	●	o	●
Clear from artefacts	o	o	o	o
Counting:
Counting procedures	●	o	●	o
Count at least 200 Leucocytes	o	o	o	o
Never report parasites density	o	o	o	o
Counting more than 10 min	o	●	o	●
Quality assurance
Slides archiving	o	●	o	●
Cross-checking	o	o	o	●

●: Adequate, refresher training not required

o: Inadequate, refresher training is recommended