Assessing informal healthcare providers’ knowledge of diagnosis and treatment of malaria and diarrhea: evidence from urban informal settlements in Southeast Nigeria

Despite the availability of effective interventions, malaria and diarrhoea continue to be leading causes of disease burden in Nigeria. Informal healthcare providers (IHPs) account for a significant proportion of health service providers in urban slums and may pose a challenge to service quality if they are untrained and unregulated. This study assessed IHPs’ knowledge of the diagnosis and treatment of malaria and diarrhoea.

As part of the CHORUS project, the team at the Health Policy Research Group (University of Nigeria) conducted a cross-sectional quantitative study in eight urban informal settlements (slums) in southeast Nigeria. The study found that whilst informal health providers are a crucial source of healthcare for urban poor populations, their knowledge of the diagnosis and treatment of malaria and diarrhoea is inadequate. Strengthening service delivery through appropriate training and provision of health literacy tools for the different types of informal health providers has the potential to improve health service delivery in urban informal settlements.

Read the full article here: Assessing informal healthcare providers’ knowledge of diagnosis and treatment of malaria and diarrhoea: evidence from urban informal settlements in Southeast Nigeria

Arize Ifeyinwa , Ozughalu Joy , Okechi Bernard , Mbachu Chinyere , Onwujekwe Obinna , Ebenso Bassey; Frontiers in Public Health, Volume 13 – 2025