Characteristics and performance of participants in the malaria microscopic proficiency testing program over the years 2022-2024 in Vietnam
Keywords:
external quality assessment, malaria, malaria parasite counting, parasite densityAbstract
Introduction: Malaria is a serious infectious disease with significant public health impact. Microscopic examination of blood smears remains a key diagnostic method, and external quality assessment through proficiency testing helps ensure diagnostic accuracy.
Objective: To describe the characteristics and evaluate the quality of participants in the malaria microscopic proficiency testing program over the years 2022-2024 in Vietnam.
Methods: Retrospective research. The subjects were 32 participants in the blood smear program for malaria parasites from 2022-2024. STATA 14.0. was used for data analysis.
Results: Participants were predominantly public units (71.9%), Grade I hospitals (50%), provincial and equivalent levels (62.5%), and located in the Southeast region (68.8%). Over three years, approximately 95% of units achieved a total score over 50%, with only 5% scoring less than 50%. By component, the proportion of units achieving ≥ 50% for identification steadily increased (from 96.4% in 2022 to 97.8% in 2024), reaching 100% for individual parasite analysis in both 2023 and 2024. However, the density counting estimation component consistently had a lower proportion of units achieving ≥ 50%, remaining around 88% throughout the three years.
Conclusion: The main characteristics are: belonging to units of the public type, ranked I, to the provincial level and equivalent, in the Southeast region. The quality of participation is increasingly improved when evaluating the overall and individual components, but the component always accounts for a lower proportion than the density counting.
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