{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T01:54:20Z","timestamp":1785462860683,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,12]],"date-time":"2025-03-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1741737600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Despite the availability of effective interventions, malaria and diarrhea 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 diarrhea.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methodology<\/jats:title><jats:p>A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted in eight urban informal settlements (slums) in southeast Nigeria. Data were collected from 235 informal health providers using an interviewer-administered questionnaire.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>The mean overall knowledge scores for malaria and diarrhea were 5.2 (95% CI: 4.3\u20136.1) and 5.4 (95% CI: 4.1\u20136.7), respectively, among the different IHPs. However, private medicine vendors (PMVs) and traditional birth attendants (TBAs) showed higher knowledge of treating malaria and diarrhea. Having more than 8 years of formal education and receiving on-the-job training had a statistically significant effect on adequate knowledge of malaria and diarrhea treatment.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Institutionalizing and strengthening service delivery through appropriate training and support for IHPs can improve the quality of health service delivery in urban slums.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1556996","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,12]],"date-time":"2025-03-12T08:11:10Z","timestamp":1741767070000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Assessing informal healthcare providers' knowledge of diagnosis and treatment of malaria and diarrhea: evidence from urban informal settlements in Southeast Nigeria"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Ifeyinwa","family":"Arize","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Joy","family":"Ozughalu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bernard","family":"Okechi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chinyere","family":"Mbachu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Obinna","family":"Onwujekwe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bassey","family":"Ebenso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","volume-title":"Report on Malaria in Nigeria 2022","year":"2023"},{"key":"B2","volume-title":"Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2018","year":"2019"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1186\/s12939-021-01439-w","article-title":"Analysis of equity and social inclusiveness of national urban development policies and strategies through the lenses of health and nutrition","volume":"20","author":"Onwujekwe","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int J Equity Health."},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"395","DOI":"10.2147\/IJGM.S223882","article-title":"Identifying key challenges facing healthcare systems in Africa and potential solutions","volume":"12","author":"Oleribe","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int J Gen Med."},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"149","DOI":"10.4103\/aam.aam_1_17","article-title":"Urbanization, cities, and health: the challenges to Nigeria - a review","volume":"16","author":"Aliyu","year":"2017","journal-title":"Ann Afr Med."},{"key":"B6","volume-title":"Engaging the Private Health Service Delivery Sector through Governance in Mixed Health Systems: Strategy Report of the WHO Advisory Group on the Governance of the Private Sector for Universal Health Coverage","year":"2020"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"583","DOI":"10.1186\/s12913-022-08005-2","article-title":"Stakeholders' perspectives and willingness to institutionalize linkages between the formal health system and informal healthcare providers in urban slums in Southeast, Nigeria","volume":"22","author":"Onwujekwe","year":"2022","journal-title":"BMC Health Serv Res."},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.4137\/HSI.S31865","article-title":"urban-rural differences in health-care-seeking pattern of residents of Abia State, Nigeria, and the implication in the control of NCDs","volume":"9","author":"Onyeonoro","year":"2016","journal-title":"Health Services Insights."},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"i45","DOI":"10.1093\/heapol\/czr025","article-title":"Making health markets work better for poor people: the case of informal providers","volume":"26","author":"Bloom","year":"2011","journal-title":"Health Policy Plann."},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"315","DOI":"10.1093\/ijpp\/riac038","article-title":"Formal and informal medicine retailers in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review of research trends","volume":"30","author":"Oleffe","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int J Pharm Pract."},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1248","DOI":"10.1007\/s11524-024-00885-5","article-title":"To what extent are informal healthcare providers in slums linked to the formal health system in providing services in Sub-Sahara Africa? 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