Incorporating Community Case Management in Risk-Based Surveillance for Malaria Elimination in the Dominican Republic

Authors: Isabel Byrne, Luca Nelli, Keyla Ureña, Luccène Désir, Claudia Hilario Rodriguez, Nicole Michelén Ströfer, Justin T Lana, Gregory S Noland, Manuel de Jesús Tejada Beato, Jose Luis Cruz Raposo, Chris Drakeley, Karen E S Hamre, Gillian Stresman

This study assessed how community health workers (CHWs) improved malaria detection in the Dominican Republic. Using a statistical method (Freedom from Infection, FFI), researchers combined routine health data with CHW data from 33 facilities (2018–2022). Without CHW data, only 52% of facilities could confirm being malaria-free for about 13 months. Adding CHW data increased this to 88% of facilities, sustaining malaria-free status for 37 months and improving precision by over 500-fold. The findings highlight CHWs’ critical role in enhancing malaria detection and support using the FFI framework to accelerate malaria elimination efforts.