Problems with the Indoor Residual Spraying program

Taken from 'Implementation of Indoor Residual Spraying of Insecticides for Malaria Control in the WHO African Region Report'

• Adequate knowledge and capacity for proper and safe pesticide management is lacking.
• Shortage of appropriate storage and transportation facilities for insecticides.
• Absence of maintenance workshops for spray equipment.
• Scarcity or inconsistent
• Financing is a major challenge contributing to most of the IRS program management shortcomings.
• Ensuring safe storage of insecticides in all target districts is also important.

Najera JA. (2001). Malaria control: achievements, problems and strategies. Parassitologia, 43: 1–89.




If this product is going to incorporate IRS then these are some aspects of the product I might want to consider:

• Must be space efficient
• Robust
• Easy to operate
• Possibly able to take apart the product and add more compartments on. 
• Easy storage, stackable. 
• Able to see how much liquid is in the tank. 
• The weight and placement of the tank.
• An area on the kit to safely dispose of used kits.
• Solar panels.
•  How secure should it be?
• Does medication need to be water proof.
• Alternative lighting?
• International medical symbols- e.g Bio-hazard
• The local skills and exports.

Summary presentation

Prezi link


This presentation summaries the problem,potential solutions and research to back up those solutions.

Pros,cons and modifications- 4 configurations of the IRS tank

Concept	Advantages	Disadvantages	Modification
Shoulder mounted tank	-Quick to take off and on. -Able to use in confined spaces -Able to agitate the tank when needed.	-All the weight is distributed onto one shoulder. -Pump in awkward position. -Have to take tank off shoulder every few minutes to agitate the tank. -Unable to tell how much liquid is left. -Unable to tell exactly how much water to put in. -Foot stand is inefficient.	- Tank attached to some kind of lever mechanism that allows the user to tip the tank back and forth without taking it off and on. -Add pump to spray gun instead of on tank. - Add transparent panel so user can estimate the amount of liquid left. -Add a foot stand on either side.
Back mounted tank	-Weight better distributed -Able to use in confined spaces. -Possibly able to carry 2 tanks, or larger capacity. -The user has more use of both their hands.	-Harder to agitate the tank. -Have to take off to see how much liquid it in the tank. -Still have to take off to use pump. -May case back strain.	-Add pump to spray gun instead of on tank.
Head mounted tank	-Able to carry a larger capacity. -Better weight distribution. - The user has more use of both their hands. -Ingrained in culture/society.	-Difficult to use in low and confined spaces. -Extra training may be needed. -Have to take tank off and on to constantly agitate tank.	-Add a spinning mechanism so tank can be agitated.
Rolling sphere tank	-Able to hold a larger capacity. -Weight problems are no longer an issue. -Less strain on the user. - Constantly being agitated, no need to stop spraying every few minutes. -Able to walk longer distances.	-Could be more prone to damage. -Product prone to becoming dirty, added time to clean equipment. -May be difficult to transport over certain terrains. -May take up one of the users hands. -Can’t see how much liquid is in the tank.	-Attach orb to user with harness to free up hands. - Add transparent panel so user can estimate the amount of liquid left.

Identifying problems and possible product solutions

About 3.2 billion people are at risk of malaria, with approximately 881,000 deaths every year, with nine out of ten deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to the huge human cost malaria poses a significant economic burden. It is thought to cost African countries more than US$12 billion every year in direct losses. Up to 40% of African health budgets are spent on malaria each year

Problems with the user:

• Not taking the correct dose of medication is an issue, leading to the spreading of the virus. Also the population loses confidence in the drug if it is seen not to be effective.
• Poor, rural families are most at risk. Due to them being kilometres from the nearest healthcare centre. Reaching these families is key to malaria control. 
• Affordability is an issue.A malaria stricken family can lose on average 40% of their income. 
• Education; illiteracy is an issue along with some prescribers issuing the drugs despite negative test results. Leading to a possible decrease in the drug effectiveness.

Environmental problems:

• Harsh environment, high temperatures, 
• Lack of proper roads in rural areas.
• Some affected villages are located in forest areas. 

What Is Indoor Residual Spraying?
As its name implies, IRS involves coating the walls and other surfaces of a house with a residual insecticide. For several months, the insecticide will kill mosquitoes and other insects that come in contact with these surfaces. IRS does not directly prevent people from being bitten by mosquitoes. Rather, it usually kills mosquitoes after they have fed if they come to rest on the sprayed surface. IRS thus prevents transmission of infection to other persons. To be effective, IRS must be applied to a very high proportion of households in an area (usually >80%).

Possible product:

A backpack concept that incorporates a tank of mosquito insecticide (Indoor Residual Spraying-
IRS) along with hand held malaria detection kits, malaria nets and malaria medication. Having all these preventive measures in one mobile product could yield very successful results. A team of mobile malaria workers (MMW) assigned to strategic villages could significantly combat the disease.  

With an emphasises on space efficiency and ergonomic design, the backpack will have multiple compartments. Globally understood graphics on the doors of these compartments will illustrate it's contents, as this will communicate to a wider audience and remove any language barrier. 

Products to be modelled:

Backpack with tank/s and possibly solar panels. 

Malaria testing kit with simple interface to let user know of a positive or negative( This product will be a streamlined simple device.) 

Malaria net contained in paper wrapper (Could fold out to illustrate instructions?)

I will further develop and add more detail to this product as the weeks go by. 

http://www.malariajournal.com/content/8/S1/S2

http://www.malariajournal.com/content/14/1/279
http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/malaria_worldwide/reduction/irs.html