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Article History

Received: 7 August 2023

Accepted: 5 October 2023

First Online: 11 October 2023

Declarations

:

: This study was conducted as part of the corresponding author’s thesis work for an MSc degree in Field Epidemiology. Ethical Approval was sought from the Moi University Institutional Research and Ethics Committee (IREC, approval number FAN: 0003925) and the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital Institutional Ethics and Research Committee (approval number IERC/JOOTRH/509/21). A research license was obtained from the National Commission for Science, Technology, and Innovation (NACOSTI, license number NACOSTI/P/21/12184). Clearance was also sought from the Kisumu County Department of Health. Consent to participate in the study was sought, and an informed consent form was administered to the drug dispenser before the interview. In outlets not owned by the dispenser, verbal authorization was sought from the manager, owner, or director, as applicable, before obtaining informed consent from the dispenser. Respondent confidentiality and anonymity were maintained by ensuring the privacy of interviews, securing data storage of completed questionnaires, and preventing data sharing between outlets. The drug outlets were protected from having to conduct a malaria test illegally. At the same time, the mystery client was protected from unnecessary invasive tests by having the mystery client pretend to be seeking treatment for a child back at home and having a copy of a positive test result in case they were asked.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.