Targeting residual malaria transmission among the Ra‐glai ethnic minority in Vietnam using a transdisciplinary approach

Despite an overall reduction in malaria incidence and prevalence in the last 15 years [1] malaria persists in south-central Vietnam among ethnic minority populations in mountainous regions [2,3,4] where the same standardized approaches to malaria control that brought malaria down in the rest of the country such as the use of long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) and early detection of cases and treatment have failed to substantially decrease prevalence. Factors contributing to the persistence of malaria in these areas include a combination of specific socio‐ economic and cultural characteristics affecting the use of LLINs [5,6], geographic remoteness [2], limited coverage of health services [7] and the specificities of the ecology and malaria vector behavior [8,9]. Using a transdisciplinary formative research approach this study aims to increase the acceptability, local adequacy, effectiveness and sustainability of malaria intervention strategies among ethnic minorities in Vietnam. This approach will consist of the combination of epidemiology and medical anthropology and will use mixed methods triangulating qualitative ethnographic data with quantitative malariometric survey data.