Economics research promotes malaria testingJanuary 9th, 2013 in
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Research shows that making
malaria tests available in countries like Uganda leads to more
effective treatment. Credit: Thinkstock In poor countries where
malaria is prevalent but access to health care is limited, many
people mistakenly treat the common cold or other serious
illnesses such as pneumonia with medications for the mosquito-
borne disease. Northeastern economist William Dickens, a
University Distinguished Professor of Economics and Social
Policy and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings
Institution, and a team of researchers is trying to combat this
problem. Late last year, the researchers published a seminal
research study in the PLOS ONE open-assess journal, which found
that providing subsidies and education can influence more people
in poor countries like Uganda to get tested for malaria. Upping
the availability of malaria tests increased the likelihood that
infected people would take the approp