Correction: Cohort retention in seasonal malaria chemoprevention: an analysis of magnitude and associated factors in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan

There were errors in the references published.

The Reference for “Chuks et al., 2024” was erroneously written as:

“Chuks, N., Salima, E. H., Fallon, A., Nuwa, A., Giles, A., Sawadogo, B., et al. (2024). Coverage and Quality of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention Supported by Malaria Consortium With Philanthropic Funding or Co- Funding in 2023. (London: Malaria Consortium).”

It should be

“Malaria Consortium, (2024). Coverage and Quality of Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention Supported by Malaria Consortium With Philanthropic Funding or Co- Funding in 2023. (London: Malaria Consortium).”

The Reference for “Anon,2020” was erroneously written as

“Anon (2020). Importance of medication adherence and factors affecting it. IP Int. J. Compr. Advanced Pharmacol.3. doi: 10.18231/2456-9542.2018.0018.”

It should be

“Dwajani S., Prabhu MR, Ranjana G., Sahajananda H., 2020. Importance of medication adherence and factors affecting it. IP Int. J. Compr. Advanced Pharmacol.3. doi: 10.18231/2456-9542.2018.0018.”

The Reference for

“World Health Organization, 2023”, “World Health Organisation (2023). [BOOK] Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention With Sulfadoxine–Pyrimethamine Plus Amodiaquine in Children: A Field Guide (Geneva: World Health Organisation). Available online at: https://books.google.co.ug/books?hl=en&lr=&id=MV_BEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&ots=dgdfciAMfW&sig= 09 Frontiers in Malaria frontiersin.org Okot et al., 10.3389/fmala.2026.1913848HAnaVqKuPWaCe9hRSVyZ63JXuJ4&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false (Accessed March 19, 2025)”

should be deleted as it was included erroneously.

A correction to the text regarding the removal of the WHO citation was made in the Discussion section, page 5, paragraph 1.

This incorrectly stated:

“These findings are consistent with the WHO report, which indicates that only 60-80% of children complete a full course of SMC, implying that SMC program dropout rates range from 20-40% (World Health Organization, 2023; World Health Organization, 2023). The results indicate lower retention in the SMC cohort than in the 2022 SMC campaign across the same study settings. Specifically, only approximately 8.8% of the 17,680 children enrolled in SMC during the first cycle in 2022 did not receive medicines across all five cycles, primarily due to barriers such as accessibility issues, caregiver awareness, and socio-economic challenges (Anon, 2023). This higher dropout rate contributed to the decreased cohort retention and could have increased the risk of malaria infection for the children in the 2024 cycle, especially for those who dropped out.”

This paragraph has now been corrected to:

“The findings reveal that of the 1,500 eligible children studied, 66.9% (95% CI: 64.4–69.2) received SMC medicines across all five cycles. This indicates a first-to-fifth-SMC dose dropout rate of 33.1%. Notably, this study finds that caregivers’ confidence in the effectiveness of SMC medicines, their knowledge of the purpose of SMC, and children whose caregivers have paid work are the main factors associated with SMC cohort retention among eligible children. Thus, the factors associated with SMC cohort retention is vital for shaping SMC distribution and uptake, as highlighted in this study, may be summarized as behavioral, economic, and informational. This finding matches similar studies in sub-Saharan Africa, which also show that confidence in antimalarial drugs improves SMC and related efforts (Antwi et al., 2016; Ogbulafor et al., 2023; Sitoe et al., 2025). This trust largely comes from understanding why SMC is given and the importance of completing all doses, which boosts caregiver confidence and acceptance (Okot et al., 2025). This fits with the Health Belief Model, which suggests that perceived benefits affect how people follow health advice. As previous research indicates, caregivers’ trust in the SMC’s effectiveness increases the likelihood of accepting the medication and ensuring the children complete the multi-day doses rather than only receiving the drugs (Ogbulafor et al., 2023). This trust also helps to ensure SMC is taken consistently, even when there are minor side effects (Ayuiel et al., 2026). Therefore, building trust through community involvement, clear communication about side effects, and support from trusted local leaders, especially in rural areas like the study site, can significantly improve acceptance.”

The original version of this article has been updated.

Publisher’s note

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Footnotes

Edited and reviewed by: Andre Lin Ouedraogo, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, United States