Abstract:

OBJECTIVES

To ascertain the level of knowledge about malaria, its prevention, and control; to determine the relationship between knowledge acquisition and malaria disease; and to determine malaria treatment preference with regards to what and where malaria treatment(s) are received in the community.

METHODS

This cross sectional study used semi-structured questionnaires to gather information from participants in Ukwuani Local Government Area of Nigeria. Trained interviewers used direct one-on-one interviews. Collected data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.

RESULTS

From a total of 262 participants, 100 (38.17%) respondents didn’t actually know what malaria is, 85 (32.44%) didn’t really know the cause of malaria, and only 109 (41.6%) participants practice some form of malaria prevention and control. A logistic regression analysis of malaria incidence in the last four weeks as the dependent variable, and levels of educational qualification as the independent variable gave a significance of <0.05. Out of the total 46 respondents who got infected with malaria disease in the last four weeks, 21 (45.65%) did not attend any health facility, but opted for self medication.

CONCLUSION

The level of knowledge about malaria, its prevention, and control can be improved on through well planned consistent health promotion.

KEYWORDS

Knowledge and attitude, malaria, prevention and control, Nigeria.

References:

1.      Abate A, Degarege A, Erko B. Community knowledge, attitude and practice about malaria in a low endemic setting of Shewa Robit Town, northeastern Ethiopia. BMC Public Health 2013; 13: 312.

2.      Adeneye AK, Jegede AS, Mafu MA, Nwokocha EE. A pilot study to evaluate malaria control strategies in Ogun State, Nigeria. World Health Popul. 2007; 9(2):83-94.

3.      Ahmed SM, Haque R, Haque U, Hossain A. Knowledge on the transmission, prevention and treatment of malaria among two endemic populations of Bangladesh and their health-seeking behaviour. Malar J 2009; 8: 173.

4.      Beier JC, Keating J, Githure JI, Macdonald MB, Impoinvil DE, Novak RJ. Integrated vector management for malaria control. Malar J. 2008 Dec 11; 7 Suppl 1:S4.

5.      Crawley J, Chu C, Mtove G, Nosten F. Malaria in children. Lancet 2010; 375: 1468-81.

6.      Delta State, 2014. http://www.deltastate.com.ng/Local-Government/ukwuani-local-government.html Accessed 1/5/14.

7.      Fairhurst RM, Wellems TE. Plasmodium species (Malaria). In: Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R, eds. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2009: chap 275.

8.      Jeffrey P. Attitudes and Perceptions. In: Borkowski N ed. Organizational Behaviour in Health Care. Jones and Bartlett Publishers. 2014: Chapter 3, pp. 43-76. http://healthadmin.jbpub.com/Borkowski/chapter3.pdf. Accessed 3/05/14.

9.      Kimbi HK, Nkesa SB, Ndamukong-Nyanga JL, Sumbele IUN, Atashili J, Atanga MBS. Knowledge and perceptions towards malaria prevention among vulnerable groups in the Buea Health District, Cameroon. BMC Public Health 2014; 14: 883.

10.  Khumbulani WH, Musawenkosi LHM, Simon K, Dayanandan G, Rajendra M. Community knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) on malaria in Swaziland: A country earmarked for malaria elimination. Malar J 2009, 8: 29.

11.  Lawrence CE, Croft AM. Do mosquito coils prevent malaria: a systematic review of trials. J Travel Med 2004; 11(2): 92-96.

12.  Legesse M, Deressa W. Community awareness about malaria, its treatment and mosquito vector in rural highlands of central Ethiopia. Ethiop J Health Dev. 2009; 23(1): 40-47.

13.  Lora LS, Abanish R, Mohamed IB, Mrigendra PS, Jordan T, Blair JW, Katherine MJ, Kojo YA, Neeru S, Davidson HH. Attitudes, knowledge, and practices regarding malaria prevention and treatment among pregnant women in eastern India. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2010; 82(6): 1010–1016.

14.  Nadjm B, Amos B, Mtove G, Ostermann J, Chonya S, Wangai H, et al., WHO guidelines for antimicrobial treatment in children admitted to hospital in an area of intense Plasmodium falciparum transmission: prospective study. BMJ 2010; 340: c1350.

15.  National Center for Biotechnology Information: Malaria http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001646/ Accessed 1/5/14.

16.  Okell LC, Drakeley CJ, Ghani AC, Bousema T, Sutherland CJ. Reduction of transmission from malaria patients by artemisinin combination therapies: a pooled analysis of six randomized trials. Malar J 2008; 7: 125.

17.  Okoli C, Enna M. A cross-sectional study on knowledge of, attitudes towards and practice of malaria prevention. South Afr J Infect Dis 2014; 29(1): 37-42.

18.  Okwundu CI, Nagpal S, Musekiwa A, Sinclair D. Home‐ or community‐based programmes for treating malaria. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2013, Issue 5.

19.  Olorunfemi EA. Impact of health education intervention on malaria prevention practices among nursing mothers in rural communities in Nigeria. Niger Med J. 2013 Mar-Apr; 54(2): 115–122.

20.  Pluess B, Tanser FC, Lengeler C, Sharp BL. Indoor residual spraying for preventing malaria. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2010, Issue 4.

21.  Salwa MEAE, El-Amin ER, Hayder AG, Abd El-Karim AEF. Knowledge, practices and perceptions which affect acquiring malaria in man-made malarious area in Khartoum State, Sudan. Sudanese J Public Health 2009, 4(1):199–209. UNICEF. 2014.

22.  Vontas J, Moore S, Kleinschmidt I, Ranson H, Lindsay S, Lengeler C, Hamon N, McLean T, Hemingway J. Framework for rapid assessment and adoption of new vector control tools. Trends Parasitol. 2014; 30(4):191-204.

23.  World Health Organization (2003): The solid facts: social determinants of health. Geneva: World Health Organization.

24.  World Health Organization (2008), Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health. Geneva: World Health Organization.

25.  World Health Organization (2010), Guidelines for the treatment of malaria. 2010, Second edn, World Health Organization.

26.  World Health Organization (2013), World malaria report 2013. Geneva: World Health Organization.

27.  World Health Organization (2014), http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/ Accessed 1/5/14.

28.  Yoel L, Arthorn, Arjen, et al., 2011. Bull World Health Organ. 2011; 89: 504-512.