Knowledge and Practices about Malaria in Two Tribal Dominated Regions of Madhya Pradesh, India

Abstract

Given the substantial contribution tribal population makes to the overall malaria load in the country, their role is important in the malaria elimination context. Assimilation of correct malaria preventive and care seeking behaviour among them, thereby, becomes very critical. Community level knowledge and practices regarding malaria can reflect on the extent of this assimilation. A cross-sectional survey of 482 randomly selected households was conducted in Umaria and Dindori districts of Madhya Pradesh using a semi-structured schedule to assess the community level knowledge and practices with respect to the causation, transmission, prevention and treatment of malaria. Descriptive statistics are used to determine relative frequencies and percentages. Chi-square test is used to determine the associations between the variables. Majority of the respondents (71.2%) were aware of the role of mosquitoes in the transmission of malaria. However, only 30% of the respondents reported the most characteristics symptoms of malaria, i.e., “fever with chills”. The awareness about transmission and symptoms was associated with educational status of the respondents as well as history of malaria infection. 65% of the households were using mosquito net bed and 57% burnt foliage/cow dung cakes to protect themselves from mosquitoes. Out of all the malarial cases, 61% sought treatment from government health facilities, while remaining from private facilities. Findings indicate that tribal groups generally possessed knowledge about malaria and engage in desirable behaviours for its management and control pointing towards their acceptance and assimilation of the government programme.