Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of the Community towards Malaria Prevention and Control Options in Anti-Malaria Association Intervention Zones of Amahara National Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Malaria is one of the most important public health challenges in Ethiopia. Although the disease is endemic in many parts of the country, the knowledge, attitude and practice of the community about the disease prevention and control options is far from perfect, and misconceptions and malpractices are common. Objective: To assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practices of the community towards malaria prevention and control options. Methodology: A community based cross sectional study design was done in Antimaria Association intervention zones. A single population proportion sample size formula and design effect of two was used to determine sample size. A total of 864 participants were included in the study and proportional allocation was done among urban and rural residents. The data was collected by trained data collectors and supervisors using questionnaires and interviewing guidelines. The collected data was cleaned, coded and entered into SPSS version 16.0 for windows soft ware for analysis. Results: This study revealed that 37.6% of the study participants mentioned fever as symptom of malaria. The acceptance rate of IRS as malaria control and prevention method is 5.37%. From the general population, 26.4% of the participants used ITN as malaria prevention and control method. Among febrile children in the last one year, 28.4% were taken to modern health care institutions for treatment. From the total study participants, 66.6%, 50.8%, 64.8% have a good knowledge on clinical manifestations, signs and symptoms, and prevention methods of malaria, respectively. Sixty nine percent of the respondents have positive attitude towards modern health care utilization for malaria treatment and 47% of them have good practice towards malaria prevention and control activities. Conclusion and recommendation: knowledge, attitude and practice of the community towards malaria prevention and control options are still at low level. Therefore, the existing effort must be strengthened and continued to improve the community knowledge, attitude and practice towards malaria prevention and control options.