Perceptions and impact of malaria health education in school children

Subtitle:challenges in malaria control & elimination in Gamo and Gofa Zones, SNNPR, Ethiopia

Despite the increased prevalence of malaria, malaria-associated morbidities, and their major contribution to malaria transmission dynamics, SAC were not given the emphasis that they deserve from the national malaria programs. Their adherence to malaria prevention was the lowest as compared to other age groups. Consequently, several research groups recommend well-tailored malaria prevention education (MPE). However, little is known about how and where MPE should be given. Therefore this thesis is aimed to assess perceptions and impact of MPE on the use of malaria prevention measures and the incidence of malaria among schoolchildren in Southern. Methods: The thesis employed a cluster randomized controlled trial with an embedded qualitative evaluation. To develop MPE, the findings from parents’ perceptions of the cause of malaria and their malaria prevention experiences among SAC in Kutcha district were used. The quantitative data were analyzed by using R statistical software while the qualitative data were analyzed thematically and managed by NVivo software. Results: Parents of SAC perceive that hunger, mosquito bite, exposure to hot sunshine, poor sanitation and hygiene, and eating some sweet foods and unripe maize were the causes of malaria. These perceptions highly influenced the malaria prevention practices among their SAC. At the baseline of the trial, the ownership of at least one LLIN by households of SAC, their bed net utilization, and the prevalence of malaria infection was 19.3%, 7.8%, and 1.6% respectively. The MPE did not significantly influence bed net ownership, bed net utilization reported incidence of malaria, and treatment seeking from a health facility as a first choice. In the qualitative evaluation of MPE, four themes were identified: setup of the training, challenges for the success of the training, anticipated challenges for practice as per the protocol, and experienced immediate influences. There are certain context-specific factors that affect bed net utilization and prompt diagnosis and treatment of malaria from a health facility as the 1st choice. Conclusions: The prevalence of malaria was very low and all the infections were asymptomatic. Parents of SAC associated malaria with multiple causes. The MPE had no effect on the use of malaria prevention measures considered and reported cumulative incidence of malaria. The functional literacy adult education program in Ethiopia may be one of the platforms to be strengthened by giving due emphasis to malaria in the health theme section of the program.

Publication year:2023

Keywords:Doctoral thesis

Accessibility:Open