Community knowledge, attitudes and practices towards malaria in Ha-Lambani, Limpopo Province, South Africa: a cross-sectional household survey

Abstract

Background Malaria remains a global health concern and is endemic in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu Natal Provinces of South Africa, which aims to eliminate malaria by 2025. Community engagement plays a significant role in improving the acceptability and effectiveness of programmes aimed at reducing malaria transmission. The success of such intervention efforts depends on the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of the community, and understanding the KAP of community residents may support malaria control efforts in the locality. In this context, a cross-sectional household survey to assess community KAP on malaria transmission and prevention in the Ha-Lambani village, Vhembe District, Limpopo Province was conducted. Methods Data were collected between November 2018 and May 2019 by questionnaire of 261 consenting adults (213 females and 48 males, aged between 18 and 95 years) selected from different households. Also, a focus group discussion among 13 randomly selected participants was conducted. Pearson’s Chi Square test was used to determine statistical differences by village. Results Study participants (100%, 261/261) were aware of the presence of malaria in their community and 95% associated it with mosquito bites. The local health clinic was the most prominent source of malaria information (85%). Only 22% correctly identified headache, chills and fever as the three most common symptoms of malaria. The majority of participants (98%) knew that effective medication for malaria is available and had a positive treatment-seeking behaviour. Knowledge of malaria prevention measures was high (82%); contrarily, 97% of respondents did not sleep under a bed net the previous night. The focus group data concurred with these results and also revealed that poor bed net use resulted from lack of access to bed nets because community residents could not afford them. Conclusions The study demonstrates that participants have appropriate knowledge about malaria transmission and a positive treatment-seeking behaviour. However, economic barriers are responsible for the inadequate use of bed nets. Therefore, distribution of bed nets to the community should be considered to improve practice of malaria prevention measures. Furthermore, knowledge of signs and symptoms and appropriate malaria treatment was limited, and initiatives to improve awareness on these topics should be continued.

Sero-prevalence of malaria and the knowledge, attitudes and practices relating to the prevention of malaria among indigenous people living in the central forest spine in Peninsular Malaysia: a mixed-methods study

“…Due to the extensive spotlight on malaria among these communities by the national malaria elimination programme, the results of this study showed adequate knowledge, attitude and practice in the prevention and control of malaria, which is consistent with other studies [ 26 – 30 ]. Similar to the findings of this study, the study by Munajat et al conducted among Indigenous population in Kelantan showed almost half of the participants had adequate knowledge on the causes and symptoms of malaria [ 15 ].…”

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice towards Malaria among People Attending Mekaneeyesus Primary Hospital, South Gondar, Northwestern Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In this study, female participants were found to be more knowledgeable (69.8%) about malaria than their male counterparts (57.3%), suggesting a need for awareness creation towards malaria for the males. This is supported by study conducted in Ha-Lambani, Limpopo Province, South Africa [ 44 ], which also reported that more female participants had knowledge on malaria transmission and symptoms than males. Similarly, significantly higher proportion of females (57.0%) had good practices towards malaria than males (45.5%) ( P = 0.05).…”

Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions Regarding Endemic Vivax Malaria in Inhabitants and Patients in Two Cities of Northern Gyeonggi-do, Korea, 2020

“…Most of the respondents correctly identified the 3 most common symptoms of malaria (headache, chills and fever). This coincides with the results of other studies indicating that people in malaria endemic areas are aware of the clinical manifestations of the disease [ 11 , 12 ]. However, incorporating local terminology and knowledge into malaria education and public health promotion may not be effective at changing community knowledge in the shortest possible time.…”