Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët Boigny, BP 1093, Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire.
Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, 01 BP 1303, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
BMC Public Health. 2022 Dec 28;22(1):2443. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14446-5.
Insecticides play a key role in rural farming; however, their over- or misuse has been linked with a negative impact on malaria vector control policies. This study was conducted amongst agricultural communities in Southern Côte d'Ivoire to identify which insecticides are used by local farmers and how it relates to the perception of farmers on malaria. Understanding the use of insecticides may help in designing awareness programme on mosquito control and pesticides management.
A questionnaire was administered to 1399 farming households across ten villages. Farmers were interviewed on their education, farming practices (e.g. crops cultivated, insecticides use), perception of malaria, and the different domestic strategies of mosquito control they use. Based on some pre-defined household assets, the socioeconomic status (SES) of each household was estimated. Statistical associations were calculated between different variables, showing significant risk factors.
The educational level of farmers was significantly associated with their SES (p < 0.0001). Most of the householders (88.82%) identified mosquitoes as the principal cause of malaria, with good knowledge of malaria resulting as positively related to high educational level (OR = 2.04; 95%CI: 1.35, 3.10). The use of indoor chemical compounds was strongly associated to the SES of the households, their education level, their use of ITNs and insecticide in agricultural (p < 0.0001). Indoor application of pyrethroid insecticides was found to be widespread among farmers as well as the use of such insecticide for crops protection.
Our study shows that the education level remains the key factor influencing the use of insecticides by farmers and their awareness of malaria control. We suggest that better communication tailored to education level and including SES, controlled availability and access to chemical products, should be considered when designing campaigns on use of pesticides and vector borne disease control for local communities.
杀虫剂在农村农业中起着关键作用；然而，过度或不当使用杀虫剂已被认为对疟疾媒介控制政策产生负面影响。本研究在科特迪瓦南部的农业社区进行，旨在确定当地农民使用哪些杀虫剂，以及农民对疟疾的看法与杀虫剂使用之间的关系。了解杀虫剂的使用情况可能有助于设计关于蚊子控制和农药管理的宣传计划。
我们对十个村庄的 1399 个农户进行了问卷调查。对农民进行了教育、农业实践（例如，种植的作物、杀虫剂的使用）、疟疾认知以及他们使用的不同家庭蚊虫控制策略等方面的访谈。根据一些预先确定的家庭资产，估计了每个家庭的社会经济地位（SES）。计算了不同变量之间的统计关联，显示出显著的风险因素。
农民的教育水平与 SES 显著相关（p<0.0001）。大多数家庭（88.82%）认为蚊子是疟疾的主要原因，疟疾知识良好与高教育水平呈正相关（OR=2.04；95%CI：1.35，3.10）。室内化学化合物的使用与家庭 SES、教育水平、使用 ITN 和农业杀虫剂密切相关（p<0.0001）。室内拟除虫菊酯类杀虫剂的使用在农民中很普遍，而且这种杀虫剂也被用于作物保护。
我们的研究表明，教育水平仍然是影响农民使用杀虫剂和对疟疾控制意识的关键因素。我们建议，在为当地社区设计农药使用和病媒传播疾病控制活动时，应考虑根据教育水平和 SES、化学产品的控制供应和获取情况进行更好的沟通。
