Department of Parasitology and Medical Entomology, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Hubert Kairuki Memorial University, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Front Public Health. 2023 Feb 15;11:976354. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.976354. eCollection 2023.
Utilization of malaria interventions is influenced by, among other things, the level of knowledge and attitude that the community has toward the infection as well as the available interventions. This study assessed malaria knowledge, attitudes, and practices on malaria infection and interventions in Masasi and Nanyumbu districts, Tanzania.
A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted between August and September 2020, among the heads of households having at least one under-five child. Information on knowledge, attitudes, and practices on malaria infection and interventions was gathered from the heads of the households using a structured questionnaire. The knowledge level was classified into low, moderate, and high. Attitudes were classified into positive and negative, whereas the practices were classified into good and poor. Children aged between 3 and 59 months were screened for malaria infection using a malaria rapid diagnostic test (mRDT). The proportion of the households' heads with high level of knowledge was the primary outcome. Proportions were compared using -square or fisher's test, and logistic regression analysis was used as appropriate.
A total of 1,556 household heads were interviewed, 1,167 (75.00%) were male, and according to marital status, 1,067 (68.57%) were couples. All the household heads had some knowledge of malaria, but 47.33% (736/1,555) and 13.83% (215/1,555) of them had moderate and high knowledge, respectively. The level of knowledge on malaria was significantly influenced by gender [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.72, 95.00% confidence interval (CI) = 0.56-0.94, = 0.017], level of education (aOR = 1.50, 95.00% CI = 1.04-2.16, = 0.03), and the occupation of the household head (aOR = 1.90, 95.00% CI = 1.22-2.96, = 0.004). Majority of the households [83.87% (1,305/1,556)] had bed nets hanging on the sleeping spaces. Of the household heads possessing bed nets, 85.10% (514/604), 79.62% (586/736), and 95.35% (205/215) of them had a low, moderate, and high level of knowledge on malaria infection, respectively (trend = 31.53, < 0.001). The majority [95.04% (1,474/1,551)] of the household heads perceived sleeping under the bed net to be beneficial. Furthermore, 15.56% (94/604), 14.67% (108/736), and 7.44% (16/215) of the household heads with low, moderate, and high knowledge, respectively, had children with malaria infection (trend = 9.172, = 0.01).
The study population had a good level of knowledge about malaria infection, and a good attitude toward malaria interventions, and the majority of them were using bed nets.
疟疾干预措施的利用受到诸多因素的影响，包括社区对感染以及可用干预措施的知识和态度水平。本研究评估了坦桑尼亚马萨西和楠比亚地区疟疾感染和干预措施的疟疾知识、态度和做法。
2020 年 8 月至 9 月期间，在至少有一名 5 岁以下儿童的家庭户主中进行了一项基于社区的横断面调查。使用结构化问卷从家庭户主那里收集关于疟疾感染和干预措施的知识、态度和做法信息。知识水平分为低、中、高。态度分为积极和消极，而做法分为好和差。使用疟疾快速诊断检测（mRDT）对 3 至 59 个月大的儿童进行疟疾感染筛查。主要结局是高水平知识的家庭户主比例。使用卡方检验或 fisher 检验比较比例，适当使用逻辑回归分析。
共采访了 1556 名家庭户主，其中 1167 名（75.00%）为男性，根据婚姻状况，1067 名（68.57%）为夫妻。所有家庭户主都对疟疾有一定的了解，但其中 47.33%（736/1555）和 13.83%（215/1555）分别具有中等和高水平的知识。疟疾知识水平受到性别[调整后的优势比（aOR）=0.72，95.00%置信区间（CI）=0.56-0.94，=0.017]、教育水平（aOR=1.50，95.00%CI=1.04-2.16，=0.03）和家庭户主职业[aOR=1.90，95.00%CI=1.22-2.96，=0.004]的显著影响。大多数家庭[83.87%（1305/1556）]在睡眠空间悬挂着蚊帐。拥有蚊帐的家庭户主中，85.10%（514/604）、79.62%（586/736）和 95.35%（205/215）分别对疟疾感染具有低、中、高水平的知识（趋势=31.53，<0.001）。大多数家庭户主[95.04%（1474/1551）]认为睡在蚊帐下是有益的。此外，低、中、高水平知识的家庭户主中分别有 15.56%（94/604）、14.67%（108/736）和 7.44%（16/215）的儿童患有疟疾（趋势=9.172，=0.01）。
研究人群对疟疾感染具有良好的知识水平和对疟疾干预措施的良好态度，并且大多数人正在使用蚊帐。
