Malaria Control Practices and Treatment Seeking Patterns among Adults in North Central Nigeria (original) (raw)
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Journal of Advances in Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Background: Malaria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria accounting for a significant proportion of household expenditure in treatment and prophylaxis. Nigeria account for 25% of global clinical cases and mortality and also has the highest malaria burden in sub Saharan Africa. In most cases of malaria illness, treatment takes place at the community level and only few serious cases are taken to healthcare facilities. A number of cultural, socioeconomic, patient related and health service provider variables often in a complex interplay are known to influence treatment seeking behaviour, though the relative importance of variables differ widely between settings. Objectives: To identify where households receive malaria treatment services as well as prevalence of malaria related hospitalization. Also to identify the most common factor(s) that most influence malaria treatment behaviour. Methods: This is a cross section study using multistage sampling method for household survey. This study was carried out during the rainy months of June and July 2016. Six towns with high urban and rural population density in Benue State were purposely selected for survey. A total of
Perception and Treatment Seeking Behavior for Malaria in Rural Nigeria: Implications for Control
Journal of Human Ecology
The treatment seeking behaviour and perceptions of cause of malaria amongst caregivers of children under-five living in rural Nigeria,was studied using a cross sectional survey conducted in Ugwuogo-Nike ,a rural community in southeast Nigeria, between November 2001 and April 2002. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed using structured questionnaires and focus group discussions. Two hundred and seventy-five out of the 300 care givers were mothers and majority (60.7%) reported malaria to be a common illness. Heat from the sun was the most popularly reported cause of malaria (49.3%). Correct knowledge of mosquitoes causing malaria varied significantly with the level of education.. Most of the interviewed caregivers were familiar with signs and symptoms of malaria and self treatment with inappropriate doses of chloroquine was used by the majority (83.7%) while drug sellers were their most (52.3%) popular source of care. Poor utilization of formal health facilities was noted to be due to cost and absence of health personnel. The most popular treatment for severe malaria by caretakers was herbal remedies. Athough some reasonable knowledge of the symptoms of malaria was found, there is still need for intervention measures directed towards correcting misconceptions about the cause of malaria and improving treatment seeking behavior. It is recommended that appropriate home management with early recognition of symptoms and features of severe illness , correct use of effective anti-malaria drugs and prompt referral of severe cases should be promoted since majority resort to self-treatment.
Health-Seeking Behaviour of Malaria Patients in Lagos, Nigeria
https://www.ijhsr.org/IJHSR\_Vol.8\_Issue.7\_July2018/IJHSR\_Abstract.034.html, 2018
Malaria is a major public health challenge and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria especially in its contribution to infant and maternal mortality. The World Health Organization has emphasized that the diagnosis and treatment for malaria should occur within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms to decrease the risk of severe complications and onward transmission. The outcome of malaria in patients largely depends on their health seeking behavior. The pattern of health seeking behavior however depends on sociocultural factors, attitudes and beliefs. This study assessed the health seeking behavior of malaria patients in Lagos, Nigeria with relation to health care Financing. A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in 465 participants in Agege Local Government Area (LGA) of Lagos State, Nigeria. Patients were selected by stratified sampling from 16 wards in Agege LGA. Data were collected by the use of a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. It was estimated that 78.9% of participants experienced a delay in seeking treatment. This research reports that only 3.9% (18) of respondents had visited a traditional healer, while 84.1% (391) attempted self-treatment by either taking 'left-over' drugs at home or drugs purchased from a convenient shop to relieve malaria. This study confirmed the socioeconomic and demographic vulnerability of the populace, which contributed to difficulties in prompt seeking of medical services, the burden of cost, choices of healthcare providers, methods of funding healthcare and coping strategies.
PERCEPTION OF MALARIA AND TREATMENT SEEKING BEHAVIOUR AMONG RURAL DWELLERS IN NIGERIA
Global Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 2015
Malaria is the most important parasitic disease in the tropics and remains of highest public health importance. About 90% of all malaria deaths in the world today occur in Africa. An estimated one million people in Africa die from malaria each year and most of these are children under five years old The factors determining the health behaviours may be seen in various contexts: physical, socioeconomic , cultural and political. Therefore, the utilization of a health care system, public or private, formal or non-formal, may depend on socio-demographic factors, social structures, level of education, cultural beliefs and practices, gender discrimination, status of women, economic and political systems, environmental conditions, and the disease pattern and health care system itself. Malaria remains a major Public Health problem in Nigeria and causes death and illness in children and adults, especially pregnant women. The objective of this review is to look at the following areas: malaria epidemiology; the burden of malaria on Nigerian rural dwellers; perception and treatment seeking behaviour of rural dwellers; and treatment sources of the rural dwellers.
Determinants of health seeking behaviours for malaria treatment in Cameroon
International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, 2022
Malaria is one of the most important parasitic diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. This parasitic disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality with nearly 90% of malaria cases worldwide and 80% of associated deaths occurring in this region of the world where the disease still remains endemic. 1 The number of malaria cases worldwide was estimated at 229 million in 2019, with a 4% decline over the last two decades. 2 Cameroon is one ABSTRACT Background: Household health-seeking behaviour for malaria treatment is an important policy concern in malariaendemic African countries. This paper aims to shed light on the determinants of household's health-seeking behaviour for malaria treatment in Cameroon. Methods: The cross-sectional study used secondary data from the fourth Cameroonian household consumption survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics. A stratified, 2-stage sampling was implemented with a sample of 918 households which sought malaria treatment from different alternatives providers. The multinomial probit model was used to estimate the probability based on socio-demographic and economics determinants for a household to choose between different types of providers of malaria treatment. Results: The findings of this study indicate that, the alternative providers for malaria treatment were: public health facilities (61.1%), private health facilities (8.5%), traditional healers (1.4%), pharmacies (4.6%), informal vendor (18%), other types of recourse (6.4%). The decision to choose the provider for malaria treatment depends on factors such as household head, region, level of education, religion, area of residence, socio-professional category, and gender. The level of education appears to be an important determinant of a household's seeking behaviour. Those with higher education are more likely to seek care at formal health facilities. Conclusions: Health policy-makers need to strive to improve the socio-demographic and economic conditions and sensitize households on the appropriate alternative ways to ensure the universal access to diagnosis and effective treatment of malaria in line with the global strategies recommended by WHO to achieve malaria elimination by 2030.
International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 2018
Background: Although control measures have achieved considerable success, malaria is still a major public health problem in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa. The malaria burden is more among vulnerable groups like pregnant women and under-five aged children. This study explored barriers affecting uptake of current malaria prevention interventions in Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria.Methods: The study was conducted using qualitative research methods between May and August 2016 among community residents in Ibadan, Oyo state-Nigeria. Six focus group discussions (FGDs) and 16 in-depth interviews (IDI) were conducted with community members who were purposively selected and consented to participate in the study. The participants were grouped into six homogenous focus groups which included; pregnant women, mothers of under-five children, husbands, fathers, civil society members, and health staff such as hospital manager, nurses, pharmacist, medicine vendors, doctors, state program staff and nationa...
Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research
Objectives: This study aimed to assess patients’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) on uncomplicated malaria management in primary health-care (PHC) facilities of Plateau state, Nigeria. Methods: A validated self-reported scale known as patients’ KAP instrument for uncomplicated malaria with Cronbach’s alpha reliability of 0.74 was administered to 956 patients that consented to participate in the study across 24 PHC facilities in the state between May and July 2017. The collated data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS®) version 23 software. Results: There were more female participants (53.5%) compared to the males (46.5%), and majority (33.4%) within the age range of 28 and 37 years with 26.5% falling within the age range of 18–27 years and children of <18 years of age constituted 13.8% of the study population. About 42.1% of the respondents were married, and many either had secondary (37.3%) or primary (30.0%) edu...
Health policy, 2010
Objectives: To identify the differences in health-seeking for childhood malaria treatment, between urban and rural communities in Nigeria, with a view to providing information to policy makers that will be used to improve malaria control. Methods: Quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed in eliciting information. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was administered to 1200 caretakers of children under 5 years who had malaria 2 weeks prior to the survey period. Focus group discussions were held with mothers and in-depth interviews with health care providers. Results: Health-seeking for malaria, differed significantly between rural and urban mothers. While majority (64.7%) of urban caretakers patronized private/government health facilities, most (62%) of their rural counterparts resorted to self-treatment with drugs bought over-the-counter, from patent medicine vendors. Hospitals were geographically more accessibility to urban than rural dwellers. Rural mothers only go to hospital when the problem persists or becomes worse, which results in delay in seeking appropriate and timely care. Conclusion: Urban and rural mothers differed in their responses to childhood fevers. Training drug vendors and caretakers are important measures to improve malaria control. Health facilities with good quality services and readily available drugs should be provided.
International Journal of Tropical Disease and Health, 2024
Background: Malaria is a public health concern deeply ingrained within local communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Local beliefs and practices play a critical role in defining the effectiveness of control measures. This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding malaria in a rural community in South-South Nigeria. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Ugun in South-South Nigeria. Data were collected from the participants using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using SPSS and a P-value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: This study included 300 participants with a mean age of 51.6 ± 20.9 years. The results showed that 28.3% had good knowledge, 55.7% had a positive attitude, and 44.7% demonstrated good practices regarding malaria. Knowledge scores were associated with the education (P < 0.012) and occupation (P < 0.001) of participants, while attitude scores were associated with the occupation (P = 0.002) and marital status of participants (P < 0.001). Age, education, occupation, and marital status were associated with participants' practice scores (P < 0.001). Civil servants (OR = 4.97; 95% CI: 1.69-14.61; P = 0.004) and pensioners (OR = 7.26; 95% CI: 1.98-26.61; P = 0.003) had higher odds of having good knowledge of malaria than farmers. Married participants (OR = 5.02; 95% CI: 1.51-16.66; P = 0.008) and those with good knowledge (OR = 1.94; 95% CI: 1.11-3.42; P = 0.021) had higher odds of exhibiting a positive attitude. Participants with primary (OR = 6.21; 95% CI: 2.59-14.86; P < 0.001) and secondary (OR = 12.04; 95% CI: 3.89-37.31); P < 0.001) education had higher odds of adopting good practices than those with informal education. Conclusion: Although more than half of the participants had a positive attitude towards malaria, the majority showed insufficient knowledge and poor practices related to the disease. This highlights the pressing need for targeted public health educational programs to improve community understanding and promote effective practices for malaria control.
Malaria Knowledge and Treatment Practices in Enugu State, Nigeria: A Qualitative Study
Background: Malaria accounts for 60% of outpatient visits in Nigeria. The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge of malaria and its treatment practices in Enugu state, Nigeria. Methods: Qualitative data was collected through the use of focus group discussions (FGDs), from six villages three each from urban and rural areas of Enugu state, Nigeria. A total of 18 FGDs involving 189 participants were conducted and data on place of treatment for malaria and drug of choice for malaria treatment were collected. Results: Most discussants had a good knowledge of the signs and symptoms of malaria. They reported late for treatment when they had symptoms suggestive of malaria. Treatment timing was affected by financial capability and perceived severity of disease. There was preference for patent medicine dealers (PMDs) and pharmacies for malaria treatment. The reasons included drug affordability, obtaining preferred drug, short waiting time and polite treatment from the providers. Treatment in most cases was without proper malaria diagnosis. Cost was an important factor in determining the drug of choice for malaria treatment. This could explain why people were not aware of the use of artemisinin-based combination therapy while preferring mono-therapies and herbal drugs. Public hospitals were considered as good sources of treatment for malaria although they remain the last resort when treatment from these drug outlets failed. Conclusion: The community members preferred PMDs and pharmacies for malaria treatment. Unfortunately, these drug outlets do not encourage the use of artemisinin combination therapy (ACT). This makes it necessary that pharmacists and PMDs are trained on management of malaria. Also, improving the knowledge of the public on the need for malaria diagnosis before treatment and use of artemisinin-based combination therapy will improve the control of malaria. The populace should be instructed to seek treatment early while also discouraging the use of herbal drugs for malaria treatment. There is also the need to improve service delivery at public health facilities. Implications for policy makers • The government and its health agencies should ensure an improvement in delivery of public healthcare services through evidence based health policy formulations and training of health workers. • On malaria management, emphasis should be placed on proper diagnosis of malaria and treatment using artemisinin-based combination therapy. • Training of pharmacists and patent medicine dealers on malaria treatment so as to improve quality. • Increase public awareness on management of malaria. Implications for the public Community members have preference for patent medicine dealers (PMDs) and pharmacies for malaria treatment. Unfortunately, treatment prescribed in these outlets did not include the use of artemisinin-based combination therapy. This is irrespective of the fact that the Nigerian government adopted the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) use for treatment of uncomplicated malaria in 2005. This policy however did not forbid the sale of mono-therapies in the country. There is thus a need to improve peoples' knowledge on the right actions to take when they have signs and symptoms suggestive of malaria and this will go a long way in improving the control of malaria. Efforts should be made to discourage the public from self-treatment of malaria.