Knowledge and Misconceptions about Malaria among Nigeria School Children

Abstract

Background Information: Malaria, a disease which cuts across all age groups, both genders and races, remains the most deadly tropical disease, despite the huge sums of money expended by the World Health Organization, United Nations, Governmental Agencies and other collaborators in search of a long-lasting solution to the menace caused by the disease.

Method: The present study focused on evaluation of the knowledge about malaria among Nigerian school children.
Research instrument constituted structured questionnaire of which, five hundred and fifty copies were randomly shared among students in both senior and junior forms in six secondary schools within Mainland and Surulere Local Govt. Areas of Lagos in Nigeria.
Among the information enquired were the mode of transmission of malaria, prevalence of the disease and its target site in the host, preventive measures, symptoms and drugs for therapy.

Results: A total of 532 copies of questionnaire recovered, made up the sample population.
It was discovered that 30% respondents did not know that malaria is a tropical disease and only 258 (48.5%) and 78 (14.7%) knew that malaria is transmitted through the bite of female anopheles mosquito and blood transfusion respectively. Furthermore, 196 (37.6%) informants thought that malaria is more prevalent in the dry season. Only 204 (38.5%) knew that anaemia is one of the signs of the disease. There was an association (critical value X2 = 9.49, calculated p value = 59.38; p<0.05) between level of education and knowledge of malaria as a tropical disease as well as with drug compliance. Responses obtained from individual schools on malaria prevalence, its symptoms and knowledge about the Roll Back Malaria programme also were found to be significant (p<0.05). It was surprising that respondent could not distinguishe between antimalarials and other pharmaceuticals employed to alleviate the symptoms. The overall deduction from the investigation is that several school children in this environment do not have a good knowledge about the disease, malaria, which has consequently resulted in poor home management of the same, which has therefore in no small measure jeopardized the efforts of research workers in their attempts to solve the problem of malaria.

Conclusion: The problem of malaria will remain unsolved until every group, young and old, medical and non-medical, literate and illiterate, especially in this environment and largely in the third world countries where malaria is prevalent, is adequately informed about the disease and fully equipped to join in the global ‘fight' against malaria and its carrier, the female anopheles mosquito.


Keywords: Malaria, School children, Misconceptions.

NQJHM Vol. 16 (3) 2006: pp. 102-105