Abstract

ASSESSMENT OF THE KNOWLEDGE AND PATTERNS OF MALARIA MANAGEMENT AMONG THE RESIDENTS OF JOS METROPOLIES

Nanloh S. Jimam*, Shalkur David, Nanyak Musa and Gloria A. Kadir

ABSTRACT

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and pattern of malaria treatment and prevention among the residents of Jos and environs. Material and Methods: The study was a community based descriptive cross sectional study design; with a study population consisting of individuals of both sexes living within the metropolis of Jos, cutting across people between the age of 18 years and above. Jos was randomly divided into four zones: Zone A (Terminus/Farin Gada), Zone B(Angwan Rukuba/Tina Junction), Zone C (Rayfield/Hwolshe) and Zone D (Bukuru) to ensured geographic and socio-economic representation of the target population. A semi-structured interviewer questionnaire was then dispatched within the communities for a period of eight (8) days after which the filled questionnaires were then retrieved and analyzed. Results: 294 questionnaires out of the 414 distributed were returned, that is, 71% response rate. The result of the study showed that about 61.6% of the respondents had average knowledge of what malaria was all about; hence the level of awareness of the respondents was categorized as average (63.3%). When sick, high percentage of the respondents (81.6%) preferred orthodox treatment with 56.8% of them going for oral tablets for the treatment of the disease, with only 38.8% preferring the use of injectables. Conclusion: It was concluded that the respondents had better understanding of the causes, symptoms, treatment and, prevention of malaria. However, there were poor knowledge among the less educated respondents, hence public education and sensitization targeting all categories of the population is necessary.

Keywords: Malaria, Management, Knowledge, Mosquito, Community.