Knowledge Attitudes and Perception about Malaria and Soil-transmitted Helminthes in Rural Community in Imo State Nigeria.

Abstract

Malaria and Soil transmitted helminthes are co-endemic and have major public health significance. The study was aimed to ascertain the people’s knowledge, attitudes and perception about malaria and soil-transmitted helminthes in Ndeama village in Ulakwo autonomous community, Owerri North Local Government Area. Survey method was adopted using questionnaires for data collection. A total of 500 questionnaire were shared and a total of 441 (88.2%) was retrieved. Also, focal group discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted in order to determine the level of participants’ knowledge on transmission, treatment and approaches to control. Results from the distribution showed that more than half of the participants (65.9%) believed that exposure to mosquito bite was the major cause of malaria, 17.9% had no idea, 9.5% was attributed to eating of oily foods and 4.3% to drinking of unclean water. The results also showed that 53% respondents believed that eating of Dirty food is the major cause of soil-transmitted helminthes, 23.5% had no idea, 11.3% attributed the disease to bare footing, 7.7% fecal oral contamination and 4.3% inborn. In their actions, the respondents adopted three practices, self-medication, use of herbal drugs and Doctor’s prescription. This study shows that there are misconceptions due to poor standard of living, inadequate water supply, poor environmental sanitation and the cost of medical and preventive practice of the participants on malaria and soil-transmitted helminthes. Therefore, this study highlights a critical need for targeting health messages towards poorly educated rural dwellers in order to empower them with the knowledge and resources to recognize and manage their health problems.