Perception and Home Management of Malaria in Rural Communities in Imo State, Nigeria.

Aims: The objectives were to determine the rural communities’ knowledge on cause, transmission, spread of malaria, breeding sites of mosquitoes, signs and symptoms, health seeking behaviour of respondents, preventive measures and patterns of home management of malaria in the rural communities in Imo State. Study Design: A descriptive survey design was used. Place and Duration of Study: Imo State, Nigeria, between February 2013 and April 2013. Methodology: The sample size was 2674 adults (1650 males, 1024 females, age range 20-70 years). A structured, validated and reliable questionnaire (r = 0.81) and focus group discussion were used as instruments for data collection. Results: The result showed that out of 2674 respondents, 1683(62.9%) reported that malaria is transmissible while 976(36.5%) reported that malaria is not transmissible. Majority 2262(84.6%) noted that malaria spreads through mosquito bite while insignificant number said malaria spreads through drinking dirty water and eating unhygienic food. 1501(56.1%) noted that stagnant dirty water is a common breeding site for mosquitoes. Most of the respondents had good knowledge of the signs and symptoms of malaria which was used in prompt diagnosis. Majority 41% first patronized medicine stores followed by 38.5% that visited the hospital and health centers. In terms of preventive measures practiced by respondents, the majority 1049 and 1028 used mosquito bed nets and insecticide spray respectively while 237 used firewood smoke to drive mosquitoes away. In the pattern of home management of malaria, 62.3% used anti-malaria drugs, 10.5% used a special herb, Azadirachta indica (dogonyaro/Akum shut up leaf), 6.9% used combination of seven leaves (Pawpaw, mango, guava, Nchuanwu (Occimum basilicum) and awolowo leaf (Chromolaena odorata), orange and lemon grass) While 6.0% used prayers to God. Conclusion: Based on the above results and to keep abreast with the conventional practice, the rural communities require health education on home management of malaria.