Knowledge and treatment-seeking behavior among malaria suspected patients in two hospitals of district Malakand

Abstract

BackgroundMalaria remains a significant public health problem over the last two decades in Pakistan. to prevent malaria infection and develop malaria-free zones, understanding the knowledge, treatment-seeking behavior, and preventive measures toward the malaria infection of the inhabitant are necessary. This study is designed to assess the knowledge, malaria preventive measures, treatment-seeking behaviors, and socio-economic profiles, among suspected malaria patients in district Malakand, Pakistan.MethodsCurrent research was a hospital-based cross-sectional study, in which patients attending DHQ hospital Batkhela and THQ hospital Dargai were recruited. A pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect demographic characteristics, knowledge, and treatment-seeking behavior of the patients for malaria infection. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.ResultsA total of 1100 malaria suspected individuals were interviewed. The respondent’s ages ranged from 3-80 years, with a mean of 19.5 years. Participation of Males was more than female, 54.3% and 45.6% respectively. Participants belonging to education departments were more participated in the survey (55%) than others, while most of the individuals were from rural areas (78.1%), and the number of individuals >8 is higher than below <8 members. The majority of the respondents (76.2%) were voted to sleep uncovered than covered (23.7%). Most of the individuals (83.36%) were of the view to use allopathic treatments after getting malaria while only 16.63% were used homeopathy, and financial issues were reported as the major reason for the delay in treatment. Regarding treatment time after getting malaria, 68.8% were received within a week and, 31.3% were within 24 hours. Most of the infected individuals (87.9%) were known that mosquitoes as the causing source of malaria infection, and can be controlled by eliminating breeding grounds, using mosquito repellents and bed net 86%, 7.2%, and 6.6% respectively. ConclusionsMalakand is one of the malaria-endemic regions of Pakistan. The present study highlighted that the majority of the respondents have good knowledge about malaria infection, mode of transmission of the plasmodium parasite, and preventive measures. Further strategies are required for the control of malaria infection.