Knowledge, attitude, practice regarding to malaria and home environment prevention among population in Palaw Township, Tanintharyi Region, Myanmar

Abstract

Abstract Malaria infection is of national concern in Myanmar because it is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Objectives of current study were 1) to identify level of knowledge, attitude and practice regarding to malaria and home environment prevention and 2) to access those associations. A cross-sectional survey method was conducted during June-July,2016 among population in Palaw Township, Tanintharyi Region of Myanmar. Four hundred and thirty subjects aged between 18-64 were participated in this study. A structure questionnaire was used to gather the data through face-to-face interview. Chi-square and Fisher’s exact test were used to determine the association between the variables. The results showed that 50.7%of respondents had good knowledge, 16.3% had good attitude while only 6.5% had good practice regarding malaria prevention. Moreover, we found that there was significant association between age group (p<0.001), education level (p<0.001), occupation (p<0.001), monthly family income (p=0.003) and duration of stay (p=0.002) and practice on malaria and home environmental prevention. Association between knowledge about malaria and practices on malaria (p<0.001) was statistically associated. Participants’ attitude towards malaria was associated with practices on malaria and home environment prevention (p<0.001). As a result of this study, health education program with direct interaction to community should be emphasized to increase participants’ knowledge, attitude and practice about housing condition and housing structure for malaria prevention.