Abstract

Knowledge and practices in preventing malaria infection were assessed in a cross-sectional study in Morogoro Municipal. Malaria is a life-threatening parasitic disease transmitted caused by plasmodial species which are plasmodium falciparum, plasmodium vivax, plasmodium ovale, and plasmodium malariae. With most of the cases of malaria being due to Plasmodium falciparum accounting for more than 95% of infections. A total of sixty families were randomly selected from five study areas (Chamwino, Mafiga, Kichangani, Misufini and Manzese) to participate in the study. The questionnaire consisting of closed and open-ended questions was administered. The results indicated that knowledge on malaria transmission and prevention was reasonable as the respondents declared to have a significant knowledge (85%) on malaria transmission and prevention, though there was a knowledge gap among respondents. Breeding sites were also assessed and the results showed that 26.7% reported dark places as breeding sites, 40% mentioned the edges of ponds and stagnant water, 26.7% tagged dirty areas as breeding sites, 1.7% mentioned cattle sheds, and 5% were not aware at all. Methods used for management of malaria in their homes indicate that most of the respondents (73.3%) agreed with indoor residual spraying (IRS) while (26.7%) did not agree with IRS. Most respondents commented on the effectiveness of Home Management of Malaria (HMM) to be somehow helpful in reducing malaria infection cases, while 31.7% strongly agreed that HMM has been effective in reducing malaria infection cases. Therefore, there is a need to improve the emphasis of HMM to ensure that the effectiveness of HMM is being achieved at a great level.

Key words: Knowledge, mosquito, indoor residual spraying, home management of malaria.