Opportunities and obstacles to the elimination of malaria from Peninsular Malaysia: knowledge, attitudes and practices on malaria among aboriginal and rural communities
Abstract Background Despite continuous efforts by the government and private sectors, malaria is still a public health problem in rural Peninsular Malaysia. This study investigated household knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) regarding malaria in two malaria endemic communities, forest-aborigin...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:eb147c2c1e5242adab7c9386b76b5481 2023-05-15T15:10:45+02:00 Opportunities and obstacles to the elimination of malaria from Peninsular Malaysia: knowledge, attitudes and practices on malaria among aboriginal and rural communities Al-Mekhlafi Hesham M Nor Zurainee M Al-Adhroey Abdulelah H Mahmud Rohela 2010-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-9-137 https://doaj.org/article/eb147c2c1e5242adab7c9386b76b5481 EN eng BMC http://www.malariajournal.com/content/9/1/137 https://doaj.org/toc/1475-2875 doi:10.1186/1475-2875-9-137 1475-2875 https://doaj.org/article/eb147c2c1e5242adab7c9386b76b5481 Malaria Journal, Vol 9, Iss 1, p 137 (2010) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 article 2010 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-9-137 2022-12-30T21:39:35Z Abstract Background Despite continuous efforts by the government and private sectors, malaria is still a public health problem in rural Peninsular Malaysia. This study investigated household knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) regarding malaria in two malaria endemic communities, forest-aboriginal and rural communities, in the Lipis district of Pahang state, Malaysia. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study with a semi-structured questionnaire was carried out among 100 and 123 households from forest-aboriginal and rural areas, respectively. Results Knowledge about malaria and its transmission is significantly higher among the rural participants than the aborigines (86.2% vs 76%, p < 0.01). However, use of medicinal plants and beliefs in witchcraft and sorcery in treating febrile diseases were significantly higher among the aboriginal population (p < 0.01). There were no significant differences between the two communities in terms of the knowledge about malaria symptoms, attitudes towards its severity and practices in preventive measures against malaria by using mosquito bed nets. However, the knowledge and practice of different preventive measures to combat malaria, such as insecticide and the elimination of breeding areas, was significantly higher among the rural population than the aborigines (p < 0.001). Conclusions Both communities were aware of malaria as a disease, but knowledge, attitudes and practices were inadequate. Providing efficient health education to people residing in malaria endemic areas would improve their understanding about malaria prevention in order to bring about the elimination of malaria from the country. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Kap ENVELOPE(23.567,23.567,65.533,65.533) Malaria Journal 9 1 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
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English |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Al-Mekhlafi Hesham M Nor Zurainee M Al-Adhroey Abdulelah H Mahmud Rohela Opportunities and obstacles to the elimination of malaria from Peninsular Malaysia: knowledge, attitudes and practices on malaria among aboriginal and rural communities |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 |
description |
Abstract Background Despite continuous efforts by the government and private sectors, malaria is still a public health problem in rural Peninsular Malaysia. This study investigated household knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) regarding malaria in two malaria endemic communities, forest-aboriginal and rural communities, in the Lipis district of Pahang state, Malaysia. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study with a semi-structured questionnaire was carried out among 100 and 123 households from forest-aboriginal and rural areas, respectively. Results Knowledge about malaria and its transmission is significantly higher among the rural participants than the aborigines (86.2% vs 76%, p < 0.01). However, use of medicinal plants and beliefs in witchcraft and sorcery in treating febrile diseases were significantly higher among the aboriginal population (p < 0.01). There were no significant differences between the two communities in terms of the knowledge about malaria symptoms, attitudes towards its severity and practices in preventive measures against malaria by using mosquito bed nets. However, the knowledge and practice of different preventive measures to combat malaria, such as insecticide and the elimination of breeding areas, was significantly higher among the rural population than the aborigines (p < 0.001). Conclusions Both communities were aware of malaria as a disease, but knowledge, attitudes and practices were inadequate. Providing efficient health education to people residing in malaria endemic areas would improve their understanding about malaria prevention in order to bring about the elimination of malaria from the country. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Al-Mekhlafi Hesham M Nor Zurainee M Al-Adhroey Abdulelah H Mahmud Rohela |
author_facet |
Al-Mekhlafi Hesham M Nor Zurainee M Al-Adhroey Abdulelah H Mahmud Rohela |
author_sort |
Al-Mekhlafi Hesham M |
title |
Opportunities and obstacles to the elimination of malaria from Peninsular Malaysia: knowledge, attitudes and practices on malaria among aboriginal and rural communities |
title_short |
Opportunities and obstacles to the elimination of malaria from Peninsular Malaysia: knowledge, attitudes and practices on malaria among aboriginal and rural communities |
title_full |
Opportunities and obstacles to the elimination of malaria from Peninsular Malaysia: knowledge, attitudes and practices on malaria among aboriginal and rural communities |
title_fullStr |
Opportunities and obstacles to the elimination of malaria from Peninsular Malaysia: knowledge, attitudes and practices on malaria among aboriginal and rural communities |
title_full_unstemmed |
Opportunities and obstacles to the elimination of malaria from Peninsular Malaysia: knowledge, attitudes and practices on malaria among aboriginal and rural communities |
title_sort |
opportunities and obstacles to the elimination of malaria from peninsular malaysia: knowledge, attitudes and practices on malaria among aboriginal and rural communities |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-9-137 https://doaj.org/article/eb147c2c1e5242adab7c9386b76b5481 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(23.567,23.567,65.533,65.533) |
geographic |
Arctic Kap |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Kap |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Malaria Journal, Vol 9, Iss 1, p 137 (2010) |
op_relation |
http://www.malariajournal.com/content/9/1/137 https://doaj.org/toc/1475-2875 doi:10.1186/1475-2875-9-137 1475-2875 https://doaj.org/article/eb147c2c1e5242adab7c9386b76b5481 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-9-137 |
container_title |
Malaria Journal |
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9 |
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1 |
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1766341715360219136 |