Dissertation (MA Demography)
This study assessed knowledge, attitudes and practices on prevention and control of Malaria in Mbulu District. It examined the socio-demographic implication of the community on prevention and control of Malaria in the study area, assessed community's knowledge on prevention and control of Malaria and determined the attitudes of the community towards prevention and control of Malaria. Furthermore, the study aimed to investigate the community practices towards prevention and control of Malaria. A cross-sectional study was conducted in which both probability and non-probability sampling techniques were used, i.e. systematic random sampling was used to select the households and non- probability sampling was used for the key informants. Primary data were collected through three data collection instruments, namely questionnaires, discussion guide and interview guides. Secondary data were obtained by reviewing literature from books and official reports like the District Health Management Information Systems. The quantitative data were analyzed using the SPSS version 20.0 and the Microsoft Excel while qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis. Findings from this study indicated that 49(55.6%) of respondents had medium knowledge about prevention and control of Malaria, scoring either 5 or 6 out of a maximum 7 points (Mean score = 5.27 points, SD = 1.38). On the whole, respondents do recognize the threat posed by malaria as most 96(97.1%) agreed that malaria is a serious and life-threatening disease. Despite that, 92(93%) of the households owned mosquito nets, but further findings revealed that some people do not use the nets because they associate them with breathing difficulties. In general, most people had a fair knowledge about prevention and control of Malaria. Most of the community members see malaria as a threat to their lives and the community and majority had poor practices towards prevention and control of Malaria. Therefore, interventions aimed at social and behaviour change are necessary to address the gaps highlighted by the study.