Doctoral thesis
Community participation is a pillar to successful engagement of community members in development interventions. However, low utilization of malaria preventions methods despites the community participation in the study area created the need for this study. This study assessed why community participation is not effective in enhancing utilization of malaria prevention methods at household level in Bukoba District, Tanzania. Specifically, it examined malaria prevention methods utilized by community members, it examined the community’s perception on malaria prevention methods, community participation in enhancing utilization of malaria prevention methods, and lastly, it determined the key factors influencing community utilization of malaria prevention methods.
Data for this research were collected from 403 representative household heads in Bukoba District using household survey, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and documentary review. Quantitative data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data. The study found that the major malaria prevention methods used by community members include Untreated Mosquito Net, Traditional medicines and Insecticide Treated Net (ITN). However, the utilization of these methods is low. Community participation in enhancing utilization of malaria prevention methods was very low, leading to negative perception and low utilization. Limited resources allocation, limited involvement of local leaders and inappropriate timing negatively affected community participation. In addition, personal characteristics such as sex and marital status of household head significantly influenced community participation.
The study concluded that, the malaria prevention methods that are mainly used are the ones which are available, affordable and accepted by community members. Adequate resources allocation, appropriate timing, involvement of local leaders and consideration of social economic situation are important factors for effective community participation. There is a need of establishing conducive environment and framework for guiding community participation.