Description
The majority of rural African communities' living environments encourage the spread of malaria and pose a threat to its elimination and control worldwide. The prevalence of malaria has declined as a result of preventative measures and interventions like the use of bed-nets. This study sought to unravel the different malaria prevention strategies used and their impact on the prevalence of malaria parasites in children residing in Hong ward, Hong Local Government Area a rural community in north-eastern Nigeria.
A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out amongst 400 children aged 1–15 years of age in Hong Ward, Hong Local Government Area, Adamawa state, Nigerian rural community. This study was conducted during the rainy season, over 5 months from May to September 2022. The children living in these rural communities frequently stay outdoors in the evenings for recreation and businesses. In addition, the communities are an agrarian settlement for subsistence and commercial purposes; the children often escort their parents to the farm, returning home late evenings. Children who did not stay in the communities consecutively for months and those who spent the last night outside the communities within the past seven days preceding the study were excluded from the study. Data was analyzed using R programming version 4.3.2. Chi-squared test of association with a level of significance of p < 0.05 was used for data analysis.
The study revealed that, of the 400 who consented for the study, 201 (50.3%) owned mosquito nets and 199 (44.8%) did not. Mostly those who owned nets were from the high social class 78(38.8%), and these were mostly ‘under-five’ children 79(38.8%). Of the 201 (50.3%) that owned nets, 90 (44.8%) slept under bed-nets a night before the study, mostly ‘under-five’ 56(62.2) but are from the lower social class 40(44.4%). One hundred and ninety-two (48.0%) were routinely given antimalarial drugs for malaria prophylaxis. Also, 173 (43.3%), 213 (53.3%), 339 (84.8%) and 151 (37.8%) children used insecticides, local herbs, window/outlet door nets and mosquito repellent creams respectively. None of the methods employed to prevent malaria had statistically significant effect on malaria parasite prevalence among participants (p > 0.050).
Malaria prevention methods were mostly practiced by the higher social class but compliance to sleeping under nets were by the children under-five of lower social class who used the mosquito nets. This study highlighted the need to address the social class imbalance regarding malaria preventive measures in the communities where the study was conducted. The use of malaria prophylaxis is alarming and therefore, there is the need to regulate the use of antimalarial drugs to reduce resistance in this community. The study revealed increase resistance by the mosquitoes to the nets and insecticides because despite usage prevalence it was still at the higher side. The predictors identified by this study revealed opportunities that can be taken advantage of by malaria control programs to achieve the desired rates of utilization and subsequently malaria prevention in children.
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