Occurrence of Malaria in Children under Five Years: Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions among Mothers in a Nigerian Semi-Urban Area

Aims: This study was conducted to determine the occurrence of malaria among children underfive years and to assess the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of the children’s mothers regarding malaria and preventive measures.
Study design: The study was cross-sectional in design.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria, between May-September 2012.
Methodology: Children under five years that attended three hospitals (Atuna, NKST and General Hospital) for malaria diagnosis with their respective mothers were enrolled for the study. Thin and Thick blood films were prepared for parasitological examination. Questionnaires were administered to children’s mothers to collect socio-demographic data, knowledge, attitudes and perceptions regarding malaria and preventive measures.
Results: Of the 220 children examined, 14.50% (32/220) were infected with malaria. Males and females were similarly infected (14.50% vs 14.60%) with no significant difference (χ2=0.000, p=.989). With regards to the socio-demographic data of the children’s mothers, malaria was 100.00% (4/4) (χ2=24.40, p=.000) among children whose mothers were within the age group [41-50] years and among children whose mothers are divorced, 45.50% (5/11) (χ2=12.50, p=.006). Occurrence of malaria was high among children whose mothers claimed to have attained a tertiary level of education, 17.80% (16/90) (χ2= 1.37, p=.503) and among children whose mothers are traders, 25.00% (13/52) (χ2= 8.27; p=.142), with no significant difference. Children’s mothers had good knowledge of: malaria, 99.50% (219/220) (χ2= 1.45, p=.484); its vectors, 79.50% (175/220) (χ2=14.82, p=.001) and aetiological agent, 74.52% (164/220) (χ2=63.15, p=.000). Likewise, 90.90% (200/220) of the children’s mothers perceived that high temperature was a common malaria symptom (χ2= 23.66, p=.000) and 70.31% (161/220) of them always referred their children to a hospital for treatment (χ2=70.81, p=.000). With regards to the mothers’ attitude towards prevention, 85.53% (188/220) used Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) as preventive methods (χ2= 16.38, p=.003).
Conclusion: This study is the first epidemiologic study on childhood malaria in the area and it adds to the existing data on malaria in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. Mothers of the children had good knowledge of malaria and its aetiological agent, as well as its vector. They also had good attitudes and perceptions towards the use of preventive measures. It is recommended that concerted efforts should be built between the Government and the private sector to scale-up the distribution of ITNs to households so as to significantly reduce the occurrence of malaria in children under five years.