Level of Knowledge, Attitude, Perception and Malaria-Prevention Practices of Selected Artisans in Abeokuta South Local Government.

Abstract:

Background: Malaria in developing countries is still high with about 58% of malaria-related deaths. The purpose of this study was to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, perception and malaria-prevention practices of selected artisans in Abeokuta South Local Government Area. METHODOLOGY: The study was a descriptive, cross sectional survey. A 69- item questionnaire was used to obtain information from 19 selected groups of artisans across 16 areas using convenience sampling. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21. RESULTS: Majority of the respondents were traders (79; 20.6%), 244 (63.5%) were males with a mean age of 31.5±0.50. About 132 (34.4%) had senior secondary education. The artisans had means scores above average in knowledge, attitude and practice, but scored low in perception. Knowledge, attitude and perception had a significant impact on practice (P value at 0.05). The artisans scored highest in knowledge with a mean score of 21.92 (64.47% of 34). Their perception was lowest, and it had a significant negative correlation with knowledge (-0.373). CONCLUSION: The study showed that the knowledge of the artisans had a reverse association with their perception of malaria- prevention practices. This implies that malaria awareness/campaign alone is not enough. There is need for the incorporation ofartisans as training agents to redirect and improve the perception of their colleagues.