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Malaria in West Cameroon: An Assessment of the Populations’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices

Received: 15 February 2021     Accepted: 2 March 2021     Published: 12 March 2021
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Abstract

Background: Malaria remains one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in Cameroon. Children under 5 years old and pregnant women are most burdened. A few studies have been carried out on the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of patients towards malaria in this country. Objective: We aimed at evaluating the level of knowledge, attitudes and practice towards malaria in Western Cameroon. Method: We conducted a cross-sectional survey, using a semi-opened questionnaire in two Cameroonian’s hospitals in April 2018. We analyzed our collected data with Chi square test through SAS software (version 9.4). P-values lower than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Result: Of 691 participants, 55.14% (381/691) defined malaria as a parasitic disease, 100% mentioned the mosquito as the transmission vector and 89.15% (616/691) mentioned blood stream as transmission route. The most preventive method used by the participants was mosquito nets. The use of malaria treatment was associated with the level of income and the fact of consultation of a health care practitioner the month preceding the survey. About 72.4% (501/691) of respondents took antimalarial treatment without consultation or medical prescription. Among patients who spent less than 8000XAF (12Euro) for treatment during their last episode of malaria, 70.1% (101/144) used a plant-based treatment. Conclusion: Participants had good knowledge and attitudes towards malaria. However, practices were not the best. These results highlight the problem of self-medication, which might lead to some resistance against antimalarial treatment in the future.

Published in Central African Journal of Public Health (Volume 7, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.cajph.20210702.11
Page(s) 47-52
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices, Self-medication, Malaria, West-Cameroon

References
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[8] Nsagha DS, Njunda AL, Kamga HLF, Nsagha SM, Assob JCN, Wiysonge CS, et al. Knowledge and practices relating to malaria in a semi-urban area of Cameroon: Choices and sources of antimalarials, self-treatment and resistance. Pan Afr Med J. 2011.
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[13] Lwanga SK. Determination De La Taille D ’ Un Echantillon Sanometriques. Oms. 1991; 90.
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  • APA Style

    Eric Defo Tamgno, Armand Tiotsia Tsapi, Martin Fossi, Ghyslaine Bruna Djeunang Dongho, Dorothy Kah Fosah Achu, et al. (2021). Malaria in West Cameroon: An Assessment of the Populations’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices. Central African Journal of Public Health, 7(2), 47-52. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20210702.11

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    ACS Style

    Eric Defo Tamgno; Armand Tiotsia Tsapi; Martin Fossi; Ghyslaine Bruna Djeunang Dongho; Dorothy Kah Fosah Achu, et al. Malaria in West Cameroon: An Assessment of the Populations’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices. Cent. Afr. J. Public Health 2021, 7(2), 47-52. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20210702.11

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    AMA Style

    Eric Defo Tamgno, Armand Tiotsia Tsapi, Martin Fossi, Ghyslaine Bruna Djeunang Dongho, Dorothy Kah Fosah Achu, et al. Malaria in West Cameroon: An Assessment of the Populations’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices. Cent Afr J Public Health. 2021;7(2):47-52. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20210702.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.cajph.20210702.11,
      author = {Eric Defo Tamgno and Armand Tiotsia Tsapi and Martin Fossi and Ghyslaine Bruna Djeunang Dongho and Dorothy Kah Fosah Achu and Germaine Ekoyol Ekobe and Gianluca Russo and Olivier Ethgen and Martin Sanou Sobze},
      title = {Malaria in West Cameroon: An Assessment of the Populations’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices},
      journal = {Central African Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {7},
      number = {2},
      pages = {47-52},
      doi = {10.11648/j.cajph.20210702.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20210702.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cajph.20210702.11},
      abstract = {Background: Malaria remains one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in Cameroon. Children under 5 years old and pregnant women are most burdened. A few studies have been carried out on the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of patients towards malaria in this country. Objective: We aimed at evaluating the level of knowledge, attitudes and practice towards malaria in Western Cameroon. Method: We conducted a cross-sectional survey, using a semi-opened questionnaire in two Cameroonian’s hospitals in April 2018. We analyzed our collected data with Chi square test through SAS software (version 9.4). P-values lower than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Result: Of 691 participants, 55.14% (381/691) defined malaria as a parasitic disease, 100% mentioned the mosquito as the transmission vector and 89.15% (616/691) mentioned blood stream as transmission route. The most preventive method used by the participants was mosquito nets. The use of malaria treatment was associated with the level of income and the fact of consultation of a health care practitioner the month preceding the survey. About 72.4% (501/691) of respondents took antimalarial treatment without consultation or medical prescription. Among patients who spent less than 8000XAF (12Euro) for treatment during their last episode of malaria, 70.1% (101/144) used a plant-based treatment. Conclusion: Participants had good knowledge and attitudes towards malaria. However, practices were not the best. These results highlight the problem of self-medication, which might lead to some resistance against antimalarial treatment in the future.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Malaria in West Cameroon: An Assessment of the Populations’ Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices
    AU  - Eric Defo Tamgno
    AU  - Armand Tiotsia Tsapi
    AU  - Martin Fossi
    AU  - Ghyslaine Bruna Djeunang Dongho
    AU  - Dorothy Kah Fosah Achu
    AU  - Germaine Ekoyol Ekobe
    AU  - Gianluca Russo
    AU  - Olivier Ethgen
    AU  - Martin Sanou Sobze
    Y1  - 2021/03/12
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20210702.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.cajph.20210702.11
    T2  - Central African Journal of Public Health
    JF  - Central African Journal of Public Health
    JO  - Central African Journal of Public Health
    SP  - 47
    EP  - 52
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-5781
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20210702.11
    AB  - Background: Malaria remains one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in Cameroon. Children under 5 years old and pregnant women are most burdened. A few studies have been carried out on the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of patients towards malaria in this country. Objective: We aimed at evaluating the level of knowledge, attitudes and practice towards malaria in Western Cameroon. Method: We conducted a cross-sectional survey, using a semi-opened questionnaire in two Cameroonian’s hospitals in April 2018. We analyzed our collected data with Chi square test through SAS software (version 9.4). P-values lower than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Result: Of 691 participants, 55.14% (381/691) defined malaria as a parasitic disease, 100% mentioned the mosquito as the transmission vector and 89.15% (616/691) mentioned blood stream as transmission route. The most preventive method used by the participants was mosquito nets. The use of malaria treatment was associated with the level of income and the fact of consultation of a health care practitioner the month preceding the survey. About 72.4% (501/691) of respondents took antimalarial treatment without consultation or medical prescription. Among patients who spent less than 8000XAF (12Euro) for treatment during their last episode of malaria, 70.1% (101/144) used a plant-based treatment. Conclusion: Participants had good knowledge and attitudes towards malaria. However, practices were not the best. These results highlight the problem of self-medication, which might lead to some resistance against antimalarial treatment in the future.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Public Health, Epidemiology and Health Economics, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium

  • Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Evangelical University of Cameroon, Bandjoun, Cameroon

  • Departmentof Medicine, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium

  • Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Evangelical University of Cameroon, Bandjoun, Cameroon

  • National Malaria Control Program (NMCP), Ministry of Public Health, Yaounde, Cameroon

  • Laboratory of Immunogenetics, National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA

  • Department of Infectious Diseases, Microbiology and Public Health, The Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

  • Department of Public Health, Epidemiology and Health Economics, University of Liege, Liege, Belgium

  • Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon

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