title: Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding malaria control in an endemic area of southern Iran.
abstract: Iran is in the malaria pre-elimination stage. In this situation community based strategies are important for malaria control. In order to intensify elimination activities we need to have a better understanding of the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of malaria prevention in the community. We carried out a KAP study in one malaria endemic district in southern Iran in 2009 using a structured questionnaire. Five villages with indigenous malaria cases during the previous year and a high potential for anopheline mosquito breeding were selected. All the households in each village were visited and the head of the household or other responsible adult was interviewed. Data were analyzed using SPSS 11.5. A total of 494 respondents from the five villages participated. More than 33% of people in the study area were living in sheds with poor facilities. The illiteracy level of the studied population was high (44.2%) and significantly affected the knowledge and practices of the respondents about malaria control (p<0.05). Descriptive analysis showed significant differences between sex, job and history of malaria infection of the respondents and their knowledge and practices about malaria control (p<0.05). Knowledge of the respondents about the route of transmission in malaria was good; 72.1% knew mosquitoes were the vector. Most people knew at least one symptom of the disease. The practices of respondents were 59.5% for bednet use and 9.3% for screening windows. The knowledge, attitudes and practices of respondents in this survey about malaria control were good in some cases, but in general needed to be improved with educational programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health and National Institute for Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hanafi-Bojd
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vatandoost
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Oshaghi
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Eshraghian
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Haghdoost
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Abedi
authors.forename: Gh
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zamani
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Sedaghat
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rashidian
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Madani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raeisi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D009033:Culicidae; D019353:Endemic Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006798:Housing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008288:Malaria / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D057147:Mosquito Nets / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires