Knowledge Attitudes and Practices Regarding Malaria and HIV in People Living in Rural Ghana

Introduction

The realization of malaria and Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) control in any community cannot be effective if the said community's knowledge and application of control mechanisms are not appropriately defined. However, knowledge, attitudes, and practices studies regarding malaria and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) specifically in people living in rural Ghana are scant, and as such, minimal interventions focus on them. This study reports the results of individuals' knowledge, attitudes, and practices in rural Ghana.

Methods

This cross-sectional study involved 316 individuals who visited the daily OPD at the Shai-Osudoku District Hospital. Responses from participants were recorded on a semi-structured questionnaire. Data entry was done with Microsoft Office Excel 2010, analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20.0, and the results were summarized using tables.

Results

More than 94% of respondents in all categories indicated they knew the clinical signs/symptoms, transmission, and prevention of malaria. Although 66.0% of malaria-negative respondents and 62.2% of malaria-positive respondents preferred using mosquito nets to protect themselves, only 39.4% of malaria-negative respondents and 32.8% of malaria-positive respondents reported sleeping under a mosquito net the previous night. Mosquito coil as a malaria preventive method recorded the least preference with less than 7% in all categories. Over 94% of the respondents in all categories knew about HIV, yet misconceptions about transmission persisted. Only 50% of malaria-negative respondents and 36.7% of malaria-positive respondents had ever tested for HIV, while 17% of malaria-negative respondents indicated they did not know where to get tested for HIV. Discriminatory attitudes were present in a considerable proportion of the respondents.

Conclusion

The respondents demonstrated knowledge about HIV and malaria. Understanding the KAP about HIV and malaria in the general populations will help us in formulating strategies for prevention and treatment. Our study calls for continued and strengthened health education to bring change in knowledge regarding misconceptions about the mode of transmission of HIV and how to properly use insecticide-treated nets.