Malaria signs, symptoms, prevention knowledge and its associated factors among rural Ethiopians.

Background:  Malaria is a leading cause of morbidity, mortality and socio-economic burden in Ethiopia. Although the country set a goal to eradicate malaria by 2030, a resurgence has been reported recently.

Aim:  This study was conducted to assess the signs of malaria, its symptoms and knowledge regarding prevention and its associated factors among rural Ethiopians.

Setting:  Three malaria-endemic rural districts in the Bale Zone, Ethiopia, constituted the setting for the study. The study respondents were household members aged 18 and older, predominantly the heads of households.

Methods:  A community-based cross-sectional study design was employed. Data were collected from a randomly selected 634 individuals using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were computed using SPSS version 28.

Results:  Less than half of the respondents (44.2%) demonstrated a good overall understanding of the signs, symptoms and prevention of malaria, while some participants wrongly attributed malaria transmission to staying long in the sun, lack of rest and drinking alcohol. The most commonly recognised malaria symptoms include fever, headache and uncoordinated speech. Preventive measures that were widely known included eliminating mosquito breeding sites, sleeping under insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying. Factors such as education, religion, marital status, family size and the presence of children and pregnant women in the household were associated with a better understanding of malaria.

Conclusions:  Malaria-related knowledge is low in the current study area. Some socio-demographic factors were known to have influenced malaria-related knowledge. Contribution: The study provides data on malaria-related knowledge among rural communities. The findings can be used to develop a knowledge-transfer strategy to improve communities' knowledge and accelerate malaria elimination.