Knowledge, attitude and practices of community health workers on managing and preventing childhood malaria and diarrhea in Fako Division, South West Region, Cameroon; A mixed method study.
In developing countries, childhood malaria and diarrhea are among the 5 leading causes of death among children under five years; the use of community health workers (CHWs) to manage these diseases has shown some degree of success. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to assess knowledge...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-01-01
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| Series: | PLOS Global Public Health |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001093 |
| _version_ | 1797703629144064000 |
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| author | Ndum Naomi Chi Raymond Babila Nyasa Akoachere Jane-Francis |
| author_facet | Ndum Naomi Chi Raymond Babila Nyasa Akoachere Jane-Francis |
| author_sort | Ndum Naomi Chi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In developing countries, childhood malaria and diarrhea are among the 5 leading causes of death among children under five years; the use of community health workers (CHWs) to manage these diseases has shown some degree of success. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to assess knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of CHWs on the management and prevention of childhood malaria and diarrhea in Fako Division, South-West Region, Cameroon. A pretested questionnaire was administered to eighty CHWs in Fako Division. Three focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with 29 CHWs. The Chi-Square and Spearman Correlation tests were used to investigate the association between socio-demographic characteristics with CHWs' KAP on childhood malaria and diarrhea management and prevention. A total of 52.5% of the participants had good knowledge, negative attitudes (65.0%), and carried out poor practices (60.0%) on the management and prevention of childhood malaria. Up to 8.75% CHWs did not know the first-line antimalarial drug used in Cameroon. More than half (57.5%) of participants had poor knowledge, 70.0% had a negative attitude and 82.25% carried out good practices on the management and prevention of childhood diarrhea. 47.6% of CHWs used a mixture of guava leaves and 'masepo' (Ocimum gratissimum) as treatment for childhood diarrhea. Level of education (p = 0.028) and Health District (p = 0.026) were significantly associated with practices on management and prevention of childhood diarrhea. CHWs had inadequate knowledge, poor attitude, and practices on childhood malaria management. Even though a majority of CHWs carried out good practices for diarrhea management, their knowledge and attitude were poor. Therefore, there is a need for training to improve CHWs' knowledge, attitude and practices on childhood malaria and diarrhea management. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T05:07:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0e9a0cd11c314c5ebc8452012f0036e1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2767-3375 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T05:07:22Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLOS Global Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-0e9a0cd11c314c5ebc8452012f0036e12023-09-03T08:50:29ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLOS Global Public Health2767-33752023-01-0132e000109310.1371/journal.pgph.0001093Knowledge, attitude and practices of community health workers on managing and preventing childhood malaria and diarrhea in Fako Division, South West Region, Cameroon; A mixed method study.Ndum Naomi ChiRaymond Babila NyasaAkoachere Jane-FrancisIn developing countries, childhood malaria and diarrhea are among the 5 leading causes of death among children under five years; the use of community health workers (CHWs) to manage these diseases has shown some degree of success. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to assess knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of CHWs on the management and prevention of childhood malaria and diarrhea in Fako Division, South-West Region, Cameroon. A pretested questionnaire was administered to eighty CHWs in Fako Division. Three focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with 29 CHWs. The Chi-Square and Spearman Correlation tests were used to investigate the association between socio-demographic characteristics with CHWs' KAP on childhood malaria and diarrhea management and prevention. A total of 52.5% of the participants had good knowledge, negative attitudes (65.0%), and carried out poor practices (60.0%) on the management and prevention of childhood malaria. Up to 8.75% CHWs did not know the first-line antimalarial drug used in Cameroon. More than half (57.5%) of participants had poor knowledge, 70.0% had a negative attitude and 82.25% carried out good practices on the management and prevention of childhood diarrhea. 47.6% of CHWs used a mixture of guava leaves and 'masepo' (Ocimum gratissimum) as treatment for childhood diarrhea. Level of education (p = 0.028) and Health District (p = 0.026) were significantly associated with practices on management and prevention of childhood diarrhea. CHWs had inadequate knowledge, poor attitude, and practices on childhood malaria management. Even though a majority of CHWs carried out good practices for diarrhea management, their knowledge and attitude were poor. Therefore, there is a need for training to improve CHWs' knowledge, attitude and practices on childhood malaria and diarrhea management.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001093 |
| spellingShingle | Ndum Naomi Chi Raymond Babila Nyasa Akoachere Jane-Francis Knowledge, attitude and practices of community health workers on managing and preventing childhood malaria and diarrhea in Fako Division, South West Region, Cameroon; A mixed method study. PLOS Global Public Health |
| title | Knowledge, attitude and practices of community health workers on managing and preventing childhood malaria and diarrhea in Fako Division, South West Region, Cameroon; A mixed method study. |
| title_full | Knowledge, attitude and practices of community health workers on managing and preventing childhood malaria and diarrhea in Fako Division, South West Region, Cameroon; A mixed method study. |
| title_fullStr | Knowledge, attitude and practices of community health workers on managing and preventing childhood malaria and diarrhea in Fako Division, South West Region, Cameroon; A mixed method study. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Knowledge, attitude and practices of community health workers on managing and preventing childhood malaria and diarrhea in Fako Division, South West Region, Cameroon; A mixed method study. |
| title_short | Knowledge, attitude and practices of community health workers on managing and preventing childhood malaria and diarrhea in Fako Division, South West Region, Cameroon; A mixed method study. |
| title_sort | knowledge attitude and practices of community health workers on managing and preventing childhood malaria and diarrhea in fako division south west region cameroon a mixed method study |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0001093 |
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