Public awareness of malaria at the beginning of a national malaria elimination program in China

Jianhai Yin; Zhigui Xia; Rubo Wang; Qingfeng Zhang; Wen Fang; Shuisen Zhou

doi:10.3855/jidc.5307

Public awareness of malaria at the beginning of a national malaria elimination program in China

Authors

Jianhai Yin National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Zhigui Xia National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Rubo Wang National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Qingfeng Zhang National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Wen Fang National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Shuisen Zhou National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3855/jidc.5307

Keywords:

public awareness, malaria, China

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the baseline level of malaria awareness in residents in 20 malaria-endemic provinces from October 2010 to January 2011 at the beginning of the implementation of the China National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP).

Methodology: A structured questionnaire about basic malaria knowledge was administrated to residents in rural areas from 20 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions.

Results: A total of 182,085 residents no younger than 15 years of age took part in the cross-sectional investigation; 3,232 were excluded because of incomplete survey responses. Of the respondents, 56.86% were aware of malaria, 18.03% responded correctly to all five questions, and 5.57% answered all the questions incorrectly. Malaria awareness among different age groups was statistically significant (p < 0.001), males had a better understanding of malaria than did females (p < 0.001), and Type I counties had a better understanding than did Type II counties (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: The level of malaria awareness was low among residents at the beginning of the NMEP, especially about malaria pathogenicity and preventive methods. Health education campaigns should be developed and implemented to increase the public perceptions about malaria prevention and treatment, and to promote malaria elimination in China.

Downloads

Published

2015-04-15

How to Cite

Yin J, Xia Z, Wang R, Zhang Q, Fang W, Zhou S (2015) Public awareness of malaria at the beginning of a national malaria elimination program in China. J Infect Dev Ctries 9:416–420. doi: 10.3855/jidc.5307

Download Citation

Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 04: April 2015

Section

Original Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).