Knowledge of malaria diagnosis and prevention linking awareness of low transmission to eradication efforts
Abstract This study assesses knowledge of malaria diagnosis and prevention, examining how awareness of low malaria transmission influences diagnostic and preventive practices for malaria elimination. A cross-sectional study of sample size of 600 was conducted among staff from Federal College of Medi...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89320-6 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849238600995045376 |
|---|---|
| author | Nkereuwem Etukudoh Emmanuel Akpan Joyce Ocheola-Oki Akanimo Essiet Cecilia Udo Hilary Akpan Eno Mantu Emmanuel Eggon Uduakobong Umondak |
| author_facet | Nkereuwem Etukudoh Emmanuel Akpan Joyce Ocheola-Oki Akanimo Essiet Cecilia Udo Hilary Akpan Eno Mantu Emmanuel Eggon Uduakobong Umondak |
| author_sort | Nkereuwem Etukudoh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract This study assesses knowledge of malaria diagnosis and prevention, examining how awareness of low malaria transmission influences diagnostic and preventive practices for malaria elimination. A cross-sectional study of sample size of 600 was conducted among staff from Federal College of Medical Laboratory Science and Technology, Jos; Plateau State College of Health Technology, Zawan, and Federal College of Veterinary and Medical Laboratory Technology, Vom in Plateau State, Nigeria, between March and June 2023 to gather information on the knowledge of malaria, malaria diagnosis, and malaria prevention. Plateau State is located in the North Central region of Nigeria at 9° 10′ N 9° 45′ E coordinates. The study explored the logistic regression analysis to assess the association between low transmission, knowledge diagnosis, and malaria prevention; also applied correlation analysis to assess the relationship between low transmission, knowledge diagnosis, and malaria prevention. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 25, with a significance level set at p < 0.05. Results showed that 97.33% of participants had heard of malaria, with hospital workers being the main information source (38%). Stagnant water was identified as the primary mosquito breeding site (80%), and fever with shivering/sweating was the most recognized symptom (45.33%). Notably, 66.67% of participants were unaware of low malaria transmission levels and associated elimination challenges. Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) emerged as the best-known prevention method (41.67%), followed by antimalarial drugs (27.5%), Indoors residual spraying (18.33%), and use of mosquito repellent (12.5%) while 63.33% were unaware of malaria vaccines. The study found significant positive correlations between awareness of low malaria transmission and malaria prevention (r s = 0.225, P = 0.001) and diagnosis (r s = 0403, P < 0.001); (r s = 0.330, P < 0.001) across the different institutions. Further findings from multivariate logistic regression showed that participants with improved awareness of low levels of malaria transmission have higher odds of having increased knowledge of malaria diagnosis and higher odds of having increased knowledge of malaria prevention. Specifically, for FCMLST, the participants with improved awareness of low levels of malaria transmission have 35.0% higher odds of having increased knowledge of malaria diagnosis and 66.4% higher odds of having increased knowledge of malaria prevention. Similar findings were also observed for the other two institutions. The results demonstrate that improved awareness of low malaria transmission significantly increases the likelihood of better diagnostic knowledge and preventive practices thus underscoring the critical role of awareness in malaria elimination efforts, highlighting the significant link between low malaria transmission levels and enhanced knowledge of malaria diagnosis and prevention. These findings highlight the need for targeted education campaigns to bridge knowledge gaps in malaria prevention and elimination. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2b88eff9f30d4d87b45a0f9c2c8d1663 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-2b88eff9f30d4d87b45a0f9c2c8d16632025-08-20T04:01:34ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111310.1038/s41598-025-89320-6Knowledge of malaria diagnosis and prevention linking awareness of low transmission to eradication effortsNkereuwem Etukudoh0Emmanuel Akpan1Joyce Ocheola-Oki2Akanimo Essiet3Cecilia Udo4Hilary Akpan5Eno Mantu6Emmanuel Eggon7Uduakobong Umondak8Department of Haematology, Federal College of Medical Laboratory Science and TechnologyDepartment of Basic Sciences, Federal College of Medical Laboratory Science and TechnologyDepartment of Basic Sciences, Federal College of Medical Laboratory Science and TechnologyDepartment of Basic Sciences, Federal College of Medical Laboratory Science and TechnologyDepartment of Basic Sciences, Federal College of Medical Laboratory Science and TechnologyDepartment of Chemical Pathology, Federal College of Medical Laboratory Science and TechnologyDepartment of Microbiology, Federal College of Medical Laboratory Science and TechnologyDepartment of Basic Sciences, Federal College of Medical Laboratory Science and TechnologyDepartment of Basic Sciences, Federal College of Medical Laboratory Science and TechnologyAbstract This study assesses knowledge of malaria diagnosis and prevention, examining how awareness of low malaria transmission influences diagnostic and preventive practices for malaria elimination. A cross-sectional study of sample size of 600 was conducted among staff from Federal College of Medical Laboratory Science and Technology, Jos; Plateau State College of Health Technology, Zawan, and Federal College of Veterinary and Medical Laboratory Technology, Vom in Plateau State, Nigeria, between March and June 2023 to gather information on the knowledge of malaria, malaria diagnosis, and malaria prevention. Plateau State is located in the North Central region of Nigeria at 9° 10′ N 9° 45′ E coordinates. The study explored the logistic regression analysis to assess the association between low transmission, knowledge diagnosis, and malaria prevention; also applied correlation analysis to assess the relationship between low transmission, knowledge diagnosis, and malaria prevention. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 25, with a significance level set at p < 0.05. Results showed that 97.33% of participants had heard of malaria, with hospital workers being the main information source (38%). Stagnant water was identified as the primary mosquito breeding site (80%), and fever with shivering/sweating was the most recognized symptom (45.33%). Notably, 66.67% of participants were unaware of low malaria transmission levels and associated elimination challenges. Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) emerged as the best-known prevention method (41.67%), followed by antimalarial drugs (27.5%), Indoors residual spraying (18.33%), and use of mosquito repellent (12.5%) while 63.33% were unaware of malaria vaccines. The study found significant positive correlations between awareness of low malaria transmission and malaria prevention (r s = 0.225, P = 0.001) and diagnosis (r s = 0403, P < 0.001); (r s = 0.330, P < 0.001) across the different institutions. Further findings from multivariate logistic regression showed that participants with improved awareness of low levels of malaria transmission have higher odds of having increased knowledge of malaria diagnosis and higher odds of having increased knowledge of malaria prevention. Specifically, for FCMLST, the participants with improved awareness of low levels of malaria transmission have 35.0% higher odds of having increased knowledge of malaria diagnosis and 66.4% higher odds of having increased knowledge of malaria prevention. Similar findings were also observed for the other two institutions. The results demonstrate that improved awareness of low malaria transmission significantly increases the likelihood of better diagnostic knowledge and preventive practices thus underscoring the critical role of awareness in malaria elimination efforts, highlighting the significant link between low malaria transmission levels and enhanced knowledge of malaria diagnosis and prevention. These findings highlight the need for targeted education campaigns to bridge knowledge gaps in malaria prevention and elimination.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89320-6Content validityLogistic regressionMalariaMalaria transmissionMalaria eliminationMalaria diagnosis |
| spellingShingle | Nkereuwem Etukudoh Emmanuel Akpan Joyce Ocheola-Oki Akanimo Essiet Cecilia Udo Hilary Akpan Eno Mantu Emmanuel Eggon Uduakobong Umondak Knowledge of malaria diagnosis and prevention linking awareness of low transmission to eradication efforts Scientific Reports Content validity Logistic regression Malaria Malaria transmission Malaria elimination Malaria diagnosis |
| title | Knowledge of malaria diagnosis and prevention linking awareness of low transmission to eradication efforts |
| title_full | Knowledge of malaria diagnosis and prevention linking awareness of low transmission to eradication efforts |
| title_fullStr | Knowledge of malaria diagnosis and prevention linking awareness of low transmission to eradication efforts |
| title_full_unstemmed | Knowledge of malaria diagnosis and prevention linking awareness of low transmission to eradication efforts |
| title_short | Knowledge of malaria diagnosis and prevention linking awareness of low transmission to eradication efforts |
| title_sort | knowledge of malaria diagnosis and prevention linking awareness of low transmission to eradication efforts |
| topic | Content validity Logistic regression Malaria Malaria transmission Malaria elimination Malaria diagnosis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89320-6 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nkereuwemetukudoh knowledgeofmalariadiagnosisandpreventionlinkingawarenessoflowtransmissiontoeradicationefforts AT emmanuelakpan knowledgeofmalariadiagnosisandpreventionlinkingawarenessoflowtransmissiontoeradicationefforts AT joyceocheolaoki knowledgeofmalariadiagnosisandpreventionlinkingawarenessoflowtransmissiontoeradicationefforts AT akanimoessiet knowledgeofmalariadiagnosisandpreventionlinkingawarenessoflowtransmissiontoeradicationefforts AT ceciliaudo knowledgeofmalariadiagnosisandpreventionlinkingawarenessoflowtransmissiontoeradicationefforts AT hilaryakpan knowledgeofmalariadiagnosisandpreventionlinkingawarenessoflowtransmissiontoeradicationefforts AT enomantu knowledgeofmalariadiagnosisandpreventionlinkingawarenessoflowtransmissiontoeradicationefforts AT emmanueleggon knowledgeofmalariadiagnosisandpreventionlinkingawarenessoflowtransmissiontoeradicationefforts AT uduakobongumondak knowledgeofmalariadiagnosisandpreventionlinkingawarenessoflowtransmissiontoeradicationefforts |