HEALTH EDUCATION INTERVENTION ON MALARIA PREVENTION IN GWALE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KANO STATE

ABSTRACT Malaria is most prevalent parasitic endemic disease and remains one of the major health problems in Nigeria despite numerous interventions that have been in place. Though is preventable, treatable and curable. Measures to prevent the disease, improves its recognition and create awareness against it was difficult. The obstacles to the success of these interventions are socio-cultural and economic in nature. This research was to assess the Health Education Intervention on Malaria Prevention in Gwale Local Government area of Kano State. This region is a home to the most deadly species of the mosquitoes which transmit the disease. The increase in the prevalence of malaria in the area of study is due to both behavioral and non-behavioral factors. To give direction to these study five objectives were formulated with correspondent research questions. Structured questionnaire were used and total number of two hundred (200) questionnaires were distributed to the respondents which they instantly filled and returned. The finding shows that 85 respondents (42.50%) were male, while 115 (57.50%) were females. 25 respondents (12.50%) are 10 –19 years, 30 respondents (15%) are 20 – 29 years, 40 respondents (20.00%) are 30 – 39 years, 50 respondents (25%) are of 50 years and above. More so, 35 respondents (17.50%) have Basic Primary Education, 72 (36%) have Secondary Education, and 93 (46.50%) response have Tertiary Education. 83 respondents (41.50%) were employed and 117 respondents (58.50%) were unemployed. this indicates that majority of the target population have knowledge of malaria and maturity to participate in the study of this kind. The type of research used was descriptive method and simple random sampling techniques were applied to select the sample on a likert scale. This helped in detecting the possible strategies to adopt in finding Health Education Intervention on Malaria Prevention. Percentages were used to analyze the data. It is found that people in the area of study know that Malaria is an endemic and life threat disease caused as a result of bite from infected mosquito but do not know that is not communicable nor an infectious disease that can be transferred through blood transfusion. It was also found that people who are not educated or live in poverty are more likely to have Malaria complication. There is quick notification, health talk, and regular dissemination of information situation in the health care, media houses and social media by Health Educationists and other Health workers in the area. Clean up environment, provision of antimalarial, insecticides, nets, spraying equipment etc. are among the ways to curtail malaria. There is implementation of all activities of the malaria surveillance system, though, no full implementation of health service budget on malaria by the government. Challenges were observed and the recommendations were made that there is need for more awareness on malaria, knowledge of communicable diseases and blood transfusion should be broaden, traditional methods used to curtail malaria should be taught and practiced, Health workers should not limit awareness to their hospitals and Government should be up doing toward full implementation of health service budget on malaria.