Background: Malaria is still a leading public health problem in the northeastern regions of India. Besides mosquitogenic conditions in tribal areas, poor knowledge and attitude toward the disease is also one of the reasons for maintaining high endemicity in some areas.
Objective: To assess the awareness, knowledge, and beliefs regarding malaria in the community and to know the practices followed by the families in the community for prevention of malaria.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in two urban areas of East Khasi Hills district—Nongmynsong and Pynthorbah. A total of 200 households were interviewed during the study period of 3 months (June to August 2013). In each household ideally the head of the household or the spouse was interviewed. The sampling method followed was simple random sampling and the tool for data collection was a pretested questionnaire. Data were analyzed descriptively using SPSS software, version 17.0.
Result: In the community, 92.2% people had heard of malaria, 86.4% had knowledge that mosquito bites cause malaria, and 53% know that it is preventable. Thirteen percent people said that they used mosquito nets, 42% used mosquito coils, and 41.1% commented that they adopted no measures. Of 13% people using mosquito nets, only 2.9% were found to use insecticide-treated bed nets. Regarding spraying of DDT, only 6.3% people said that DDT was sprayed in their area at least once a year. Regarding treatment-seeking behavior, 66.9% people sought treatment from government hospitals, 30.1% went to private hospitals or doctors, and 3% resorted to self-medication.
Conclusion: Proper health education regarding malaria is needed to increase community knowledge and awareness and to enhance the indoor residual spraying coverage and use of bed nets with special focus in urban slums for successful malaria control.
Key words: Knowledge, practices, malaria
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