Background: Malaria is a parasitic infectious disease with global significance; it causes significant mortality and morbidity worldwide and affects all the age groups, being fatal for those under 5 years. Local knowledge and practices linked to malaria are significant for implementing culturally appropriate, sustainable, and effective interventions. The current study aimed to raise the awareness of the general population about the severity of malaria by assessing their knowledge.
Methods: This study was a survey-based cross-sectional study conducted in the western region of Saudi Arabia. A structured questionnaire including questions on knowledge of malaria was administered.
Results: A total of 844 participants participated in the study. The mean age of participants was 1.31 ± 0.46; 60% were male and the highest educational level was a university degree for most of the participants (59.4%). The majority of participants were married (51.2%), while widowed participants represented the lowest response (1.4%). Moreover, the associations between the level of knowledge and participants' age, educational level, and marital status were significantly positive (p-value < 0.001), as was the relation with participants' gender (p-value, 0.019).
Conclusion: Participants' age, gender, educational level, and marital status have a significant level of awareness.
Key words: knowledge, awareness, malaria, general population, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
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