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Title: | Are Malaria Risk Factors Based on Gender? A Mixed-Methods Survey in an Urban Setting in Ghana |
Authors: | Agbenyega, Edward Tsiri Quaresima, Virginia Castelli, Francesco Oppong, Bismark Awunyo, Julia Ann D. A. Adomah, Priscilla Adu Enty, Eunice Donato, Francesco |
Keywords: | exposure behaviors; insecticide-treated nets malaria; gender; preventive measures; |
Issue Date: | 2021 |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Citation: | MDPI, 2021 |
Abstract: | Malaria still represents one of the most debilitating and deadly diseases in the world. It
has been suggested that malaria has different impacts on women and men due to both social and
biological factors. A gender perspective is therefore important to understand how to eliminate
malaria. This study aimed to investigate malaria from a gender perspective in a non-for-profit private
health facility, HopeXchange Medical Centre, based in Kumasi (Ghana). A sequential mixed-methods
design, comprising quantitative and qualitative methods, was used. This study found low ownership
(40%) and use (19%) of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs). Most malaria cases were women (62%), who
were less educated and had more external risk factors associated with infection. Our study reported a
trend of preferring malaria self-medication at home, which was practiced mostly by men (43%). Our
data suggest that women are more likely to be exposed to malaria infections than men, especially
due to their prolonged exposure to mosquito bites during the most dangerous hours. Our study
highlighted the need for future malaria control policies to be more focused on social and behavioral
aspects and from a gender perspective. |
Description: | This article is published at MDPI, and also available at https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed6030161 |
URI: | https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed6030161 http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/15839 |
Appears in Collections: | College of Health Sciences
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