An Assessment of Malaria Control Activities in Kassenanankana District

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2013-06
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Malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the Kassena-Nankana District of Ghana. The goal of Roll Back Malaria (RBM) is to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality by 50% by the year 2010 and thereafter until the disease is no more a threat to public health. To achieve this some preventive and therapeutic interventions have been put in place, such as the use of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs), Intermittent Preventive Treatment (IPT) in pregnant women and infants, under one year old, early identification and treatment of the disease To find out the knowledge of the people studied on malaria, and if malaria control activities in the district are known and used by them. Also to assess how malaria is diagnosed in the district health facilities. Two methodological approaches were used. 1. In the first part, 200 respondents were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. This constituted 100 women who cared for children under 5 years and 100 women who were pregnant. Permission was sought to investigate if there was a mounted an ITN in the household. 2. In the second part, data was extracted from hospital and health facility registers and laboratory records for total cases of malaria seen as against the total laboratory tests to confirm the malaria cases for 2007 and 2008. 8 86% of respondents identified mosquito bites as the means of transmission of malaria disease. 85% could identify signs and symptoms of malaria in young children. 71% had ITNs in their homes; however, only 52% percent actually mounted them for use. 38% had nets but these were not in use. 10% did not permit search in their home. 89% of respondents were aware of IPT and 80% had been given SP for IPT during pregnancy. From the Health facility data 125,372 cases of malaria were recorded in 2007, of these, only 1% (n=1,391) were confirmed by laboratory results as malaria. The remaining 99% (n=123,981) were treated presumptively without laboratory confirmation. In 2008, out of 122,696 cases of malaria seen, 3% (n=3,585) were confirmed by laboratory test as malaria. The remaining 97% (n= 119,111) were treated presumptively. There is awareness of malaria control activities in the district. The public could identify the mode of transmission of malaria. They could also identify the signs and symptoms of the disease. The public is also aware of the use of IPT to prevent malaria and are actually using it as a preventive measure. The use of ITN to prevent malaria was also well known. Treatment of malaria was largely presumptive. Very few malaria cases were confirmed by lab before therapy in health facilities in district, though the situation was marginally better in 2008 compared to 2007.
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A Thesis submitted to the Department of Clinical and Social Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN CLINICAL PHARMACY Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences
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