Assessing perceptions, knowledge and satisfaction with seasonal malaria chemoprevention services: A cross-sectional study in northern Nigeria

Umar, Aminu

Abstract

Introduction: Despite the remarkable progress achieved in the fight against malaria worldwide, the disease still remains a major health concern in Nigeria. In 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended using seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) as one of the major interventions against malaria in the Sahel. However, in spite of SMC's proven high clinical efficacy, its implementation is complex, and certain aspects of its use remain to be thoroughly explored, particularly in rural settings of northern Nigeria. In northern Nigeria, different cultural, social, and behavioural practices play a significant role in influencing how people perceive and accept new interventions. Furthermore, little is known about how such cultural attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions interfere with individuals’ level of awareness or their decision to utilise and be satisfied with an intervention. Therefore, this research was designed to explore the factors associated with parents of children below five years of age’s perceptions, knowledge and satisfaction regarding malaria and the newly introduced SMC intervention in Northern Nigeria.

Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study design using both a qualitative and quantitative data collection approach was utilised. Thirty-two individuals, comprising both the parents of children under five, healthcare workers, community leaders and other stakeholders in SMC, were interviewed in the qualitative study, whereas a multi-stage sampling approach was employed to sample 427 households for the quantitative study. The data collection was undertaken in two North Western states in Nigeria between the months of September and November 2015. The PEN-3 cultural model was employed to guide the qualitative data analysis, whereas descriptive statistics were employed for the quantitative analysis.

Result: The research findings reveal a range of cultural beliefs and actions that influence health-seeking behaviour and choice of prevention and treatment options for malaria illness. Most participants had prior knowledge of the aetiological agent for the transmission of malaria illness. Furthermore, the participants recognised malaria illness as a serious illness, which contributed to the wide acceptance of the SMC intervention, which the participants trusted and found to prevent illness and complications arising from malaria. The study also shows how community/religious leaders and healthcare workers are being regarded with high esteem in terms of influencing the community’s beliefs and actions related to preferred v choices regarding health interventions, including the usage of the SMC intervention. Although a misconception about SMC has been reported, this is found only in a few instances. Though only 25.3% of the studied participants had formal education, the study shows that the community’s knowledge and awareness about the symptoms and preventive measures related to malaria were high. The multinomial logistic regression shows male gender [OR: 1.82; CI95%: 1.00 - 3.32], Education [OR: 0.04; CI95%: 0.01 – 0.15], location where SMC services are received [OR: 4.26; CI95%: 2.28 – 7.99] and preferred location for SMC [OR: 0.36; CI95%: 0.17 – 0.75] as the determinants of good SMC knowledge. The study also shows an apparent high level of satisfaction among those that are satisfied with adequate information given on SMC [OR: 18.25; CI95%: 4.15 – 80.26] those that are satisfied with the adequacy of answers about SMC [OR: 7.13; CI95%: 1.62 – 31.45] and those that are willing to recommend SMC to others [OR: 198.7; CI95%: 15.67 – 2520.86].

Conclusion: Based on this study, it can be suggested that high-quality SMC services have been provided

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Online Publication Date: Jun 19, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jun 18, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 20, 2025
• Award Date: Jun 19, 2025