Correlation Between Knowledge, Attitude and Practice towards Malaria in Khuzdar Garrison and Surrounding Areas: A Cross-Sectional Study

Khurram Munir; Memoona Khan; Zeenat Saulat

doi:10.51253/pafmj.v73i1.6107

Authors

Khurram Munir Combined Military Hospital, Khuzdar/National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) Pakistan
Memoona Khan Department of Pathology, Combined Military Hospital, Khuzdar/National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS) Pakistan
Zeenat Saulat Department of Radiology, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51253/pafmj.v73i1.6107

Keywords:

Correlation, Malaria, Prevention.

Abstract

Objective: To find correlation between knowledge, attitude and practice of malaria in troops and to identify any significant factors associated with them.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: Pathology department, Combined Military Hospital, Khuzdar Pakistan from Nov 2019-Oct 2020.

Methodology: Troops admitted with malaria, stationed in Khz Garrison and operational areas were included. Descriptive statistics were used for patients’ demographic profile and Mann-Whitney U-test was used for inferential statistics. Spearman’s rho correlation was used to find out correlation between study variables. The data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0.

Results: A total of 203 troops (all males) with confirmed diagnosis of malaria were enrolled. Age of participants ranged from 20-48 years, with a mean of 30.49+6.45years. Troops deployed in Khuzdar, operational areas and those returning from leave were 124(61.1%), 59(29.1%) and 20(9.9%) respectively. There was no significant correlation found between knowledge-attitude (r=-0.025, p=0.725), knowledge-practice (r=0.049, p=0.485) and attitude-practice (r=0.034, p=0.631). The mean attitude score (mean =31.5) of troops of services was higher than the mean score (median=29.5) of other arms. There was significant association of practice with respect to area of deployment with low practice in operational areas (p<0.001).

Conclusion: All troops had adequate knowledge about malaria. Troops of services’ arms had a better attitude towards malaria. Targeted interventions towards malaria prevention in operational areas should be enhanced.

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