Awareness on malaria among healthcare providers and public during the prevention of re-establishment phase in Sri Lanka

Main Article Content

J Hamsananthy A R Wickremasinghe

Abstract

Introduction


Prevention of re-establishment of malaria is a challenge for Sri Lanka due to the country’s high receptivity and importation risk. As imported malaria cases are being reported, awareness on malaria among both healthcare providers and the public is crucial to anticipate a resurgence and re-establishment of malaria in the country.


Objectives


The objective of this study was to assess the awareness on malaria among healthcare providers and the public during the prevention of re-establishment phase immediately after “malaria-free” certification by the World Health Organization (WHO).


Methodology


Two national surveys were conducted among 766 healthcare providers and 3454 households in 2016/17. Healthcare providers’ survey was conducted using stratified random sampling and administering a self-administered questionnaire. The household survey was conducted using multistage cluster sampling method. A marking scheme was developed and adjusted binary logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between awareness and socio-demographic and economic factors, using IBM SPSS version 20 statistical software package.


Results


The mean score for awareness on malaria among healthcare providers was 54.7% (SD=10.6%) and the heads of households was 28.6 % (SD = 9.03%). Awareness among healthcare providers was significantly associated with the sector of the institution, type of institution, but not with ever seen a malaria case. For the heads of households, awareness was significantly associated with age group, family income/wealth quintile, sector of residency, ever heard about malaria, seen/heard messages about malaria in the past 6 month and had been overseas within the last 3 years.


Conclusions and recommendations


The awareness on malaria among healthcare providers and public in Sri Lanka is poor during the prevention of re-establishment phase. Awareness programmes should be conducted for both public and healthcare providers to keep malaria on the radar through television, mobile phones and newspapers. Updates about malaria should be regularly conducted for healthcare providers.

Keywords: Awareness on malaria, Public, Healthcare providers, Prevention of Re-establishment of malaria, Sri Lanka

Article Details

How to Cite
HAMSANANTHY, J; WICKREMASINGHE, A R. Awareness on malaria among healthcare providers and public during the prevention of re-establishment phase in Sri Lanka. Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 13, n. 1, jan. 2025. ISSN 2375-1924. Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/6213>. Date accessed: 10 feb. 2025. doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v13i1.6213.
Section
Research Articles

References

1. Premaratne R, Ortega L, Janakan N, Mendis KN. Malaria elimination in Sri Lanka: what it would take to reach the goal. WHO South East Asia J Public Health. 2014;3(1):85-89. doi:10.4103/2224-3151.2 06892. PMID: 28607261.

2. Dharmasiri AG, Perera AY, Harishchandra J, et al. First record of Anopheles stephensi in Sri Lanka: a potential challenge for prevention of malaria reintroduction. Malar J. 2017;16(1):326.
doi:10.1186/s12936-017-1977-7.

3. Dharmawardena P, Premaratne RG, de AW Gunasekera WKT, et al. Characterization of imported malaria, the largest threat to sustained malaria elimination from Sri Lanka. Malar J. 2015; 14(1):177. doi:10.1186/s12936-015-0697-0.

4. Karunasena VM, Marasinghe M, Koo C, et al. The first introduced malaria case reported from Sri Lanka after elimination: implications for preventing the re-introduction of malaria in recently eliminated countries. Malar J. 2019;18(1):210. doi:10.1186/s1 2936-019-2843-6. PMID: 31234941; PMCID: PMC6 591994.

5. Chulasiri P, Ranaweera P, Sudarshan P, et al. Transfusion-induced Plasmodium falciparum malaria in a beta thalassaemia patient during the prevention of re-establishment phase in Sri Lanka. Malar J. 2021;20(1):352. doi:10.1186/s12936-021-03881-1. PMID: 34445999; PMCID: PMC8390059.

6. MacKian S. A review of health-seeking behaviour: Problems and prospects. Health Systems Development Programme, University of Manchester; 2003.

7. UNICEF. World Malaria Day 2020. World Health Organisation. 2020. Available from:
https://www.who.int/news-room/campaigns/world-malaria-day/world-malaria-day-2020.

8. Department of Census and Statistics. Sri Lanka Demographic and Health Survey 2016 Key findings. 2016. Available from:
http://www.statistics.gov.lk/social/DHS_2016a/DHS_presentations/KeyFindings.pdf.

9. Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medicine Sri Lanka. Annual Health Bulletin. 2017. Available from: http://www.health.gov.lk/moh_final/english/public/elfinder/files/publications/AHB/2020/AHB_2017.pdf.

10. Department of Census and Statistics. Sri Lanka Demographic and Health Survey 2006–07. 2009. Available from: https://www.statistics.gov.lk/social/DHS200607FinalReport.pdf.

11. Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Economic and Social Statistics of Sri Lanka. 2015. Available from: https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/sites/default/files/cbslweb_documents/statistics/otherpub/econ_%26_ss_2015_e-min.pdf.

12. Lwanga S, Lemeshow S. Sample Size Determination in Health Studies: A Practical Manual. World Health Organization; 1991. Available from: https://www.tbrieder.org/publications/books_english/lemeshow_samplesize.pdf.

13. Jeevatharan H, Wickremasinghe R. Susceptibility to malaria during the prevention of re-establishment phase in Sri Lanka. Malar J. 2022;21(1):108. doi:10.1186/s12936-022-04127-4. PMID: 35346216; PMCID: PMC8958492.

14. Rutstein SO. Steps to constructing the new DHS Wealth Index. USAID; 2015. Available from: https://dhsprogram.com/programming/wealth%20index/Steps_to_constructing_the_new_DHS_Wealth_Index.pd.

15. STATS: What is a Kappa coefficient? (Cohen's Kappa). Available from:
http://www.pmean.com/definitions/kappa. Retrieved January 2023.

16. Hof M. Questionnaire evaluation with factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha: An example. 2012.

17. Department of Census and Statistics. Sri Lanka Demographic and Health Survey 2006–07. 2009. Available from: http://www.statistics.gov.lk/social/DHS200607FinalReport.pdf.

18. Global Partnership to Roll Back Malaria. Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group. Roll Back Malaria Dept. Malaria indicator survey: Basic documentation for survey design and implementation. World Health Organization; 2005. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/43324.

19. Anti-Malaria Campaign Sri Lanka. Public awareness. Available from:
http://www.malariacampaign.gov.lk/en/our-services/public-awareness. Retrieved December 2022.

20. Palipane WM. A study on knowledge and attitudes of public health midwives on selected mosquito-borne diseases in the Anuradhapura district. 1997. Available from: http://192.248.21.144/handle/1/1272.

21. Rajamanthrei MDS. The prevailing clinical symptoms and case detection and management mechanisms of malaria in adults in primary health care institutions in an endemic area in Sri Lanka. 1996. Available from:
http://192.248.21.144/handle/1/1016.

22. Rajakaruna RS, Alifrangis M, Amerasinghe PH, Konradsen F. Pre-elimination stage of malaria in Sri Lanka: Assessing the level of hidden parasites in the population. Malar J. 2010;9(1):1-6.

23. Warusavithana SDP. Effectiveness of an intervention programme to improve compliance with malaria chemoprophylaxis during pregnancy in a malaria-endemic area. 1999. Available from: http://192.248.21.144/handle/1/1151.

24. Wickremasinghe WK. Effectiveness of the anti-malaria campaign in Sri Lanka. 2008. Available from: http://192.248.21.144/handle/1/1579.

25. Schapira A, Kondrashin A. Prevention of re-establishment of malaria. Malar J. 2021;20(1):243. doi:10.1186/s12936-021-03781-4.

26. Premaratna R, Galappaththy G, Chandrasena N, et al. What clinicians who practice in countries reaching malaria elimination should be aware of: lessons learnt from recent experience in Sri Lanka. Malar J. 2011;10:302.

27. Pagès F, Houze S, Kurtkowiak B, et al. Status of imported malaria on Réunion Island in 2016. Malar J. 2018;17:210.

28. Muralidharan A, et al. Evaluating the impact of mass media campaigns on health behavior change in developing countries: A systematic review. J Glob Health. 2016;6(2):030403. doi:10.7189/jogh.06.02 0403.

29. Juma A, et al. The role of mass media in health education: A review of public health awareness campaigns in Africa. J Health Commun. 2017; 22(8):1-12. doi:10.1080/10810730.2017.1341561.

30. Khan M, et al. Television, mobile phones, and newspapers: Channels of information in malaria control in rural Bangladesh. BMC Public Health. 2020;20(1):783. doi:10.1186/s12889-020-08923-5.

31. Andersen RM, et al. Impact of mobile health interventions on health behaviors in low-income and middle-income countries: A systematic review. Glob Health Action. 2019;12(1):1701548.
doi:10.1080/16549716.2019.1701548.

32. Siddiqi S, et al. The role of socioeconomic factors in shaping public health awareness: A case study in the context of malaria in Pakistan. Int J Epidemiol. 2015;44(5):1719-1728. doi:10.1093/ij e/dyv142.

33. Azhar M, et al. The effect of socio-economic factors on malaria knowledge and prevention: A cross-sectional study in Pakistan. Malar J. 2018; 17(1):132. doi:10.1186/s12936-018-2288-4.

34. Dahlan A, et al. Barriers to malaria prevention among different socio-economic groups in an endemic region of Indonesia. J Public Health. 2018; 40(4):771-777. doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdx136.