Knowledge, attitudes and practices of mothers of children aged 0-59 months on malaria at the Kignan Community Health Center in Sikasso (Mali) in 2018-2019

Abstract

Introduction: Malaria is responsible for the death of many children in Mali. Objective: to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of mothers of children aged 0-59 months on Malaria. Material and Methods: The procedure consisted in sending questionnaires to 172 mothers of children aged 0-59 months suffering from Malaria. This was a descriptive and cross-sectional study of the action research type. Results: The study showed that locally, mothers of children suffering from malaria commonly call malaria “SOUMAYA”. The age group 20 to 29 years old, or 36.04%, was the most represented for mothers of children suffering from malaria. The mode of transmission of malaria, namely mosquito bites (from female to Anopheles) was known by 31.39% of the women surveyed. Most of the mothers surveyed, 67.44%, used paracetamol compared to 14.53% using a wet towel to break the child's fever. Faced with the symptoms of malaria, 89.53% of the mothers surveyed turned to the health center compared to 8.14% for the administration of traditional plants. The majority of mothers surveyed, i.e. 62.79%, cited the insecticide-treated mosquito net as a means of preventing malaria. Conclusion: when symptoms of malaria appear in a child, the attitude of most mothers of children is to administer paracetamol to the sick child.