Cross sectional study on knowledge, attitude and practice of malaria among outbound people in Fengxian District, Shanghai

ObjectiveTo investigate malaria-related knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) among the outbound people entering and returning from countries or areas with endemic malaria, in order to provide a scientific basis for prevention and control of malaria.

MethodsBy stratified random sampling method, one survey point was selected five directions in the east, west, south, north and middle in Fengxian District, Shanghai.Within each survey point, the outbound people were investigated who had entered or left malaria epidemic countries at least once.Information about demography and the knowledge, attitude and behavior of malaria were collected from them.The SPSS software was used for statistical analysis on information obtained.

ResultsAmong the 586 subjects, the total awareness proportion of malaria-related knowledge and core knowledge was 45.12% and 50.17% respectively.Outbound people with higher education level (high-school or above), had a higher awareness of malaria core knowledge (χ²=29.90, P < 0.01) than those with lower education level (middle-school or below).Medical and technical workers had higher awareness of the best malaria prevention method and core knowledge (χ²=41.00 and 42.93, P < 0.01).Medical and technical workers, and people who had received higher education tended to accept higher proportion of malaria knowledge propaganda before going abroad (χ²=13.06 and 28.68, P < 0.05).Outbound people had a positive attitude towards malaria prevention and treatment, but the rate of using mosquito net, insecticide and taking preventive drug was low.

ConclusionThe knowledge of malaria proves to be still low among outbound people, which is related to their education level and occupation.Therefore, health education of malaria should be more specific and professional in order to improve the knowledge of malaria for those outbound.