| 3 | Childhood malaria in the Niger delta area of Nigeria:mothers/care givers'perception,definition and treatment practices显示文摘Objective:The objective of the study was to evaluate mothers/care givers perception of malaria,their treatment practices and the effects on the outcome of malaria.Methods:Four hundred and sixty children were enrolled and their mothers/care givers interviewed.The children were screened for malaria parasitaemia and there after,blood specimens were obtained for biochemical and haematological evaluation from those children who met the criteria and tested positive to P.falciparum parasites.Packed cell volume,electrolytes,urea, creatinine,plasma glucose,and serum bilirubin were analyzed.Results:A total of 460 children were studied, 233(50.7%) males and 227(49.3%) females.Mild malaria cases were 112(24.3%) and severe malaria 348(75.7%).Those who presented early 106(23.0%) and those who presented late 354(77.0%).Perception and definition of malaria as well as the treatment seeking behaviors vary significantly with the level of education of the mothers and care givers.Those without formal education 68(51.9%) wrongly perceived that the etiology of malaria can only be diagnosed by native doctors compared to those with primary six education 61 (26.5%) and junior secondary education 10(10.1%).Only 43(9.3%) gave the correct dose of chloroquine syrup to their sick children,while 32(7.0%) gave at sub optimal doses.Conclusion:Wrong perception of malaria especially the complicated malaria and wrong treatment practices are major contributory factors to the high mortality and morbidity of malaria in Nigeria.There is therefore a need for health education to correct the wrong ideas about the cause and treatment practices of malaria as part of malaria control programme. | Idogun E.Sylvester Airauhi L.U | 2009 | Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine2009，2，3： | 0 |
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