Impact of Health Education on KAP towards Malaria among Basic Schools Pupils in Taiz Governorate. Republic of Yemen 2013: Pre and Post Intervention Study

Abstract

Background: Malaria is one of the main health problems in Yemen. School-age children represent 25% of Yemen’s population and an increased proportion of these children are going to school. Schools provide a good entry point for community malaria prevention and control. Aim: To assess the impact of HE campaign towards malaria prevention and control. Methods: We conducted a community-based trial (pre-post intervention study), in two randomly selected districts (rural and urban) of Taiz governorate. The sample size was calculated using Epi Info version7 to be 1065 pupils from 6th - 8th grades in randomly selected basic schools. Data was collected using questionnaire before and after the intervention (three months apart). χ 2 was used to analyze differences. Results: Health education activities in schools were associated with the increased knowledge of malaria symptoms and methods of prevention from 24.5% to be 60.2% among pre and post intervention respectively, with statistically significant difference (p < 0.001), also an increase in the positive attitude and practice toward malaria from 45% to be 60% among pre and post intervention. The rate of having bed-nets increased from 10.1% to 16.7% pre and post intervention respectively. Conclusions and Recommendation: Health education intervention in schools had a positive impact on the knowledge and attitude of pupils. We recommend conducting health education activities to improve the role of school pupils in malaria prevention.