Effects of Health Education on Attitude Towards Malaria Prevention Among Pregnant Women in Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose: The study examined the effects of health education on attitude towards malaria prevention among pregnant women in Lagelu Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria. Methodology: A quasi-experimental design was adopted, and the study population were pregnant women attending antenatal clinics. A sample size formula was used to derive 90 respondents. A multistage sampling technique was used to select respondents for the study. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire. The collection of data was done in three phases: the pre-intervention was for one week; the immediate post-intervention at 6th week (intervention was between the 3rd to 6th week) and the post-intervention after the 8th week follow-up. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data computation. Findings: The results revealed that the attitude of pregnant women towards malaria prevention was low at the pre-intervention phase for both the experimental and control groups. However, the attitude changed significantly at the immediate and post-intervention phases for the experimental group but remain the same for the control group. Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: It was recommended that health education should be given to pregnant women at the antenatal clinics.