The effect of Health Education on the knowledge, attitude and uptake of Malaria Preventive Practices among Caregivers of Under-Fives in Nigeria : a systematic review

The elimination of malaria by 2030 is one of the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, malaria remains a public health issue causing morbidity and mortality especially among under-fives in sub-Saharan African countries like Nigeria. Suboptimal health knowledge and poor preventive practices for malaria are prevalent in Nigeria. This study determined the effect of health education on the knowledge, attitude, and uptake of malaria preventive practices among caregivers of under-fives in Nigeria. The Cochrane Library guidelines and the PRISMA checklist were used to conduct a systematic review. PubMed, ProQuest, CINAHL and Cochrane Library were the electronic databases used to search for literature published between 2000 and 2022. The initial search yielded 475 studies but only eight of them met the inclusion criteria. At baseline only 3% to 48.4% of the respondents in the experimental group had good knowledge of malaria prevention. This proportion increased after the intervention with findings ranging from 55.8% to 88.7%. The proportion of respondents in the experimental group with good attitude towards malaria prevention increased from 60.5% at baseline to 97.4% after the intervention. Only 16% to 40% of the respondents in the experimental group had good preventive practices against malaria at baseline. After the intervention, the proportion increased (72.6% to 100%). The changes observed in the study (experimental) group were statistically significant i.e., p<0.05. The findings in the control groups were comparable to the study group at baseline however there was no statistically significant increase at the end of the study. Health education has been found to improve knowledge, attitude towards and preventive practices for malaria. In order to achieve effective control of malaria a comprehensive approach needs to be instituted.