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Malaria knowledge and bed net use in three transmission settings in southern Africa

Overview of attention for article published in Malaria Journal, January 2018
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Title
Malaria knowledge and bed net use in three transmission settings in southern Africa
Published in
Malaria Journal, January 2018
DOI 10.1186/s12936-018-2178-8
Pubmed ID
Authors

Mufaro Kanyangarara, Harry Hamapumbu, Edmore Mamini, James Lupiya, Jennifer C. Stevenson, Sungano Mharakurwa, Mike Chaponda, Philip E. Thuma, Lovemore Gwanzura, Shungu Munyati, Modest Mulenga, Douglas E. Norris, William J. Moss, For the Southern Africa International Centers of Excellence for Malaria Research

Abstract

Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) reduce malaria morbidity and mortality in endemic areas. Despite increasing availability, the use of ITNs remains limited in some settings. Poor malaria knowledge is a barrier to the widespread use of ITNs. The goal of this study was to assess the levels of malaria knowledge and evaluate factors associated with bed net use among individuals residing in three regions of southern Africa with different levels of malaria transmission and control. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 7535 residents recruited from 2066 households in Mutasa District, Zimbabwe (seasonal malaria transmission), Choma District, Zambia (low transmission) and Nchelenge District, Zambia (high transmission), between March 2012 and March 2017. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect data on demographics, malaria-related knowledge and use of preventive measures. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess determinants of bed net use. Most of the 3836 adult participants correctly linked mosquito bites to malaria (85.0%), mentioned at least one malaria symptom (95.5%) and knew of the benefit of sleeping under an ITN. Bed net ownership and use were highest in Choma and Nchelenge Districts and lowest in Mutasa District. In multivariate analyses, knowledge of ITNs was associated with a 30-40% increased likelihood of bed net use after adjusting for potential confounders across all sites. Other factors significantly associated with bed net use were age, household size and socioeconomic status, although the direction, strength and size of association varied by study site. Importantly, participants aged 5-14 years had reduced odds of sleeping under a bed net compared to children younger than 5 years. Relevant knowledge of ITNs translated into the expected preventive behaviour of sleeping under a bed net, underscoring the need for continued health messaging on malaria prevention. The implementation and delivery of malaria control and elimination interventions needs to consider socioeconomic equity gaps, and target school-age children to ensure access to and improve utilization of ITNs.

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The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 4 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 219 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 219 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 44 20%
Researcher 25 11%
Student > Bachelor 22 10%
Student > Ph. D. Student 15 7%
Student > Doctoral Student 11 5%
Other 31 14%
Unknown 71 32%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 42 19%
Nursing and Health Professions 26 12%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 18 8%
Social Sciences 16 7%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 7 3%
Other 30 14%
Unknown 80 37%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 03 January 2019.
All research outputs
#14,102,319
of 24,580,204 outputs
Outputs from Malaria Journal
#3,226
of 5,786 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#218,003
of 451,166 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Malaria Journal
#62
of 113 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 24,580,204 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 41st percentile – i.e., 41% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 5,786 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.9. This one is in the 42nd percentile – i.e., 42% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 451,166 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 50% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 113 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 42nd percentile – i.e., 42% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.