Unravelling the Perspectives of Day and Night Traders in Selected Markets within a Sub-Saharan African City with a Malaria Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Survey

Patience B Tetteh-Quarcoo¹, Nicholas T K D Dayie¹, Kevin Kofi Adutwum-Ofosu², John Ahenkorah², Emmanuel Afutu¹, Seth K Amponsah³, Mubarak Abdul-Rahman⁴, James-Paul Kretchy⁵, Janet Y Ocloo⁶, Nicholas I Nii-Trebi⁷, Akua K Yalley⁷, Oheneba C K Hagan⁸, Benjamin P Niriwa^{1

9}, Chukwuemeka C Aghasili¹⁰, Fleischer C N Kotey^{1

11}, Eric S Donkor¹, Patrick F Ayeh-Kumi¹, Emilia Asuquo Udofia¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Ghana Medical School, P.O. Box KB 4236 Accra, Ghana.
² Department of Anatomy, University of Ghana Medical School, P.O. Box KB 4236 Accra, Ghana.
³ Department of Medical Pharmacology, University of Ghana Medical School, P.O. Box KB 4236 Accra, Ghana.
⁴ Department of Pathology, University of Ghana Medical School, P.O. Box KB 4236 Accra, Ghana.
⁵ Department of Physician Assitantship Studies/Public Health, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Central University, P. O. Box DS 2305 Miotso, Accra, Ghana.
⁶ Department of Pathology, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Korle-Bu, P.O. Box 77 233 Accra, Ghana.
⁷ Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Korle Bu, P.O. Box KB 143 Accra, Ghana.
⁸ Department of Medical Biochemistry, School of Medical Sciences, College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
⁹ Holy Family Hospital, P.O. Box 36 Techiman, Ghana.
¹⁰ Department of Community Health, University of Ghana Medical School, P.O. Box KB 4236 Accra, Ghana.
¹¹ FleRhoLife Research Consult, Teshie, P.O. Box TS 853 Accra, Ghana.

PMID: 33810537
PMCID: PMC8037644
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18073468

Unravelling the Perspectives of Day and Night Traders in Selected Markets within a Sub-Saharan African City with a Malaria Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Survey

Patience B Tetteh-Quarcoo et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021.

. 2021 Mar 26;18(7):3468.

doi: 10.3390/ijerph18073468.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Ghana Medical School, P.O. Box KB 4236 Accra, Ghana.
² Department of Anatomy, University of Ghana Medical School, P.O. Box KB 4236 Accra, Ghana.
³ Department of Medical Pharmacology, University of Ghana Medical School, P.O. Box KB 4236 Accra, Ghana.
⁴ Department of Pathology, University of Ghana Medical School, P.O. Box KB 4236 Accra, Ghana.
⁵ Department of Physician Assitantship Studies/Public Health, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Central University, P. O. Box DS 2305 Miotso, Accra, Ghana.
⁶ Department of Pathology, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Korle-Bu, P.O. Box 77 233 Accra, Ghana.
⁷ Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Korle Bu, P.O. Box KB 143 Accra, Ghana.
⁸ Department of Medical Biochemistry, School of Medical Sciences, College of Health and Allied Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
⁹ Holy Family Hospital, P.O. Box 36 Techiman, Ghana.
¹⁰ Department of Community Health, University of Ghana Medical School, P.O. Box KB 4236 Accra, Ghana.
¹¹ FleRhoLife Research Consult, Teshie, P.O. Box TS 853 Accra, Ghana.

PMID: 33810537
PMCID: PMC8037644
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18073468

Abstract

Background: Malaria is still endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, with a high disease burden. Misconceptions about malaria contribute to poor attitudes and practices, further increasing the burden in endemic countries. Studies have examined the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of malaria among different populations. However, there seems to be no available literature reporting on the perspectives of day and night market traders. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on malaria KAP with a focus on day and night market traders.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study involving day and night market traders in 10 selected markets within the Greater Accra Region of Ghana was carried out. Data were collected from consenting respondents using a structured questionnaire.

Results: Of the 760 respondents (33.3% (n = 253) night and 66.7% (n = 507) day traders) interviewed, there was no significant difference between the day and night market traders in terms of malaria KAP. Although the market traders had an overall moderate knowledge (54.0% of the day traders and 56.5% of the night traders), misconceptions about malaria (especially that it could be caused by exposure to the sun) still existed among the traders. Moreover, the majority of the traders who demonstrated high knowledge (43.98%, n = 250) did not always take laboratory tests to confirm their suspicion, indicating poor attitude. Furthermore, the market traders' choice of drug for malaria treatment (p = 0.001) and preferred malaria treatment type (orthodox or herbal) (p = 0.005) were significantly associated with their knowledge level.

Conclusions: Despite the observation that no significant difference in KAP exists between day and night market traders, appropriate health education programs and interventions still need to be directed at misconceptions, poor attitudes, and poor practices revealed by this study. This will ultimately help in the prevention and control of malaria in Ghana, and globally.

Keywords: attitude; day; knowledge; malaria; market; night; perspectives; practice; traders.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Proportions of respondents whose responses to the knowledge-assessing questions were accurate.

**Figure 2**
Level of knowledge on malaria among the study respondents.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. Awine T., Malm K., Bart-Plange C., Silal S.P. Towards malaria control and elimination in Ghana: Challenges and decision making tools to guide planning. Glob Health Action. 2017;10:1381471. doi: 10.1080/16549716.2017.1381471. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. World Health Organization . World Malaria Report 2017. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2017.
1. World Health Organization . World Malaria Report 2015. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2016.
1. World Health Organization . World Malaria Report 2019. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2019.
1. Deku J.G., Lokpo S.Y., Kye-Amoah K.K., Orish V.N., Ussher F.A., Esson J., Aduko R.A., Dakorah M.P., Osei-Yeboah J. Malaria Burden and Trend among Clients Seeking Healthcare in the Western Region: A 4-Year Retrospective Study at the Sefwi-Wiawso Municipal Hospital, Ghana. Open Microbiol. J. 2018;12:404–411. doi: 10.2174/1874285801812010404. - DOI

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Unravelling the Perspectives of Day and Night Traders in Selected Markets within a Sub-Saharan African City with a Malaria Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Survey

Affiliations

Unravelling the Perspectives of Day and Night Traders in Selected Markets within a Sub-Saharan African City with a Malaria Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Survey

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Other Literature Sources

Medical