Malaria Preventive Practices among People Residing in Different Malaria-Endemic Settings in a Township of Myanmar: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

Different villages in a township or an area exhibit different malaria endemicities. This study aimed to investigate malaria preventive practices among people residing in different villages with stratified malaria endemicity in a township in Myanmar. Quantitative data were collected using standardized questionnaires by conducting face-to-face interviews, and qualitative data were obtained through in-depth interviews using a guideline. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression models, whereas thematic analysis was used to visualize qualitative data. A total of 360 respondents with similar characteristics participated in the quantitative study. Knowledge regarding malaria and the availability of health information exhibited insignificant differences. Malaria preventive practices were considerably poor among people from moderate- and high-endemic villages (p < 0.05). Adult male farmers or gold miners with low annual family incomes reported poor preventive practices in both moderate- and high-endemic groups. People could not practice some malaria preventive measures because of a lack of resources, e.g., a lack of mosquito repellents. To eliminate the disparities of preventive practices in different malaria-endemic settings, heath-awareness-raising activities should be increased, especially in moderate- and high-endemic villages.

Keywords: Myanmar; endemicity; malaria; mixed methods; preventive practice; rural population.

Figure 1

Locations of study township and villages. (A) Banmauk Township from the Sagaing Region of Northern Myanmar. (B) Six study villages with different malaria situations in a village tract from the township.

Figure 2

Malaria preventive practices among people residing in low-, moderate-, and high-malaria-endemic villages. (p-value by chi-squared test; * statistical significance at p < 0.05; degree of freedom = 1).