1.Health – Seeking Behaviour of Rural Dwellers for the Treatment of Presumptive Malaria in North-Western Nigeria
Abdulrazaq Abdullahi Gobir ; Mohammad Nasir Sambo ; Suleman Idris Hadejia
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2014;12(1):1-5
Malaria is endemic throughout Nigeria. Majority of Nigerians, 70%, live in rural areas where subsistence farming is the
main occupation. Most of them live below poverty line, earning less than USD1.25 a day. Their health-seeking behaviour
for treatment of malaria is infl uenced by their low socioeconomic status since cost of treating malaria varies according
to type of drug prescribed and source of treatment. This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to assess the
health-seeking behaviour of rural dwellers for treatment of presumptive malaria in Gimba village, a rural community of
Kaduna State, Nigeria. It was conducted during Community Diagnosis posting of trained fi nal year medical students of
Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria, in July 2012. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from
all households in the community. Data analysis was done using STATA (Version 11. Stata Corporation 2009). Most of the
respondents were farmers (69.7%). The category of household members that were most affected by malaria (presumptive)
were under fi ves (47.4%) followed by housewives (26.5%). Majority of the households (73%) treated their last episodes
of presumptive malaria at private drug vendor shops. There was a statistically signifi cant association between cost of
treatment and place of seeking treatment (p < 0.001).The result indicated that most rural dwellers patronise unprofessional
drug vendors for cheaper treatment of presumptive malaria. This jeopardizes malaria control efforts. For successful
malaria control, it is recommended that the treatment of malaria should be free or subsidized and policies that favour
Rural Economic Development should be implemented
2.Factors Associated with Non-utilization of Freely Acquired Insecticide-treated Nets (ITNs) in a Rural Agrarian Community of North-Western Nigeria
Abdulrazaq Abdullahi Gobir ; Mohammad Nasir Sambo ; Suleman Idris Hadejia
Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences 2013;11(2):63-69
Nigeria ranks among countries with the highest burden of malaria. In an effort to achieve the aim of the Roll Back
Malaria Programme of scaling up ITN use, the Nigerian Government distributed free ITNs to many households in the
country. However, several factors were associated with non-utilisation of the ITNs. This cross-sectional descriptive study
was conducted to assess such factors in Gimba village, a rural community of Kaduna State, Nigeria. It was conducted
during Community Diagnosis practical fi eld posting of trained fi nal year medical students of Ahmadu Bello University,
Nigeria, in July 2012. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from all households in the
community. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was done using STATA (Version 11. Stata Corporation, 2009). Most
of the households own at least, one freely acquired ITN (82%). However, in 40.8% of such households, no member slept
under an ITN the night before the survey. Farmers were more unlikely to use an ITN compared to non-farmers (RR = 1.89;
95% C.I = 0.78 –2.91). Instead of ITN, some farmers use “otapiapia” a cheap, unpatented, locally made pesticide for
controlling mosquitoes. Also, respondents with low scores on malaria risk perception were more unlikely to use an ITN
compared to those with high scores (RR = 1.08; 95% C.I = 0.94 – 1.23).The result indicated that several factors were
associated with non-utilization of freely acquired ITNs. It is recommended that ITN distribution should be accompanied
by Health Education on Malaria