Research examines women’s attitudes towards malaria

April 21st, 2015

One of the students from Project A, Ezra Mutegeki, has just completed his knowledge, attitudes and practices studies. His focus was on malaria and he was working with women in a South African village.

The study examined what women living in the Mgedula Village of Jozini in the uMkhanyakude District know about malaria as well as their attitudes and behaviours related to the disease.

Mutegeki presented the study at the College of Health Sciences (CHS) Annual Research Symposium where he highlighted that more than 80% of malaria cases presenting in KwaZulu-Natal were recorded in the uMkhanyakude District.

The South African National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) has set a goal of eradicating malaria completely in affected populations. Mutegeki’s work is an example of the kind of research that will contribute to achieving this goal.

Supervised by Professor Moses Chimbari, CHS Dean of Research, Mutegeki’s study will provide the NCMP with up-to-date information to help guide the response to malaria among women at a community level.

Mutegeki was quoted by “Ndaba online”, an online information service from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), as saying that he had been influenced to study malaria because it was one of the biggest causes of death in his home country, Uganda: ‘I became aware that knowledge, attitude and practices played a part in South Africa’s success story in the fight against malaria, and how similar successes could be achieved in other countries.’

Mutegeki said the population’s limited knowledge of malaria needed to be addressed in order to positively modify their attitudes, practices and health-seeking behaviour.

Mr Ezra Mutegeki