Mothers' knowledge and practices associated with managing malaria in children under five in Nigeria

Background: Malaria poses a major health risk for children under 5 in low resource settings. Building healthy practices for malaria management can prevent malaria-related deaths in children. Aim: The purpose of this study was to describe mothers' practices associated with malaria management in children under 5 in a suburban community in south-west Nigeria. Methodology: A community-based descriptive study was conducted among 160 mothers of children under 5 using a multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using a semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire. Results: The majority (96.3%) of mothers had good knowledge of the causes and management of malaria; however, most (83.1%) did not adopt healthy practices in the management of malaria in children under 5. The majority (88.8%) of the mothers cited long waiting times to get treatment in health facilities as a major factor against uptake of hospital treatment for malaria. The use of antimalarial combination therapy for treatment of mal...