Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding malaria in people living with HIV in rural and urban Ghana.

BACKGROUND: One of the malaria vulnerable groups is people living with HIV. This study investigated knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) towards malaria in people living with HIV attending anti-retroviral therapy (ART) clinics in rural and urban Ghana.

METHODS: In this descriptive cross-sectional study patients attending the ART clinics in Atibie (rural area) and Accra (urban area) were interviewed on their knowledge, attitude and practices regarding malaria. Finger-prick capillary blood was tested for Plasmodium spp. with rapid diagnostic tests. Multivariate regression analysis was used to determine the influence of KAP on malaria prevalence.

RESULTS: Parasitemia was generally more frequent among HIV positive individuals in the rural area (29/116; 25%) in the rural area than in the urban area (35/350; 10%). Inaccurate knowledge of cause of malaria and prevention methods were associated with increased odds of malaria parasitemia; [OR = 1.51 (CI: 1.29-5.12); p < .05] and [OR = 2.59 (CI: 2.53-4.75); p < .05], respectively. There were disparities in socio-economic factors. For instance, low level of education was higher in the rural area (45/116; 38.8%) compared to the urban area (121/350; 34.6%).

CONCLUSIONS: Malaria control efforts may yield further results when the knowledge and socio-economic gap between rural and urban areas is closed.