Influence of household behaviour and perception on Malaria control and prevention in Zamfara State North West Nigeria

Household behaviour has been established as a fundamental element in health preventive practices. Malaria control paradigm focuses mostly on the medical and health approach. Household behaviour has been to a large extent do not take into
account. Household behaviour, not only plays a critical role in the influence of malaria prevalence, but these behaviours and attitudes can also play a role in its control and management. The objective of this study is to investigate the influence of household behaviour and perception on malaria control and prevalence in Zamfara state North West Nigeria. The study used a mixed methodology of quantitative and qualitative research. For the quantitative, a total of 409 respondents participated in the study. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) and smart PLS 2.0 is use for the quantitative analysis. For the qualitative, 20 people participated as respondents.
Thematic analysis was used for qualitative analysis. Result from the PLS analysis supported the entire three hypothesis. Specifically, the finding from hypothesis one shows that there is a significant relationship between behaviour on fumigation and malaria control. Furthermore, results from hypothesis two indicate that there is a connection between household behaviour on waste disposal and malaria control. The result from the hypothesis three reveals that there is a relationship between household malaria perception and malaria control. A finding from the qualitative
study reveals that household behaviour has the influence to available and effective malaria control measures in Nigeria. Part of the result also shows that available and effective control measures influence household behaviour. The findings of the study were supported by the literature and theories. In general the study provides further proofs on the influence of household behaviour on malaria control and prevention with particular reference to Zamfara state in North West Nigeria. Household
behaviour should be considered as an important concept for malaria control and prevention.