Abstract:
Introduction: Malaria contributes substantially to the poor health situation in Africa. It is on record that, Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 90% of the world’s 300 – 500 million cases and 1.5 – 2.7 million deaths annually. About 90% of all these deaths in Africa occur in young children. Home-based Management of Malaria (HMM) is a strategy to increase access to malaria treatment. This study was conducted to assess the the performance of Community - Based Agents in Home- Based Care of Malaria under-five years in the Atiwa District in the Eastern Region of Ghana after five years of its implementation. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the performance of Community - Based Agents in Home- Based Care of Malaria under-five years in the Atiwa District in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional approach was used to assess the performance of Community - Based Agents in Home- Based Care of Malaria under-five years in the Atiwa District in the Eastern Region of Ghana using quantitative data collection technique; all the 65 trained CBAs in the district were purposively selected and interviewed using a structured questionnaire and 46 CBAs were observed offering treatment at the time of the interviews through the use of a checklist. Age, sex, education, occupation and indicators on knowledge and management practices were the variables obtained and the results were analyzed using SPSS so version 22.0. Results: The age of CBAs ranged from 18 to 75 years, 46 (70.8%) were males and 31(47.7%) had Middle school education with subsistence farming being 46 (70.8%). All the respondents 65 (100%) received training before starting the HMM. Out of the 65 CBAs interviewed, 34 (52.3%) and 20 (30.8%) had knowledge on 4 and 3 dangers signs respectively and measured as good knowledge and 3 (4.6%) and 5 (7.7%) had knowledge on 2 and 1 danger signs, respectively which is an indication of poor knowledge and out of the 46 CBAs observed, 29 (63%) gave correct age appropriate dose. Using the chi-square test, there was an association between level of education and knowledge on the correct dosage of ACTs. A Chi-square value of 4.110 with a p-value of 0.029 (<0.05) shows that there is an association between health educational practices and referrals of sick children to health facilities. Forty-seven (47) CBAs who were observed to have had good health educational practices made referrals of sick children promptly. Conclusion: More than 60% of the CBAs were able to administer the correct dosage of the ACTs to the age specific groups and the referral practices by the CBAs was high and health education on the prevention of malaria was delivered by the CBAs.
