[Investigation on awareness status of malaria control knowledge of primary and secondary school students in Shandong Province].

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To understand the awareness status of malaria control knowledge of primary and secondary school students in malaria endemic areas of Shandong Province, so as to provide the baseline information for formulating the malaria control strategy. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 5 Type II malaria-endemic counties in Shandong Province. A structured questionnaire survey was administrated to students in primary and secondary schools. RESULTS: A total of 1 884 students were completed with the questionnaires and all were effective. The total awareness rate of malaria control knowledge was 65.9%, and 54.7% of the students knew the transmission route of malaria and only 31.5% of the students were aware of the preventive methods of malaria. There were significant differences of the awareness scores of malaria control knowledge among different malaria endemic areas but there were no significant differences between the awareness rates of male and female students and between two different education levels. CONCLUSIONS: The awareness of malaria control knowledge of primary and secondary school students in Shandong Province is poor; therefore, the health education of malaria control knowledge for primary and secondary school students should be strengthened.