RESPONSIVENESS OF MOTHERS TO MEDIA MESSAGES ON PROMPT TREATMENT OF MALARIA (PTM) IN CHILDREN

Abstract

Malaria has remained a major cause of mortality among children who are under five years old in Nigeria. Prompt Treatment of malaria (PMT) in children at the onset of malaria has been identified as one of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) interventions in controlling child mortality. This work examined mothers’ responses to media messages on Prompt Treatment in Malaria (PTM) in children. The participants were drawn from 200 mothers in Aba South L.G.A of Abia state Nigeria via multi stage sampling technique. The result of the study showed that mothers are exposed to PMT campaign messages. They are also knowledgeable of the symptoms and causes of malaria. It also revealed that mother start treatment within 8 hours of onset of malaria in their children. However, they use chloroquine in treating malaria in children rather than the recommended ACTs. This finding indicates that mothers still need to be sensitized on the need to use appropriate treatment in malaria. The study concluded that mothers should accelerate positive action towards prevention and control of malaria in their children. It equally recommended that wider publicity using interpersonal and group means (churches, village square, markets, etc), be given to issues on (PTM) in order to spur more women, especially the less educated in rural communities without access to the conventional media into taking positive action towards the treatment.