Knowledge, practices, and perceptions about malaria in rural communities of Zimbabwe: relevance to malaria control.

A survey of 411 household heads was undertaken in Gokwe district, Zimbabwe, to assess villagers' knowledge, practices and perceptions about malaria and their implications for malaria control. Our results show that although the government has sustained an annual indoor insecticide spraying programme for over four decades, about 50% of respondents did not adequately understand its purpose, with 26% believing that the programme was intended to kill domestic pests, not including mosquitos. During the 1991-92 spraying cycle, 72% of the villagers had their homes sprayed. However, 21% of such villagers refused to have some rooms in their homes sprayed. Householders' understanding of the function of the spraying programme was significantly related to their compliance with it (P < 0.05). A total of 82% of respondents reported not taking any measures to protect themselves from malaria. Taking preventive measures was significantly related to knowledge of the causes of malaria (P < 0.05). The study shows the importance of involving communities in a control programme intended to be to their benefit and of informing them about available options for protection against malaria.