Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume 103, Issue 12 , Pages 1229-1236, December 2009

Microfinance against malaria: impact of Freedom from Hunger's malaria education when delivered by rural banks in Ghana

  • Natalie De La Cruz

      Affiliations

    • Department of Health Behavior, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, 227 RPHB, 1665 University Blvd, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
  • ,
  • Benjamin Crookston

      Affiliations

    • Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, 375 Chipeta Way, Ste A, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA
  • ,
  • Bobbi Gray

      Affiliations

    • Freedom From Hunger, 1644 Da Vinci Court, Davis, CA 95618, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +1 530 758 6200; fax: +1 530 758 6241.
  • ,
  • Steve Alder

      Affiliations

    • Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, 375 Chipeta Way, Ste A, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA
  • ,
  • Kirk Dearden

      Affiliations

    • Department of International Health, Boston University School of Public Health, 801 Massachusetts Ave, Crosstown 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02118, USA

Received 13 November 2008; received in revised form 11 March 2009; accepted 11 March 2009.

Summary 

A community randomized pre-test/post-test design was used to compare the knowledge and behaviors of microfinance clients receiving malaria education (n=213) to those receiving diarrhea education (n=223) and to non-client controls (n=268). Comparisons assessed differences at follow-up as well as within-group changes over time. At follow-up, malaria clients had significantly better malaria knowledge than comparison groups: 48.4% of malaria clients were able to identify groups most vulnerable to malaria compared with 39.2% of diarrhea clients (P=0.044) and 37.7% of non-clients (P=0.024). Malaria clients were more likely than diarrhea clients (P=0.024) (P<0.001) and non-clients (P=0.028) (P=0.004) to report that insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) provide the best protection against malaria, and to agree that pregnant women should use ITNs, respectively. Between baseline and follow-up, malaria clients were most likely to: improve in knowledge of malaria complications during pregnancy; to own at least one bed net; and to report at least one child or woman of reproductive age sleeping under a bed net. Malaria clients also experienced the greatest increases in ITN ownership/use (9% vs. 2.9% and 6.7% among diarrhea clients and non-clients). Results indicate that, although significant barriers to malaria control remain, a malaria education program provided by microfinance institutions can effectively contribute to community and national malaria initiatives.

Keywords: Malaria, Education, Prevention, Microfinance, Evaluation, Ghana

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PII: S0035-9203(09)00118-7

doi:10.1016/j.trstmh.2009.03.018

Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume 103, Issue 12 , Pages 1229-1236, December 2009