Awareness and opinions of inhabitants on vivax malaria in two endemic areas, Gyeonggi-do, Korea

Abstract

The incidence of vivax malaria in Korea was reduced to a low plateau. For successful elimination of vivax ma-laria, socio-behavioral changes in the communities are essential. This study aimed to figure out awareness of the inhabitants on the vivax malaria endemicity. The 407 participants including vivax malaria patients and uninfected inhabitants in Gimpo-and Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do, known as high-risk areas in Korea. We used a community-based study design and non-probability sampling method using primary data. Except for the perception about the public health facilities’ capabili-ty to cope with anti-malaria programs, the 2 groups of participants shared the same level of awareness about public pro-motional and educational measures and opinions for malaria elimination from the community. Thus, our future goals for malaria prevention and elimination are to develop more active and well-organized community-based education and eval-uation programs collaborating with the community healthcare authorities and local governments.