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Effective community based malaria control programmes require an understanding of current perceptions of malaria as a disease and its severe manifestations. Quantitative and qualitative surveys of mothers on the Kenyan Coast suggest that fever is conceptualised in biomedical terms whereas the aetiology of severe malaria is perceived to be of more complex cultural origin. This is reflected in the treatments sought for convulsions. The results are discussed in the context of ethnographic factors. To be effective, future health information programmes must take cultural beliefs into account.

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Biosoc Sci

Publication Date

04/1995

Volume

27

Pages

235 - 244

Keywords

Africa, Africa South Of The Sahara, Age Factors, Anemia, Behavior, Beliefs, Biology, Central Nervous System, Central Nervous System Effects, Child, Cultural Background, Culture, Demographic Factors, Developing Countries, Diseases, Eastern Africa, English Speaking Africa, Ethnic Groups, Family And Household, Family Characteristics, Family Relationships, Kenya, Malaria--etiology, Mothers, Parasitic Diseases, Parents, Perception, Physiology, Population, Population Characteristics, Psychological Factors, Research Report, Sampling Studies, Signs And Symptoms, Studies, Surveys, Youth, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Child, Child, Preschool, Cross-Sectional Studies, Cultural Characteristics, Developing Countries, Female, Humans, Infant, Kenya, Malaria, Falciparum, Male, Medicine, Traditional, Middle Aged, Mothers, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Rural Population, Sick Role