Jornal de Doenças Infecciosas e Medicina Preventiva
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Attempting to Understand the Knowledge, Perspectives and Practices of People Living in Chilinza, Malawi on the Topic of Malaria

Sayana Lee*

This study addresses the issue of malaria in the village of Chilinza in the country of Malawi. The goal of this study is to better understand the knowledge, practices, and perspectives of people living in Chilinza regarding malaria-specifically, using a community-centered approach, 1) learning to understand the problem through the eyes of the locals 2) identifying “positive deviance” or successful practices in use that could be replicated or amplified and 3) potential obstacles that the people of Chilinza have that prevent them from utilizing resources (cultural, practical, religious, etc.). This study utilizes quantitative preliminary surveys and qualitative in-depth interviews. The hypothesis is that there are households within the community that are already adopting “best practices,” and identifying and replicating these best practices can help reduce malaria cases. The findings of this study indicate that there are solutions from within the community for combating malaria transmission including using Insecticide Treated Bed Nets (ITBNs) regularly, typing up the ITBN during the daytime to preserve the net, and using Mphungabwi as a natural mosquito repellent. Although the findings of this study may be difficult to directly apply to other villages or countries, it can provide greater insight on how to effectively eradicate malaria from Chilinza and lessen malaria in other countries. This research project is generously funded by the center for African Studies at UC Berkeley. The Center for African Studies at UC Berkeley has no role in the design, the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript.