Essay Example on Parents' Education on Malaria: An Empowering Approach

Introduction

Mothers who take their children to the hospitals or clinics for the treatment of malaria are more likely to lack the essential knowledge and skills needed for the prevention of the disease. This is attributed to the fact that malaria is preventable. Therefore, one of the strategies which will be utilized to increase parents' knowledge and skills regarding disease is engaging in an empowering educational approach. According to Aston et al. (2009), educational interventions involve either empowerment-focused education or consultant education. In the proposed program, improved malaria knowledge and skills will be attained through sharing information related to prevention. This will be accomplished through malaria information brochures that will be distributed to mothers who visit the hospitals for treatment of their children.

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The brochure will contain information related to symptoms, treatment, and prevention of the disease. Such pamphlets are effective in reducing the prevalence of malaria because the affected population is more likely to take preventive measures (Afoakwah et al., 2018; Brusich et al., 2015; (Olalekan & Adebukola, 2015). Parents who visit the hospitals will also e requested to share the pamphlets with others whose children are below the age of five years when they return to their homes. This will aid in the dissemination of malaria-related information and the strengthening of parents' knowledge and skills regarding the best approaches to the prevention of the disease.

The Implementation of the Same Program in a Community Setting.

In the community setting, educating parents about the symptoms of malaria that may necessitate the need to take the children to the hospital will involve various approaches. First, to ensure that the parents accept the message with minimal resistance, it is crucial to recruit community health educators who understand the culture of the target population and their dynamics. Proper knowledge of the culture of the community has been reported to be a key component of health promotion (Cyril et al., 2015; Gampa et al., 2017). Therefore, I will recruit community health workers from within the community. In this case, this healthcare professional acts as a critical link between the informal community system and the formal healthcare setting.

The local community health workers will be tasked with conducting door-to-door awareness of malaria, its symptoms, and severity. There is an increased likelihood that their messages will be well-received because they share the same culture and values as the target individuals. In agreement with is a viewpoint, Woldie et al. (2018) reported that the performance of community health workers could be strengthened through a high level of community ownership, provision of adequate on-job training, proper logistical support, and ongoing supportive supervision. Additionally, the need to recruit community health workers in malaria awareness campaign is further supported by the fact that they are catalysts and role models because they empower the community members with the necessary knowledge (Rachlis et al., 2016).

The second approach that will be used to enhance community members' awareness of malaria, its symptoms and severity are connecting them to a broader social network. According to Aston et al. (2009), creating a social network can be achieved through the establishment of partnerships among the members and creating self-help groups. Consequently, I hope to ensure that the most vulnerable members of the population (mothers with young children) form networks that will help them discuss and improve their knowledge and skills regarding malaria. Aston et al. (2009) further stated that the establishment of a broad social network could be accomplished by connecting them to other agencies to ensure the best possible service for the members. Lastly, in areas where community members cannot bring the child is due to transportation or other issues, mobile clinics can be used.

The Difference in Implementation Based on the Setting

There exist differences in the implementation of the interventions aimed at addressing the problem of malaria in young children based on the setting. For interventions carried out in a healthcare setting, nurses will be on the frontline in ensuring that parents are knowledgeable and skilled in malaria symptoms, prevention, and treatment. This is because apart from caring for patients, they are also tasked with health promotion such as educating the public on malaria prevention strategies (Diema Konlan et al., 2019; Jonsson, 2018). On the other hand, in a community setting, community health workers will educate the parents. This is because they know the culture and values of the community members.

Strategies in Healthcare and Community Setting

In the healthcare setting, an approach that will be used is to produce malaria information brochures in a simple language rather than the use of jargon. This will enable the target population to understand the information and utilize it in their daily lives. In the community setting, the most effective strategy against malaria is in-service training of community health workers. This is aimed at ensuring that their knowledge and skills regarding malaria prevention, symptoms, and treatment are refreshed. When this is done, they will be useful in educating the public on the same.

References

Afoakwah, C., Deng, X., & Onur, I. (2018). Malaria infection among children under-five: The use of large-scale interventions in Ghana. BMC Public Health, 18(1), 536. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5428-3

Aston, M., Meagher-Stewart, D., Edwards, N., & Young, L. M. (2009). Public health nurses' primary health care practice: Strategies for fostering citizen participation. Journal of Community Health Nursing, 26(1), 24-34. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370010802605762

Brusich, M., Grieco, J., Penney, N., Tisgratog, R., Ritthison, W., Chareonviriyaphap, T., & Achee, N. (2015). Targeting educational campaigns for prevention of malaria and dengue fever: An assessment in Thailand. Parasites & Vectors, 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-015-0653-4

Cyril, S., Smith, B. J., Possamai-Inesedy, A., & Renzaho, A. M. N. (2015). Exploring the role of community engagement in improving the health of disadvantaged populations: A systematic review. Global Health Action, 8. https://doi.org/10.3402/gha.v8.29842

Diema Konlan, K., Amu, H., Konlan, K. D., & Japiong, M. (2019). Awareness and malaria prevention practices in a rural community in the ho municipality, ghana [Research Article]. Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/9365823

Gampa, V., Smith, C., Muskett, O., King, C., Sehn, H., Malone, J., Curley, C., Brown, C., Begay, M.-G., Shin, S., & Nelson, A. K. (2017). Cultural elements underlying the community health representative - client relationship on Navajo Nation. BMC Health Services Research, 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-016-1956-7

Jonsson, T. (2018). Registered Nurses' Experiences of Malaria Prevention in the Republic of the Congo. http://www.diva-portal.se/smash/get/diva2:1181940/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Olalekan, A. W., & Adebukola, A. M. (2015). Effects of training on knowledge, attitude and practices of malaria prevention and control among community role model care givers in south western nigeria. Ethiopian Journal of Health Sciences, 25(4), 329-336.

Rachlis, B., Naanyu, V., Wachira, J., Genberg, B., Koech, B., Kamene, R., Akinyi, J., & Braitstein, P. (2016). Community perceptions of community health workers (Chws) and their roles in management for hiv, tuberculosis and hypertension in western kenya. PLOS ONE, 11(2), e0149412. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0149412

Woldie, M., Feyissa, G. T., Admasu, B., Hassen, K., Mitchell, K., Mayhew, S., McKee, M., & Balabanova, D. (2018). Community health volunteers could help improve access to and use of essential health services by communities in LMICs: An umbrella review. Health Policy and Planning, 33(10), 1128-1143. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czy094