Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

School

Public Health

Advisor

Sanggon Nam

Abstract

Malaria is a global health issue that is most prevalent in Sub-Saharan countries such as Ghana. In the past, various studies have examined the use of malaria messages and malaria prevalence; however, very few Ghanaian studies focus explicitly on using various types of malaria-related messaging modalities and the impact of these messaging systems on lessening malaria contraction among the informal sectors. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between exposure to malaria awareness messages, place of residence, and preventive health behaviors controlling for sex, occupation group, marital status, and educational level among Ghanaian informal workers. This study used descriptive and inferential quantitative statistics to describe the sample and predict the population with secondary data from the 2014 Ghana Demographic Health Survey through the lens of the health belief model to understand the causal relationship between the dependent and independent variables. A binomial logistic regression (N=7650) was used to analyze the data. The results revealed that there was no significant relationship between exposure to malaria messages and preventive health behavior after controlling for the covariates (sex, occupation, marital status, and educational level). However, there was a significant relationship between place of residence and preventive health behavior after controlling for covariates. The positive social change implication was that this study may improve public health and other health professionals’ information communication and identify other strategies that strengthens understanding and importance of malaria message. It can likely bring about behavioral change and healthier practices regarding malaria prevention in Ghana's informal sector.

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