Seasonal malaria chemoprevention in children aged 3-59 months in Mali: parents' perceptions, attitudes and beliefs regarding drug administration

Background: In Mali, malaria remains the major endemic and leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the most vulnerable groups, notably children under five years of age and pregnant women. Achieving the goal of eliminating malaria by 2030 would be difficult, if not impossible, if we do not identify all the dimensions that influence the persistence of the disease within communities. This is why this study was conducted to assess the perceptions, attitudes and beliefs of parents regarding seasonal malaria chemoprevention in children under 5 years of age.

Methods: This study focused on 10 villages in the M'pessoba health area. Community consent was obtained in each village before starting the survey. Moreover, free and informed individual consent was obtained before starting to administer the questions. A questionnaire on parents' knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about SMC was administered randomly to at least 25 parents per village.

Results: Of the 333 parents interviewed, nearly 97.9% (n = 333) thought that SMC should be taken by children aged 3-59 months. According to the majority of the participants, SMC protects against malaria (75.7%). The majority of parents interviewed (79.3%) were aware that SMC was administered over 3 days. Most of the participants (97.3%) thought that even under SMC, children must continue to sleep under mosquito nets. A total of 61.9% of parents experienced side effects following the administration SMC medications. During our survey, 90.7% of parents confirmed that the children had taken the second dose, compared with 85.3% for the third dose. A minority of participants (33.6%) thought that taking SMC only once had a protective effect for 3 months. A total of 93.4% of the 333 parents interviewed were in favor of administering SMC to their children the following year.

Conclusion: The study showed limited community perception regarding the protection period of SMC after taking a full dose.