Performance Of Community-Based Agents (Cbas) In Homebased Care Of Uncomplicated Malaria Under-Five Years In The Atiwa District In The Eastern Region Of Ghana

ABSTRACT Introduction: Malaria contributes substantially to the poor health situation in Africa. It is on record that, Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 90% of the world’s 300 – 500 million cases and 1.5 – 2.7 million deaths annually. About 90% of all these deaths in Africa occur in young children. Home-based Management of Malaria (HMM) is a strategy to increase access to malaria treatment. This study was conducted to assess the the performance of Community - Based Agents in Home- Based Care of Malaria under-five years in the Atiwa District in the Eastern Region of Ghana after five years of its implementation. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the performance of Community - Based Agents in Home- Based Care of Malaria under-five years in the Atiwa District in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Methods: A cross-sectional approach was used to assess the performance of Community - Based Agents in Home- Based Care of Malaria under-five years in the Atiwa District in the Eastern Region of Ghana using quantitative data collection technique; all the 65 trained CBAs in the district were purposively selected and interviewed using a structured questionnaire and 46 CBAs were observed offering treatment at the time of the interviews through the use of a checklist. Age, sex, education, occupation and indicators on knowledge and management practices were the variables obtained and the results were analyzed using SPSS so version 22.0. Results: The age of CBAs ranged from 18 to 75 years, 46 (70.8%) were males and 31(47.7%) had Middle school education with subsistence farming being 46 (70.8%). All the respondents 65 (100%) received training before starting the HMM. Out of the 65 CBAs interviewed, 34 (52.3%) and 20 (30.8%) had knowledge on 4 and 3 dangers signs respectively and measured as good knowledge and 3 (4.6%) and 5 (7.7%) had knowledge on 2 and 1 danger signs, respectively which is an indication of poor knowledge and out of the 46 CBAs observed, 29 (63%) gave correct age appropriate dose. Using the chi-square test, there was an association between level of education and knowledge on the correct dosage of ACTs. A Chi-square value of 4.110 with a p-value of 0.029 (