Knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) to assess the impact of school children's awareness of malaria using the MOSKI KIT® tool: study case of some Dakar schools in Senegal

Abstract Background MOSKI KIT® is a fun tool designed to interest children for prevention and management of malaria. This study was carried out with the objective to assess the short- and long-term impacts of this tool on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of school children, and on the transmission of the knowledge received at the household level as well. Method The study took place in elementary schools in the city center (with relatively low endemicity) and in the Niayes area (at high risk of anopheline and malaria) in the Dakar region of Senegal. The various schools chosen for our study were divided into an intervention group and a control group. The intervention schools were also divided into two subgroups, a full package subgroup and another partial package. We conducted three surveys there, a first before exposure to the MOSKI KIT®, a second a week later and a third a year later. In the control schools, we only carried out one at the same time as the last in the intervention schools. We carried out two household surveys (a week and a year after exposure) for the intervention schools, against one for the control schools.Results Before sensitization, the proportion of school children with a grade above or equal to the average was 50% for the complete package subgroup (CPS) and 53% for the partial package subgroup (PPS). A week later, these proportions were 69% and 71% respectively for the complete and PPSs. A year later, they were 99.4% for the CPS, 98.1% for the PPS and 99.5% for the control group; The number of children who spoke to their parents about malaria was greater in intervention schools than that of control schools. They were 46.63% and 32.58% respectively in intervention and control schools.Conclusion The MOSKI KIT, has enabled an increase of the knowledge of school children about malaria in the short term and favored its retention in the long term. However, its impact was not felt on their attitudes and practices.