Malaria Treatment: Cultural Influences, Practices, and Outcomes

This report provides an analysis of malaria treatment, emphasizing the impact of cultural influences on the approaches taken to manage the disease. The report delves into the various perceptions and beliefs surrounding malaria, particularly within African communities, exploring both traditional and pharmaceutical methods. It highlights how cultural factors, such as beliefs in witchcraft and the role of traditional healers, affect treatment decisions and outcomes. The report references studies that examine the use of both traditional remedies and modern medicines, and explores the self-prescription of antimalarial drugs and other medications. The report also examines how communities have integrated traditional and pharmaceutical approaches, and the role of over-the-counter medications in treating malaria. The report references several studies which highlights how cultural beliefs influence the utilization of medications. It explores the use of remedies like the neem tree, and the blending of traditional and pharmaceutical methods, as well as their impact on the treatment of malaria.

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Malaria Treatment
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Malarial treatment.
Malaria is a common illness mainly within the tropics. This is mainly attributed to the
high number of the vector, anopheles’ mosquitoes, which spread the plasmodium species. There
are different perceptions surrounding the transmission, diagnosis and treatment of Malaria. The
attitudes and perceptions have been highly influenced by the cultural inclinations of different
communities. These factors have influenced the number of annual casualties that result.
Treatment of malaria in Africa consists of the pharmaceutical methods, traditional methods and a
blend of both pharmaceutical and traditional methods (Helman, 2007).
Every community has a belief concerning malaria. The manifestation of in a community
is based on what can be observed in the individual and the season. The rainy season and wadding
in muddy waters has been previously associated with the disease. Some communities have the
belief that malaria can be brought by evil spirits and witch craft. In such a case members of the
community will seek the intervention of a traditional healer. A good example was in in southern
Tanzania where, Muela and colleagues (1998), found out that the communities identified two
types of malaria. One resulting from a mosquito bite, which was the natural one, while another
resulted from witch craft, the unnatural one. They also believed that witchcraft could make the
parasite invisible hence a negative malarial test would result. The community had a strong belief
in the traditional system, the traditional medicine and healers were more common than western
pharmaceuticals.
In other communities, western pharmaceuticals have been highly utilized though most of
the patients are self-prescribing. In most cases malaria has been known to cause high mortality in
children under 5. Mothers are very keen to catch the symptoms. In Kilifi, a rural district in
Kenya, Mwenesi and colleagues (1994) studied the diagnosis and self-prescription by mothers

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who thought their children presented with malaria symptoms. 29% of the women gave their
children antimalarial drugs while 30% prescribed antipyretics and other medications such as
antibiotics a combination of both the antimalarial and anti-pyretic is a common choice among
many. These over-the-counter medications were mainly obtained from a retail outlet. Traditional
remedies have also been sought. The neem tree has been used to cure malaria. Some other
communities have embraced both traditional medication and pharmaceuticals. In southern
Ghana, asra, was made from traditional medication and pharmaceutical preparations. The color
and taste of the medication similar to traditional remedies has made western pharmaceuticals
acceptable in some communities.

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Reference.
Helman, C. G. (2007). Culture, health and illness. CRC press.
Muela, S. H., Ribera, J. M., & Tanner, M. (1998). Fake malaria and hidden parasites—the
ambiguity of malaria. Anthropology & Medicine, 5(1), 43-61.
Mwenesi, H. A. (1994). Mothers' definition and treatment of childhood malaria on the Kenyan
Coast (No. TDR/SER/PRS/13. Unpublished). Geneva: World Health Organization.