Behaviour change communication (BCC) remains a central component of the interventions used in the fight against malaria in Ghana. However, there is limited evidence of its effectiveness. This study evaluated the effects of BCC strategies on knowledge (symptoms, causes and prevention) and overall knowledge of malaria among Ghanaian women aged 15-49 years. The propensity score matching (PSM) approach and logistic regression were used to analyse data from the 2016 edition of the Malaria Indicator Survey (MIS). Women who participated in community-level education or heard/saw media messages on malaria, or both, had significantly more knowledge of the disease than women who lacked access to any of these mediums of communication. The effect of these strategies on women's overall knowledge of malaria is about 2% to 4% and is higher on their knowledge of the symptoms (3% to 6%) and prevention (2% to 4%) than the causes (2%). The combined effects of both mediums of communication are relatively higher than the effect of either of them as a single medium of communication. Further analysis showed that improved knowledge of the disease is associated with higher preventive measures taken by women for themselves and for their children. The results are more significant in rural and poor households than in urban and non-poor households. These findings underscore the need for the Ministry of Health and its partner institutions to adopt an innovative approach which combines the two strategies in intensively educating Ghanaians, and women in particular, on the symptoms and prevention of malaria, giving due cognisance to households' socioeconomic status and geographical location.

中文翻译：

---

行为改变交流对加纳妇女疟疾知识和预防的影响。

行为改变沟通（BCC）仍然是加纳抗击疟疾干预措施的核心组成部分。然而，其有效性的证据有限。本研究评估了 BCC 策略对 15-49 岁加纳女性疟疾知识（症状、原因和预防）和总体知识的影响。使用倾向评分匹配 (PSM) 方法和逻辑回归分析 2016 年版疟疾指标调查 (MIS) 的数据。参加社区教育或听到/看到有关疟疾的媒体信息或两者兼而有之的妇女比缺乏任何这些交流媒介的妇女对该疾病的了解要多得多。这些策略对女性疟疾总体知识的影响约为 2% 至 4%，对症状（3% 至 6%）和预防（2% 至 4%）的了解高于对原因（2%）的了解。两种传播媒介的综合效果相对高于其中任何一种传播媒介作为单一传播媒介的效果。进一步的分析表明，对这种疾病的了解的提高与妇女为自己和孩子采取更多预防措施有关。结果在农村和贫困家庭中比在城市和非贫困家庭中更为显着。这些调查结果强调，卫生部及其伙伴机构需要采取创新方法，将两种战略结合起来，对加纳人、特别是妇女进行有关疟疾症状和预防的强化教育，同时适当认识到家庭的社会经济地位和地理位置。