Recall of malaria incidents as a measure of health attentiveness of women and men in rural Sri Lanka

Abstract

This paper reports on findings from a survey in Kataragama, Sri Lanka of the recalling of incidences of malaria. The survey was conducted in 1994, when the disease was endemic in the area. The findings were that females were better than males in recalling malaria incidents that had occurred during the previous three months. This paper argues that male/female differences in recalling malaria incidence are a consequence of the social construction of gender, particularly in relation to disease perception, caring for children, treatment seeking and preventive behaviours at the household level. The findings of this study have implications for malaria control programs, particularly at community and household levels. The paper concludes that the principal female in the household, who typically displays a high degree of attentiveness to health issues, could be effectively used for community and household disease control programs aimed at reducing the gap between the onset of the disease and treatment seeking as a means to contain the parasite reservoir of patients.