Abstract / Summary
Abstract Background Malaria remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children under five years of age in Nigeria, which bears the highest global malaria burden. Caregiver knowledge and attitude are key determinants of appropriate care-seeking and home management behaviour, yet these remain poorly characterised among caregivers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Objectives To assess knowledge, attitude, and associated factors among caregivers of under-five children towards malaria in FCT. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 308 caregivers of under-five children recruited from three area councils (AMAC, Bwari, Kuje) in the FCT using a multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire deployed through KoboToolbox. Knowledge and attitude were scored and compared across sociodemographic characteristics using t-tests and one-way ANOVA. Results Most respondents were female (78.9%), aged 25–29 years (39.3%), married (78.2%), and earned less than ₦50,000 monthly (68.8%). Overall knowledge was poor, with a mean score of 3.38 ± 1.56 out of a maximum of 8; 58.4% of caregivers had poor knowledge and only 10.1% had good knowledge. Mean attitude score was 19.36 ± 4.12 out of a maximum of 30. In multiple linear regression, age, education, occupation, ethnicity, religion, awareness of treatment guidelines, and financial constraint were independent predictors of knowledge (model R²=0.490, p < 0.001); education, income, ethnicity, religion, guideline awareness, and cost of treatment were independent predictors of attitude (model R²=0.466, p < 0.001). Tertiary education showed the largest independent effect on attitude (β = 0.440, p < 0.001), and financial constraint the largest independent effect on knowledge (β=−0.246, p < 0.001). Sex and marital status were not significant independent predictors of either outcome. Conclusion Knowledge of malaria among caregivers of under-five children in the FCT is poor, and both knowledge and attitude are strongly patterned by socioeconomic status. Targeted health education addressing caregivers with low educational attainment, informal employment, and low income is needed to close these gaps.