Effectiveness of Community Health Promoters' Health Education Programs in Increasing Adoption of Malaria Preventive Practices in Nyakach Sub-County, Kenya

The Kenyan government spends an estimated 12.4 billion shillings annually on malaria control measures, including the deployment of Community Health Promoters (CHPs). CHPs are tasked with conducting malaria surveillance, offering treatment through community case management (CCMm), and delivering health education on prevention. Despite these efforts, lake endemic areas such as Nyakach Sub-County continue to record malaria prevalence as high as 25.5%, above the national average of 17.1%. This study sought to examine the effectiveness of community health promoters’ education programs in increasing adoption of Malaria preventive practices among community members in Nyakach Sub-County. Guided by Andersen’s behavioral model, the study adopted a cross-sectional, mixed-methods design, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to ensure robust triangulation of results. A household survey of 384 respondents sampled using proportional cluster sampling, provided the quantitative data, while qualitative insights were drawn from focus group discussions with 36 CHPs and interviews with 5 public health officers (PHOs). Household-level data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, regression, and ANOVA to measure the effectiveness of CHP health education programs on increasing adoption of malaria preventive practices, while qualitative data was thematically analyzed to complement the quantitative findings. The findings reveal a positive correlation between number of health education sessions attended and the adoption of preventive practices (r = 785), meaning the more education sessions attended, the higher the adoption rate. The R2 = 0.615 depicts a 61.5% prediction rate of the adoption of malaria prevention mechanisms. The study concludes that CHP-led health education significantly improves adoption of malaria preventive practices, with qualitative findings showing sustained community behavior change through repeated sessions. The study recommends institutionalizing frequent education sessions, tailoring messages to suit literacy levels, leveraging peer reinforcement, and integrating education with material support to overcome economic barriers. The study demonstrates that CHP health education programs can be effective in increasing adoption of malaria preventive practices, thereby contributing to the reduction of malaria prevalence in endemic regions. Key words: Community Health Promoters, Health Education Programs, Malaria Preventive Practices, Malaria Surveillance, Andersen’s Behavioral Model