Background: Malaria is currently the most important cause of death and disability in children aged under 5 years in
Africa. A health education interventional study of this nature is essential in primary control of an endemic
communicable disease such as malaria. This study was therefore designed to determine the effect of health education
on the home management of Malaria among the caregivers of children under 5 years old in Ogun State, Nigeria.
Methods: The study design was a quasi-experimental study carried out in Ijebu North Local Government Area of Ogun
State. A multistage random sampling technique was used in choosing the required samples for this study and a
semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect relevant information. The intervention consisted of a structured
educational program based on a course content adapted from the national malaria control program. A total of 400
respondents were recruited into the study, with 200 each in both the experimental and control groups, and were
followed up for a period of 3 months when the knowledge and uptake of insecticide treated net was reassessed.
Results: There was no statistically significant differences observed between the experimental and control groups in
terms of sociodemographic characteristics such as age (P = 0.99), marital status (P = 0.48), religion (P = 0.1), and income
(P = 0.51). The majority in both the experimental (75.0%) and control (71.5%) groups use arthemisinin-based
combination therapy as first line home treatment drugs pre intervention. Post health education intervention, the
degree of change in the knowledge of referral signs and symptoms in the experimental group was 52.8% (P < 0.0001)
while it was 0.2% in the control group (P = 0.93). Tepid sponging improved by 45.0%, paracetamol use by 55.3%, and
the use of herbs and other drugs were not significantly influenced in the experimental (P = 0.65 and 0.99) and control
group (P = 0.89 and 0.88), respectively. Furthermore, there was a 55.7% (P = 0.001) increase in the proportion of
respondents using the correct dose of arthemisinin-based combination therapy in the home management of malaria
and 23.9% (P < 0.001) in the proportion using it for the required time.
Conclusions: The study concludes that there is a shift in the home management of malaria with the use of current
and effective antimalarial drugs. It also demonstrated the effect of health education on the promptness of appropriate
actions taken among the respondents for early diagnosis and treatment. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment can
be guaranteed if caregivers are knowledgeable on prompt actions to be taken in the home management of malaria.