Table 1.
Characteristics of participants reporting fever in the previous month in lowlands and highlands of Western Kenya, 2015*
| Overall (N = 1,037) | Highlands (N = 390) | Lowlands (N = 647) | P value† | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. (%) | No. (%) | No. (%) | ||
| Self-reported symptoms‡ | ||||
| Fever alone | 178 (17.2) | 11 (2.8) | 167 (25.8) | < 0.001 |
| Fever + aches | 245 (23.6) | 37 (9.5) | 208 (32.2) | |
| Fever + aches + digestive symptoms | 293 (28.3) | 230 (59.0) | 63 (9.7) | |
| Fever + aches + respiratory symptoms | 99 (9.6) | 31 (8.0) | 68 (10.5) | |
| Fever + other symptoms | 222 (21.4) | 81 (20.8) | 141 (21.8) | |
| Treatment-seeking | ||||
| Sought treatment | 703 (67.8) | 359 (92.1) | 344 (53.2) | < 0.001 |
| Did not seek treatment | 334 (32.2) | 31 (8.0) | 303 (46.8) | |
| Source of treatment§ | ||||
| At least one formal source | 536 (76.2) | 305 (85.0) | 231 (67.2) | < 0.001 |
| Only informal sources | 167 (23.8) | 54 (15.0) | 113 (32.9) | |
| Perceived malaria severity‖ | ||||
| Low | 111 (10.8) | 47 (12.2) | 64 (9.9) | < 0.001 |
| Moderate | 533 (51.7) | 291 (75.6) | 242 (37.5) | |
| High | 387 (37.5) | 47 (12.2) | 340 (52.6) | |
| Gender | ||||
| Female | 603 (58.2) | 233 (59.9) | 370 (57.2) | 0.39 |
| Male | 433 (41.8) | 156 (40.1) | 277 (42.8) | |
| Household wealth quartile | ||||
| Lowest | 205 (19.8) | 96 (24.6) | 109 (16.9) | < 0.001 |
| Second | 289 (27.9) | 171 (43.9) | 118 (18.2) | |
| Third | 243 (23.4) | 53 (13.6) | 190 (29.4) | |
| Highest | 300 (28.9) | 70 (18.0) | 230 (35.6) | |
| Education of household head¶ | ||||
| No education | 35 (3.4) | 19 (4.9) | 16 (2.5) | < 0.001 |
| Primary or some primary | 749 (72.7) | 269 (69.3) | 480 (74.7) | |
| Secondary or some secondary | 179 (17.4) | 57 (14.7) | 122 (19.0) | |
| Other | 68 (6.6) | 43 (11.1) | 25 (3.9) | |
| Age category# | ||||
| Young children | 242 (23.3) | 86 (22.1) | 156 (24.1) | 0.04 |
| School children | 302 (29.1) | 121 (31.0) | 181 (28.0) | |
| Young adults | 206 (19.9) | 61 (15.6) | 145 (22.4) | |
| Adults | 215 (20.7) | 91 (23.3) | 124 (19.2) | |
| Elderly | 72 (6.9) | 31 (8.0) | 41 (6.3) | |
Missing data for specific characteristics in this table ranged from 0% to 4%.
P values are for the test of highlands versus lowlands.
Aches includes body aches and headaches; digestive symptoms include inability to feed, diarrhea, and vomiting; respiratory symptoms includes cough, difficulty breathing, and fast breathing; other symptoms includes convulsions/loss of consciousness, rash, and symptom combinations not otherwise classified.
Formal treatment includes hospital and clinics; informal treatment includes chemist, herbalist, spiritual healer, and other sources of treatment.
Perceived malaria severity was defined as the sum of two household-level questions about perceived malaria severity that were each ranked on a scale of 1 (least severe) to 5 (most severe), and each household was then categorized as low = 2–4, moderate = 5–7, or high = 8–10 perceived severity.
Based on the education level of the female household head; “other” educational level includes tertiary education, other, and no female household head.
Young children includes ≤ 5 years; school children includes > 5 to ≤ 15 years; young adults includes > 15 to ≤ 30 years; adults includes > 30 to ≤ 60 years; elderly includes > 60 years.