Registered Nurses’ Experiences of Malaria Prevention in the Republic of the Congo

Abstract: Background: In the Republic of the Congo, malaria is a major cause of death, in particular among children. Therefore, malaria prevention is of high priority. Registered nurses have an important role in illness prevention in sub-Saharan Africa, especially through education of the population. To improve malaria prevention, it is important to understand how registered nurses experience the preventive work. Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the experiences of registered nurses working with malaria prevention in the Republic of the Congo. Method: A qualitative method was used. Semi-structured interviews with six registered nurses in the Republic of the Congo were conducted. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the interviews. Findings: Three categories were identified in the analysis: preventive interventions are necessary, possibilities in malaria prevention and difficulties in malaria prevention. The registered nurses experienced that preventive interventions, such as different methods of avoiding mosquito bites, are necessary because malaria affects the entire population in Congo. The registered nurses experienced educating and informing the patients as a possibility in malaria prevention and a lack of resources as a difficulty. Conclusion: The registered nurses experienced education and information as an effective way to communicate preventive interventions against malaria. However, the registered nurses sometimes experienced incomprehension among the patients, which could be improved by adapting the information to the individual. A difficulty that the registered nurses experienced was a lack of resources on many levels. An increased access to resources would lead to improvements in malaria prevention.