Table 1 Demographic, travel data and prevention measures used by the study participants
Variables | Arriving by plane (N = 398) | Arriving by boat (N = 402) | Total | p-value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Demographic characteristics | |||||
Sex | Male n (%) | 369 (93) | 273 (68) | 642 (80) | < 0.0001 |
Female n (%) | 29 (7) | 129 (32) | 158 (20) | ||
Age (years) mean (SD) | 40.1 (10.1) | 31.7 (14.0) | 35.9 (12.9) | < 0.0001 | |
Age category | < 15 years old n (%) | 0 (0) | 47 (12) | 47 (6) | < 0.0001 |
15 to 29 years old n (%) | 54 (14) | 112 (28) | 166 (21) | ||
≥ 30 years old n (%) | 344 (86) | 243 (60) | 587 (73) | ||
Travel information | |||||
Time away from Lihira (days) | > 12 to 31 n (%) | 348 (87) | 213 (53) | 561 (70) | < 0.0001 |
32 to 90 n (%) | 18 (5) | 25 (6) | 43 (5) | ||
91 or more n (%) | 32 (8) | 163 (41) | 195 (24) | ||
Place while on Lihir | Mine accommodation n (%) | 395 (99) | 140 (35) | 535 (67) | < 0.0001 |
Londolovit Town n (%) | 3 (1) | 94 (23) | 97 (12) | ||
Villages of Lihir n (%) | 0 (0) | 168 (42) | 168 (21) | ||
Intention of the visit | Returning resident/VFR n (%) | 0 (0) | 122 (30) | 122 (15) | < 0.0001 |
Mine worker n (%) | 383 (96) | 144 (36) | 527 (66) | ||
Trading unrelated to mining n (%) | 1 (0) | 92 (23) | 93 (12) | ||
Other purpose n (%) | 14 (4) | 44 (11) | 58 (7) | ||
Time intended to stay on Lihir (in days) b mean (SD) | 20.2 (10.3) | 22.1 (40.9) | 21.1 (29.1) | 0.3707 | |
Malaria episodes and prevention measures | |||||
Received malaria treatment last year | Yes n (%) | 320 (80) | 382 (95) | 702 (88) | < 0.0001 |
Last malaria episode (in months) a mean (SD) | 3.7 (0.7) | 3.6 (0.9) | 3.6 (0.8) | 0.0888c | |
Frequency of sleeping under net while away from Lihira | Never n (%) | 217 (55) | 221 (56) | 438 (55) | 0.0807 |
Sometimes n (%) | 93 (24) | 108 (27) | 201 (25) | ||
Most nights n (%) | 28 (7) | 33 (8) | 61 (8) | ||
Always n (%) | 57 (14) | 34 (9) | 91 (12) | ||
Slept under net while away from Lihira | Yes n (%) | 178 (45) | 175 (44) | 353 (45) | 0.8834 |