Background: Malaria is a systemic infectious disease caused by Plasmodium parasites, naturally transmitted through the bite of female Anopheles sp. In 2009, Sumba Tengah District is one of the districts with high malaria morbidity rate in Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) Province (48.2 ‰). Most of people in Sumba work as farmers who do activities close to the mosquitoes’ breeding places. The precaution efforts against mosquito bites are very important applied in Sumba’s traditional house and for people with specific jobs such as farmers. Therefore, it is important for people to use mosquito nets and anti-mosquitoes (repellent) during sleep or activity.
Objective: To analyze the relationship between occupation and behavior and the incidence of malaria.
Method: This was an observational analytic study with case-control design. The sample size was 112 people selected at random and matching in Wairasa Health Center. The data were analyzed by Chi-Square, then calculating the value of OR (odds ratio).
Results: The result showed that there was a significant relationship between occupation as farmers (OR = 2.936 and p = 0.011), the unuse of bed nets (OR = 5.954 and p = 0.000), the unuse of anti-mosquito (OR = 3.817 and p = 0.002) and the incidence of malaria in the work area of Wairasa Health Center.
Conclusion: The incidence of malaria at the work area of Wairasa Health Center had a relationship with occupation and community behavior.
Keywords: malaria, occupation, bed nets, anti mosquito