This is an exploratory study that investigates the association of social class with
malaria prevalence among household heads in Ghana. Data utilized is taken
from the 1997 Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire (CWIQ) survey of Ghana.
The survey collected information on households covering a variety of topics
including education, health, employment, household assets, household
amenities, poverty predictors, and child anthropometry. A total of 14,514
households were interviewed, comprising 63 percent rural household heads and
37 percent urban household heads. The research method employed in this study
involves the construction of a composite index of social class from six indicators
namely, education, dwelling ownership, heads of cattle, modern household
items, main source of cooking fuel and type of toilet facility. Logistic regression
was applied in examining the association between social class and the dependent
variable, prevalence of malaria. Marital status and personal hygiene were
examined together with social class as the predictor variables, while sex, age,
place of residence and ecological zone were introduced as control variables. The
study revealed that there was no direct association between social class and the
prevalence of malaria among household heads in Ghana; rather, marital status
served as a mediating factor.