Preventing malaria in pregnancy: knowledge and practices of pregnant women in an urban hospital in Kumasi, Ghana
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31191/afrijcmr.v5i2.74Keywords:
Malaria, Malaria in pregnancy, Insecticide Treated Nets, Pregnant Women, Sulfadoxine PyrimethamineAbstract
Background: Malaria in pregnancy (MiP) is a public health concern in Ghana. The current national control program seeks to have 85% of pregnant women sleeping under insecticide treated nets (ITNs). It also seeks to achieve 100% intake of at least 2 doses of Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP). In order to achieve these aims, it is important that pregnant women have good knowledge of malaria and subscribe to good preventive practices. This cross-sectional study sought to evaluate the knowledge and practices on malaria prevention among pregnant women in an urban setting of Ghana.
Methods: This was a hospital-based study which involved 185 pregnant women visiting an urban hospital for antenatal care in Kumasi, Ghana. Data was collected via structured interviewer administered questionnaires. Univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted to assess the participants’ knowledge and practices on malaria prevention.
Results: The women demonstrated good knowledge of MiP, with 76% of them having an excellent knowledge score. Familiarity with ITNs (99.5%) was higher than IPTp-SP (86.5%). There was a statistically significant association between tertiary education and high total knowledge score (X2 =31.912, df = 18, p = 0.023). ITN usage was poor (55.1%), with common challenges being difficulty in hanging nets, nets being deemed too hot, and unpleasant smell of the nets. 66.5% of the women had taken at least 2 SP doses.
Conclusion: Although there was good knowledge, ITN use and SP coverage were below national targets. More studies should be conducted to explore the factors underlying poor ITN use and SP intake.
References
References
WHO. The “World malaria report 2019” at a glance [Internet]. WHO. 2019 [cited 2020 Sep 17]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/world-malaria-report-2019
GHS. Malaria in pregnancy - National Malaria Control Programme [Internet]. GHS. 2015 [cited 2020 Sep 18]. Available from: https://ghanahealthservice.org/malaria/subcategory.php?nmcpscid=114&nmcpcid=85
Sohail M, Shakeel S, Kumari S, Bharti A, Zahid F, Anwar S, et al. Prevalence of malaria infection and risk factors associated with anaemia among pregnant women in semiurban community of Hazaribag, Jharkhand, India. Biomed Res Int. 2015;2015.
Thompson JM, Eick SM, Dailey C, Dale AP, Mehta M, Nair A, et al. Relationship Between Pregnancy-Associated Malaria and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Trop Pediatr [Internet]. 2020 Jun 1 [cited 2020 Sep 18];66(3):327–38. Available from: https://academic.oup.com/tropej/article/66/3/327/5584769
Moore KA, Simpson JA, Scoullar MJL, McGready R, Fowkes FJI. Quantification of the association between malaria in pregnancy and stillbirth: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Glob Heal. 2017 Nov 1;5(11):e1101–12.
Gimnig JE, Kolczak MS, Hightower AW, Vulule JM, Schoute E, Kamau L, et al. Effect of permethrin-treated bed nets on the spatial distribution of malaria vectors in western Kenya. Am J Trop Med Hyg [Internet]. 2003 Apr 1 [cited 2020 Sep 18];68(4 SUPPL.):115–20. Available from: https://www.ajtmh.org/content/journals/10.4269/ajtmh.2003.68.115
WHO. WHO | Intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp). WHO. 2019;
CCM Ghana. Country Coordinating Mechanism of the global fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria Ghana - National Malaria Control Programme [Internet]. 2015 [cited 2020 Sep 19]. Available from: https://ccmghana.net/index.php/2015-2017/malaria/national-malaria-control-programme
Donkoh ET, Agyemang-Yeboah F, Asmah RH, Wiredu EK. Prevalence of cervical cancer and pre-cancerous lesions among unscreened Women in Kumasi, Ghana. Medicine (Baltimore) [Internet]. 2019 Mar 1 [cited 2021 Jun 18];98(13):e14600. Available from: /pmc/articles/PMC6456016/
Anabire NG, Aryee PA, Abdul-Karim A, Abdulai IB, Quaye O, Awandare GA, et al. Prevalence of malaria and hepatitis B among pregnant women in Northern Ghana: Comparing RDTs with PCR. Chemin I, editor. PLoS One [Internet]. 2019 Feb 6 [cited 2020 Sep 18];14(2):e0210365. Available from: https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0210365
Josephine N. Chukwurah, Emmanuel T. Idowu, Adeniyi K. Adeneye, Oluwagbemiga O. Aina, Philip U. Agomo AOO. Research: Knowledge, attitude and practice on malaria prevention and sulfadoxine- pyrimethamine utilisation among pregnant women in Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria | MalariaWorld [Internet]. [cited 2021 Jul 4]. Available from: https://malariaworld.org/mwj/2016/research-knowledge-attitude-and-practice-malaria-prevention-and-sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine
Fuge TG, Ayanto SY, Gurmamo FL. Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice about malaria and ITNs utilization among pregnant women in Shashogo District, Southern Ethiopia. Malar J [Internet]. 2015 Jun 4 [cited 2020 Oct 21];14(1):235. Available from: https://malariajournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12936-015-0755-7
Okwelogu I, Ikpeze O, Aribodor D. Evaluation of Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Pregnant Women on Malaria, Intermittent Preventive Treatment and Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria. Niger J Parasitol [Internet]. 2014 Jan 14 [cited 2021 Jul 4];33(1). Available from: https://www.ajol.info/index.php/njpar/article/view/99503
Anokye R, Obeng EI. Knowledge of Malaria and preventive practices among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Manhyia District Hospital, Ghana. Int J Perceptions Public Heal. 2017 Dec 31;2(1):48–55.
Ghana Statistical Service. Ghana Malaria Indicator Survey 2019 Final Report [Internet]. 2020. Available from: https://www.dhsprogram.com/methodology/survey/survey-display-557.cfm.
Manu G, Boamah-Kaali EA, Febir LG, Ayipah E, Owusu-Agyei S, Asante KP. Low utilization of insecticide-treated bed net among pregnant women in the middle belt of Ghana. Malar Res Treat. 2017;2017.
Diema KK, Dodam KK, Aarah-Bapuah M, Asibi AJ. Barriers to sustained use of the insecticide treated bed net in the upper east region of Ghana. Int J Community Med Public Heal [Internet]. 2017 Jan 25 [cited 2021 Jul 4];4(2):500. Available from: http://www.ijcmph.com
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Daniel Danso Aboagye, Sam Newton
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY-NC-ND that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
