Knowledge of Malaria and Utilization of Its Preventive Measures among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care at a Tertiary Hospital in Port-Harcourt, Nigeria

Background: Prevention of malaria is a major priority for the roll back malaria partnership which recommends three-pronged approach for reducing the burden of malaria among pregnant women. The WHO framework for malaria prevention during pregnancy in areas of stable malaria transmission recommends IPT, use of ITN, and case management of malaria illness.

Objective: This study sought to determine the knowledge of malaria and its preventive measures among pregnant women, assess their utilization of malaria preventive measures and attitude to treatment. To ascertain whether there exists any relationship between their knowledge and practice of prevention.

Methodology: An institutional based, cross-sectional study was carried out. 385 consenting participants, between 18-48 years, were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Information on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge of malaria and its preventive measures, use of IPT and ownership/use of ITN, and attitude to treatment were recorded. Data were entered into Excel spreadsheet and analyzed with SPSS version 20. Associations between different variables were determined using Fisher’s exact test or Chi-square test, as appropriate, and logistic regression used to test statistical significance at P<0.05.

Results: Of the 385 women, 307 (79.7%) had excellent (18.7%) and good (61%) knowledge, while 78 (20.3%) had average (16.6%) and poor (3.6%) knowledge. There was no difference in association of Knowledge with age, marital status, education, occupation, and parity. Of the 385 women, 61.3% were using IPT for chemoprophylaxis, 66.2% were using insecticide spray or repellants and 71.4% owned mosquito net; of these, 84% owned insecticide treated nets, but only 65.8% were using it in this current pregnancy. Reasons for not using nets ranged from unavailable 49.0%, discomfort due to heat 32.9%, fear of suffocation 6.9%, Spouse’s disapproval 3.9% and 1.0% ineffective. There was statistically significant difference between knowledge and use of IPT, ITN and insecticide sprays.

Conclusion: There was adequate knowledge of malaria in pregnancy and its preventive measures, but utilization of these measures needs improvement. Efforts should be made to address barriers to utilization.