Abstract
Malaria remains an important public health problem such that, assessing the challenges experienced among pregnant women (vulnerable) with the uptake of malaria prevention methods and treatment is pertinent. This hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive study that was carried out at a Medicalized Health Center in Nkwen, Cameroon, sought to assess the barriers to malaria prevention faced by 51 pregnant women who attended antenatal clinic (ANC). Over 88% of participants were 15-30 years old. All participants knew at least one symptom of malaria, with 20% of them confirmed to have taken intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) and 53% reported using insecticide-treated bed net (ITN). Educating pregnant women and their spouses on the uptake of IPTp and the use of ITN is a key strategy to curb its high malaria morbidity and mortality rates.
Highlights
Despite the availability of different methods to prevent malaria,[1] it remains an important public health problem in tropical regions around the world and especially in Sub-Saharan Africa
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2017 approximately 219 million people were infected with the malaria parasite in 87 countries around the world.[1]
In the WHO African region, 435,000 people died from this infestation with 93% of these deaths occurring in African countries
Summary
Despite the availability of different methods to prevent malaria,[1] it remains an important public health problem in tropical regions around the world and especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Though the coverage of eligible pregnant women with IPT increased from 13% in 2014 to 18% in 2017 in the 23 African countries that reported, it is still not sufficient as more than 80% of pregnant women are still at risk of being infected with malaria[4] and the rate of transmission is higher in areas with lower coverage.[5]. This study, sought to assess the barriers (factors that hinder malaria prevention uptake) of malaria prevention faced by pregnant women who attend an antenatal clinic (ANC) at the Nkwen Health Center, Bamenda in the Northwest Region of Cameroon
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