Knowledge of Malaria and preventive practices among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Manhyia District Hospital, Ghana

Abstract

Malaria is hyper endemic in Ghana with perennial transmission afflicting and affecting people of all ages and it is a major cause of illness and death in Ghana, particularly among pregnant women. The study sought to find out the knowledge of Malaria and preventive practices among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Manhyia District Hospital. The study was carried out at the Manhyia District Hospital. A descriptive study design was adopted employing a quantitative approach and a simple random sampling technique was used to select 103 pregnant women attending ANC at the Manhyia Hospital. The research made use of questionnaire as a data collection instrument and Closed ended questionnaire were used for data collection. Primary data were coded and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 16.0).After that, the primary data were summarised and displayed in tables and figures. Malaria was perceived as when body temperature rises and it can be transmitted by a mosquito bite. Fever was identified as a symptom of Malaria as well as pain in the joints, vomiting and loss of appetite. Practices that have been used to prevent malaria were the use of mosquito net (46%); keeping clean environment (24%) use of insecticide (28%) and wearing protective clothing (2%). Continuous efforts at providing necessary information by the health ministry are needed to control and reduce incidence of malaria and improve knowledge among the general public.