Use of malaria preventive measures among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Federal Medical Center, Yenagoa

Abstract

Background: Malaria in pregnancy remains a major contributor to maternal and infant morbidity and mortality despite scale up in interventions. Its prevention is one of the major interventions in reducing maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. This cross-sectional study was conducted with the aim of assessing the use of preventive measures against malaria among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in FMC Yenagoa. Methods and materials:: A systematic sampling technique was used to select 297 women. A pre-tested structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Univariate analysis was conducted to compute frequencies and proportions; and bivariate analysis was used to compare associations between the independent variables and the outcome variables. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was also done to determine independent association between variables Epi-Info version 7.3. and Microsoft Excel were used for all the data analysis. Results: The mean age of respondents was 28.8 ± 2.6 years. Most women had tertiary level of education, (59.2%) and were majorly (88.2%) urban dwellers. Two hundred and fifty (84.2%) stated that they had used LLINs, and 196 (78%) used them the night prior to the interview. Also, 286 (96.3%) reported taking at least one dose of sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine in the current pregnancy. Those who were gainfully employed and those who earned above the minimum wage were 3.2 and 2.9 times more likely to have used LLIN respectively [OR = 3.2 (CI: 1.6 - 6.3)] and [OR = 2.9 (CI: 1.5 – 5.7)]. On logistic regression, there was statistically significant association between the use of LLIN and being employed [OR = 2.43 (CI: 1.10-5.38)], as well as income > #18,000 [OR = 2.36 (CI: 1.08-5.16)]. Conclusion: The use of appropriate preventive measures against malaria was generally high among the participants in this study. Predictors of the use of malaria prevention methods in our cohort of subjects were found to be income > #18,000 and being gainfully employed.