Factors affecting uptakeof intermittent preventive treatment of Malaria among pregnant women in Cameroon
Georges Nguefack-Tsague, Innocent Takougang, Lia Florey, Germaine Ewane-Ekoyol Ekobe, Jeanne Fouedjio, Dupont Kemfang, Bruno Kenfack, Samuel Wanji, Francisca Monebenimp
CaHReF 2016, Yaoundé Conges hall, 23 – 26 August 2016 , PL200
Plasmodium falciparum malaria in pregnancy predisposes to maternal and fetal morbidity through anemia and low birth weight (LBW). Up to 35% of preventable LBW in malaria-endemic areas are attributable to pregnancy-related P. falciparum malaria. In 2002, WHO recommended intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) of malaria with at least two doses of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) during pregnancy for women living in areas of medium to high malaria transmission. Cameroon adopted IPT as a recommended malaria prevention intervention in 2004. In several endemic countries in Africa inclusive of Cameroon, there has been a downwards trend of IPT uptake over the last five years, with its deleterious repercussion on maternal and newborn health.The objectiveof the present investigation was to assess the factors that affect IPT uptake among pregnant women in Cameroon.
Data from 4,038 pregnant women aged 15-45 years were obtained from the Cameroon Demographic and Health Survey (DHS2011). Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the level of association between IPT uptake and selected socio-demographic variables. Many other relevant health services variables were not available in the database for inclusion in the analysis.
Only 31% of women received at least two doses of SP during antenatal care (ANC). IPT uptake increased significantly with the level of education (p<0.0001), and income status of women (p<0.001). ANC within the first two months of pregnancy (OR=1.33; 1.16-1.52) and high number of ANC prior to delivery (OR=2.07; 1.72-2.49) were associated with an increase of IPT uptake. IPT uptake was inversely related to birth order number (p=0.01) and varied significantly across regions (p<0.0001), being lowest in the South Region (16%) and highest in the West Region (42%). Other sociodemographic variables such as place of residence, mother’s age, marital status, size of the household, religion, and source of ANC were not significantly associated with IPT uptake.
A low uptake of IPT was observed in Cameroon. Health promotion activities should be reinforced to encourage early use of ANC services, thus increasing the demand and uptake of IPT.