Factors Associated With Malaria In Pregnancy Among Women Attending Antenatal Clinic At Dodowa District Hospital In The Greater Accra Region

ABSTRACT Background: Malaria in pregnancy is a serious public health issue which affects the mother, the fetus and the neonate. Adverse effects of malaria during pregnancy have been known over the years, but effective preventive coverage of pregnancies at risks during antenatal care and factors associated with malaria in pregnancy have been underreported in malaria-endemic countries. The objective of this study was to determine the factors associated with malaria during pregnancy among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Dodowa District Hospital in the Greater Accra Region. Methods: A cross-sectional study was used among 270 pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic during the study period. Pregnant women of all gravidities and gestations were interviewed from 1st June to 24th June 2019 using simple random sampling method with structured questionnaires to obtain sociodemographic, obstetric and knowledge profiles. Peripheral blood samples were taken to determine the presence of malaria using Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT). Chi-square test was used to assess the association between malaria and other explanatory variables. Logistic regression was used to determine the strength of association for variables which were statistically significant under the chisquare test statistical significance was set at p< 0.05. Results: Out of the total of 270 study participants, (30/270)11.1% (95%CI= 0.08, 0.15) had malaria infection among participants attending the antenatal clinic. Maternal age, marital status, occupation, religion, number of pregnancies, ITN use, number of antenatal visits, and knowledge of malaria, IPT-sp, and IRS were not statistically significant in the multiple regression models. Conclusion: Malaria prevalence was low among the pregnant women studied. Age, gravidity, education level, occupation, gestation, IPT-sp use and ITN use were not  significantly associated with malaria infection (p≥0.05). Continuous scale-up of malaria intervention as recommended by World Health Organization (WHO).