Antenatal Care (ANC) &Communication &Health Systems &ITNs Bill Brieger | 20 Nov 2021 05:34 am
Education and knowledge help fighting malaria, but health systems strengthening in Cote d’Ivoire
Save the Children recognizes the importance of strong health systems to deliver malaria interventions. Here they arsharing a wealth of information on these efforts at the 2021 American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting. Here is an abstract from one of their malaria efforts. See Author List below.
Since 2010, Cote d’Ivoire has made significant progress in the fight against malaria; however, since 2016 progress has stagnated and malaria incidence is steadily increasing. The aims of this study were to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices among heads of households, pregnant women and caretakers of children under 5 years of age (U5) and IPTp-SP compliance.
A mixed-methods study was conducted in rural and urban areas in 20 health districts of Cote d’Ivoire. A total of 1,812 households composed of 8,813 members were surveyed using a structured questionnaire. Qualitative data were gathered through twenty focus group discussions. Data triangulation was used during analysis.
Fever was the main malaria symptom reported by heads of households (38.5%) followed by headache (25.5%). Additionally, many FGD participants also reported sadness as a symptom of malaria. The primary cause of malaria was mosquito bites, followed by fatigue, the sun, and salty water, 70.7%, 15.1% and 10.9%, 3.3% respectively. The main prevention methods reported were sleeping under an ITN (60.4%), spraying the house (25.9%), taking medication (5.8%), and using a fan (7.9%). In FGDs, additional means of prevention were discussed including sanitation of the environment, personal hygiene, and stopping alcohol consumption.
The majority of women with at least one child reported having attended at least three ANC visits in their last pregnancy (85.1%). The cost of ANC was a main factor affecting attendance. Overall, 78.2% of them received SP and of these women, 98.1% said they received it during their ANC visits. However, only 55.4% received 3 doses or more of SP and 76.79% received SP free of charge. The reasons for not taking SP were stock outs, side effects, bitter taste, and preference for injections.
Our study revealed that knowledge of prevention measures (ITNs) and causes of malaria (mosquito bites) were high and in line with the targets of the National BCC Strategy 2021-2025. However, even though the majority of pregnant women would like to take SP, they were blocked by the health system unable to provide them with the drugs and others had to pay for them. These problems within the health system are likely to contribute to the high malaria incidence in Cote d’Ivoire.
AUTHOR LIST
Edouard C. Balogoun1, Manasse Kassi1, Philomène A. Beda1, Jacob Y. Agniman1, Serge B. Assi2, Florence Kadjo-Kouadio3, Michel N’da-Ezoa4, Aristide E. Kouadio1, Joel Koffi1, Apollinaire N. Kouadio1, Paul Bouey5, Sara Canavati5, Eric Swedberg5 — 1Save the Children, Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire, 2Le Programme Nationale de Lutte contre le Paludisme (PNLP), Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire, 3Médecin Spécialiste de Santé, Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire, 4Socio-Anthropologue de la Santé, Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire, 5Save the Children, Washington, DC, United States