Open AccessBarriers towards the Prevention and Treatment of Malaria among Pregnant Women at the Nkwen Health Center Bamenda, Cameroon
Author(s) -
Ngwayu Claude Nkfusai,
Samuel Nambile Cumber,
Fala Bede,
Emerson NjokahWepngong,
Tabe Tambe,
Frankline Sevidzem Wirsiy,
Jacintha Rebang Achu,
Bih Suh,
Frankline Anyang,
Joyce MahlakoTsoka-Gwegweni
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
international journal of mch and aids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2161-8674
pISSN - 2161-864X
DOI - 10.21106/ijma.312
Subject(s) - malaria , medicine , malaria prevention , public health , environmental health , pregnancy , family medicine , health facility , nursing , population , health services , immunology , biology , genetics
Malaria remains an important public health problem such that, assessing the challenges experienced among pregnant women (vulnerable) with the uptake of malaria prevention methods and treatment is pertinent. This hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive study that was carried out at a Medicalized Health Center in Nkwen, Cameroon, sought to assess the barriers to malaria prevention faced by 51 pregnant women who attended antenatal clinic (ANC). Over 88% of participants were 15-30 years old. All participants knew at least one symptom of malaria, with 20% of them confirmed to have taken intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) and 53% reported using insecticide-treated bed net (ITN). Educating pregnant women and their spouses on the uptake of IPTp and the use of ITN is a key strategy to curb its high malaria morbidity and mortality rates. Copyright © 2022 Nkfusai et al. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0.