Determinants of Uptake of Intermittent Preventive Treatment for Malaria among Pregnant Women in Suba Sub-County, Homabay County, Kenya

Abstract

Background: Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) is one of the effective and efficacious interventions recommended for prevention of malaria in pregnancy. The drug of choice is Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) and Kenya adopted the use of IPTp in line with revised 2012 recommendation by WHO.

Method: A cross sectional study was carried out in Suba Sub County to established determinants of uptake of IPTp, from July 2017 to December 2019. The target population was women of reproductive age (15-49 years old) who had live births two years preceding the study and who visited ANC clinic. All health facilities providing ANC services were purposively selected and stratified Systematic random sampling technique was used to sample the mothers who had given birth during the last 24 months from ANC clients register. Quantitative data collection was carried out using questionnaires that were administered to respondents. All mother –child booklets were checked to confirm whether the respondent received IPTp during her last pregnancy.

Results: A total of 382 women who had live births two years prior to the study and who sought ANC services were interviewed. The study revealed that 59.5 % of respondents received three or more doses of IPTp-SP, with 17.2% receiving at least one dose. Women who attended ANC clinic three or more times had a higher odds of receiving three or more doses of IPTp-SP (OR=1.0), compared with women who attended clinic less than three times (OR=0.04).Women who stayed six or more Km away from health facility were less likely to receive three or more doses of IPTp-SP (OR=0.21). Women who took 30 or more minutes to reach health facility were most likely to receive three or more doses of IPTp –SP (OR=2.93) compared with women who took less than 30 minutes.

Conclusion: The study revealed that majority of pregnant women attended ANC clinic three or more times and not all women interviewed received the recommended three or more doses of IPTp.