Prevalence, knowledge, and practices of malaria prevention among Prime gravidas in Lira City, Northern Uganda. A cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Background:

Malaria, caused by Plasmodium parasites and transmitted by infected female mosquitoes, remains a significant public health issue, particularly in malaria-endemic regions. The aim of the study is to determine the prevalence of malaria and its relationships with knowledge and practices of malaria prevention among Prime gravidas in Lira City, Northern Uganda.

 Methods:

 A health facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted between April and May 2024 in Lira City. Collected data were coded and entered into SPSS software version 23 and descriptively analysed for frequencies and percentages. Binary logistic Regression analysis was done to determine associations between the variables.

 Results:

 83.6% of the respondents were of the Lango tribe, 64.9% were in the second trimester of their pregnancy, 59.1% were in the age bracket of 20-29 years, 56.0% were married,  43.1% attained secondary level of education, 225(53.7%), were suffering from malaria diagnosed by a qualified health worker, currently or in the past 1 month and had the cardinal symptoms of malaria, 89.3% of them had headache as a symptom. 341(81.4%) had a fair overall knowledge of malaria. 407(97.1%) reported to have heard about malaria, 381(90.9%) heard about malaria from health workers, 210(50.1%) heard that malaria kills/is a killer disease, 405(96.7%) said that malaria is spread by mosquitoes, 363(86.6%) identified fever with chills and rigors as the signs and symptoms of malaria in pregnancy. Results from multivariate analysis show that a PG with poor knowledge about malaria (AOR at 95% CI:3.117) was more likely to suffer from malaria (p<0.05).

 Conclusion:

There was a high prevalence of malaria among Prime gravidas. There was a significant association between knowledge, practices, and the prevalence of malaria among Prime Gravidas in Lira City, Northern Uganda.

 Recommendation:

Health education programs should be implemented to improve PGs' knowledge of malaria.