Iriemenam N C, Dosunmu A O, Oyibo W A, Fagbenro-Beyioku A F
Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Medicine of the University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.
J Vector Borne Dis. 2011 Mar;48(1):12-7.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Little information exists on the compliance of pregnant women to malaria management in malaria endemic countries. This study was designed to access knowledge, attitude, perception and home management of malaria among consenting pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) clinic.
In total, 350 pregnant women were randomly recruited during their ANC Clinic in Lagos. Structured questionnaires were administered in a two-stages research design; first during their early months of ANC visit and the second approximately 1-2 months before delivery. Information on occupation, parity, symptoms used to recognise malaria, treatment sources, control measures, knowledge factors, anti-vector measures, health-seeking practices, malaria parasitaemia and packed cell volume (PCV) were recorded.
The results revealed that 78.9% of the pregnant women identified infected mosquitoes as the cause of malaria while 86% of the pregnant women identified stagnant water as its breeding sites. Knowledge of the benefit of insecticide-treated mosquito bednets was less prominent as most of the selected subjects decried its high market price. Our data also showed that educational programme targeted on potential mothers is beneficial. Overall, 27.4% (96/350) of the pregnant women had peripheral malaria infection with 88.5% (85/96) of the parasite positive women infected with Plasmodium falciparum and 11.5% (11/96) with P. malariae. PCV ranged from 20-40% (median 33.9%) with 25.7% (90/350) of the pregnant women being anaemic with PCV <33%. We found an association between malaria infection and occupation, and this association was not influenced by parity.
INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: Our findings revealed that improvement in knowledge and education of women of child-bearing age has an influential impact on malaria control.
在疟疾流行国家，关于孕妇对疟疾管理的依从性的信息较少。本研究旨在了解参加产前保健（ANC）诊所的孕妇对疟疾的知识、态度、认知及家庭管理情况。
在拉各斯的ANC诊所，共随机招募了350名孕妇。采用两阶段研究设计进行结构化问卷调查；第一次在她们初次进行ANC检查的早期阶段，第二次在分娩前约1 - 2个月。记录有关职业、产次、用于识别疟疾的症状、治疗来源、控制措施、知识因素、防蚊媒措施、就医行为、疟疾寄生虫血症和红细胞压积（PCV）的信息。
结果显示，78.9%的孕妇认为感染的蚊子是疟疾的病因，而86%的孕妇认为积水是其滋生地。对经杀虫剂处理的蚊帐的益处的了解并不突出，因为大多数被选对象抱怨其市场价格高昂。我们的数据还表明，针对准母亲的教育项目是有益的。总体而言，27.4%（96/350）的孕妇有外周血疟疾感染，其中88.5%（85/96）的寄生虫阳性女性感染的是恶性疟原虫，11.5%（11/96）感染的是间日疟原虫。PCV范围为20 - 40%（中位数为33.9%），25.7%（90/350）的孕妇因PCV<33%而贫血。我们发现疟疾感染与职业之间存在关联，且这种关联不受产次影响。
我们的研究结果表明，提高育龄妇女的知识水平和教育程度对疟疾控制有显著影响。
