Differentials in prevalence and correlates on uptake of tetanus toxoid and intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine during pregnancy: A community-based cross-sectional study in The Gambia

Objectives: The study examined the differentials in prevalence and correlates on the uptake of tetanus toxoid and intermittent preventive treatment of malaria among pregnant women in The Gambia. Methods: The 2018 data from The Gambia Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey were analyzed. Data from 6143 women of reproductive age who have given birth were extracted for the analysis. Percentages and Chi-square tests were used. In addition, a multivariable logistic regression model was used to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (with a corresponding 95% confidence interval). The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: The prevalence of tetanus toxoid uptake among women in The Gambia was 88.2%, while that of the adequate tetanus toxoid doses was 34.8%. The prevalence of intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine uptake among maternal women in The Gambia was 98.6%, while that of the adequate intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine doses taken was 34.3%. The identified statistically significant covariates of tetanus toxoid immunization and intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine uptake includes women’s age, local government areas, parity, use of radio, use of newspaper, and antenatal care visits. Conclusion: The current utilization rate for adequate intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and tetanus toxoid immunization during pregnancy in The Gambia is very low and even below universal levels. The country needs to strengthen more and effective mass media advocacy programs that would target both rural and urban populace, and motivate maternal women to ensure adequate vaccination against malaria and tetanus.

Malaria Prevalence and Associated Factors among Pregnant Women Attending their First Antenatal Care in Kole and Kyenjojo Districts in Uganda

Malaria during pregnancy has negative consequences to both the mother and fetus. In 2019, there were an estimated 33million pregnancies globally, of which 35% were exposed to malaria in Africa. To avert the consequences, the Uganda Ministry of Health is implementing approaches for effective prevention with intermittent preventive treatment, use Insecticide-Treated Nets (ITN), prompt diagnosis, and treatment through antenatal care (ANC). This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of malaria and associated factors among pregnant women attending their first ANC visit in Kole and Kyenjojo Districts in Uganda. A cross-sectional study design was conducted among 760 randomly selected pregnant women. Quantitative data was collected using a structured questionnaire to gather participants’ demographic, obstetric, coverage, and use of malaria preventive methods and laboratory results on malaria, anaemia, and HIV. Data was analyzed using STATA 15. Chi-square, odds ratio, and logistic regression were used to test for associations. The overall prevalence of malaria was 11.1%, varying from 6.8% in Kyenjojo to 15.3% in Kole District. Most cases were caused by P. falciparum. Factors associated with malaria were age of mother (aOR: 0.44, 95% CI: 0.21-0.88), residence in Kyenjojo (aOR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.26-0.88), multiparity (aOR: 0.38, 95% CI: 0.16-0.91), anaemia (aOR: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.12-4.00) and ITN non-use (aOR: 6.17, 95% CI: 2.76-13.86). Malaria prevalence was low and varied between districts. Age, gravidity, gestational age, and ITN use had a significant association with malaria. Therefore, early screening and identification of mothers at most risk of complications during pregnancy is needed, plus improving ANC.

Malaria health seeking practices for children, and intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy in Wakiso District, Uganda

Background: Timely health care among children with suspected malaria, and intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp) in pregnancy avert related morbidity and mortality in endemic regions especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria burden has steadily been declining in endemic countries due to progress made in scaling up of such important interventions. Objectives: The study assessed malaria health seeking practices for children under five years of age, and IPTp in Wakiso district, Uganda. Methods: A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 727 households. Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were performed in STATA to ascertain factors associated with the place where treatment for children with suspected malaria was first sought (government versus private facility) and uptake of IPTp. Results: Among caretakers of children with suspected malaria, 69.8% sought care on the day of onset of symptoms. The place where treatment was first sought for the children (government versus private) was associated with participants’ (household head or other adult) age (p < 0.001), education level (p < 0.001) and household income (p = 0.011). Among women who had a child in the five years preceding the study, 179 (63.0%) had obtained two or more IPTp doses during their last pregnancy. Uptake of two or more IPTp doses was associated with the women’s education level (p = 0.006), having heard messages about malaria through mass media (p = 0.008), knowing the recommended number of IPTp doses (p < 0.001), and knowing the drug used in IPTp (p < 0.001). Conclusion: There is need to improve malaria health seeking practices among children and pregnant women particularly IPTp through programmes aimed at increasing awareness among the population. Keywords: Health seeking behaviour; intermittent preventive treatment; malaria; children; pregnancy; Uganda.

Factors Influencing Health Workers’ Compliance with the WHO Intermittent Preventive Treatment for Malaria in Pregnancy Recommendations in the Northern Region, Ghana

Background Although IPTp-SP is a lifesaving WHO recommended preventive intervention for pregnant women in malaria-endemic regions, IPTp-SP uptake in the Northern region of Ghana is much lower than the sub-optimal national coverage level. Assessing the extent of health workers’ compliance and its associated factors will generate valuable pointers to be targeted at the program level. The study examined the factors influencing health workers’ compliance with the WHO recommended guidelines for IPTp-SP in the Northern Region. Methods A cross-sectional study among 315 health workers in the Northern region was conducted. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data on health workers’ sociodemographic characteristics, facility-based factors and knowledge level. Data were collected on health workers’ compliance with the recommended practices through covert observations using a checklist. Facility observations were carried out using a checklist. Crude and adjusted logistic regression were used to determine predictors of health workers’ compliance, at 5% significance level adjusting for clustering. Results Of the 315 health workers studied, the median age was 29 years (26 – 34 years). Females constituted 252 (80.5%) of the 313 workers. The majority 148 (47.44%) of the 312 health workers were midwives. Overall, 56.2% (CI 51.0 – 62.0) were adequately complying with the recommended guidelines. Lower levels of compliance were recorded in health centers 15.6% (5.0 - 33.0) and CHPS compounds 21.2% (11.0 - 35.0). The factors associated with compliance included health workers’ knowledge (aOR = 7.64, 95% CI 4.21 - 13.87, p<0.001), job satisfaction (aOR 10.87, 95%CI 7.04 - 16.79, p<0.001), in-service training (aOR 10.11, 95%CI 4.53 - 22.56, p<0.001), supervision (aOR 4.01, 95%CI 2.09 - 7.68, p<0.001), availability of job aids (aOR 3.61, 95%CI 2.44 - 5.35, p<0.001), health workers experience (aOR = 10.64, 95% CI 5.99 - 18.91, p<0.001) and facility type (aOR 0.03, 95%CI 0.01 - 0.07, p<0.001). Conclusion Compliance with the recommended IPTp-SP guidelines is suboptimal in the region, with lower-level health facilities recording the least compliance levels. Health centers and CHPS facilities should be prioritized in distributing limited resources to improve health worker quality of care for antenatal care clients.

Temporal evolution of the resistance genotypes of Plasmodium falciparum in isolates from Equatorial Guinea during 20 years (1999 to 2019)

Background Malaria is one of the deadliest diseases in the world, particularly in Africa. As such, resistance to anti-malarial drugs is one of the most important problems in terms of global malaria control. This study assesses the evolution of the different resistance markers over time and the possible influence of interventions and treatment changes that have been made in Equatorial Guinea. Methods A total of 1223 biological samples obtained in the period 1999 to 2019 were included in the study. Screening for mutations in the pfdhfr, pfdhps, pfmdr1, and pfcrt genes was carried out by nested PCR and restriction-fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs), and the study of pfk13 genes was carried out by nested PCR, followed by sequencing to determine the presence of mutations. Results The partially and fully resistant haplotypes (pfdhfr + pfdhps) were found to increase over time. Moreover, in 2019, the fully resistant haplotype was found to be increasing, although its super-resistant counterpart remains much less prevalent. A continued decline in pfmdr1 and pfcrt gene mutations over time was also found. The number of mutations detected in pfk13 has increased since 2008, when artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) were first introduced, with more mutations being observed in 2019, with two synonymous and five non-synonymous mutations being detected, although these are not related to resistance to ACT. In addition, the non-synonymous A578S mutation, which is the most frequent on the African continent, was detected in 2013, although not in the following years. Conclusions Withdrawal of the use of chloroquine (CQ) as a treatment in Equatorial Guinea has been shown to be effective over time, as wild-type parasite populations outnumber mutant populations. The upward trend observed in sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) resistance markers suggest its misuse, either alone or in combination with artesunate (AS) or amodiaquine (AQ), in some areas of the country, as was found in a previous study conducted by this group, which allows selective pressure from SP to continue. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) 540E and 581G do not exceed the limit of 50 and 10%, respectively, thus meaning that SP is still effective as an intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) in this country. As for the pfk13 gene, no mutations have been detected in relation to resistance to ACT. However, in 2019 there is a greater accumulation of non-synonymous mutations compared to years prior to 2008. Graphical Abstract

Identifying an optimal dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine dosing regimen for malaria prevention in young Ugandan children

Intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) is highly protective against malaria in children, but is not standard in malaria-endemic countries. Optimal DP dosing regimens will maximize efficacy and reduce toxicity and resistance selection. We analyze piperaquine (PPQ) concentrations (n = 4573), malaria incidence data (n = 326), and P. falciparum drug resistance markers from a trial of children randomized to IPT with DP every 12 weeks (n = 184) or every 4 weeks (n = 96) from 2 to 24 months of age (NCT02163447). We use nonlinear mixed effects modeling to establish malaria protective PPQ levels and risk factors for suboptimal protection. Compared to DP every 12 weeks, DP every 4 weeks is associated with 95% protective efficacy (95% CI: 84–99%). A PPQ level of 15.4 ng/mL reduces the malaria hazard by 95%. Malnutrition reduces PPQ exposure. In simulations, we show that DP every 4 weeks is optimal across a range of transmission intensities, and age-based dosing improves malaria protection in young or malnourished children.

Using Andersen’s Behavioural Model of Health Services use to Examine usage of Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria in Pregnancy in Nigeria

Background: Studies in Nigeria and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa have explored factors influencing usage of intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp). However, most of the studies are not model or theory-based, which provides less satisfactory guidance to malaria control programming. This study fills the knowledge gap by adapting the Andersen’s behavioural model of health services use to IPTp usage in Nigeria.Methods: This study adopted a cross-sectional design that utilised secondary data extracted from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). A weighted sample of 4,772 women who had deliveries in the past year preceding the survey was analysed. The outcome variable was usage of IPTp dichotomised into optimal or otherwise. The explanatory variables cut across individual and community levels, and were divided into predisposing, enabling and need factors in line with the theoretical constructs of the Andersen model. Two multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression models were fitted to identify the factors influencing optimal usage of IPTp. Analyses were performed using Stata 14. Statistical significance was set at 5%. Results: The realised level of optimal IPTp usage was 21.8%. The factors that either predispose or enables a pregnant woman to take optimal doses of IPTp are age, education, being employed, being autonomous on own healthcare, health insurance enrolment, partner education, receiving antenatal care in public health facility, rural residence, being resident in northern geo-political zones, community literacy level, and community perception of the consequences of malaria. Two significant need factors affecting optimal usage of IPTp are timing of first antenatal care contact and actual sleeping under mosquito bed net. Conclusion: Optimal usage of IPTp is low among pregnant women in Nigeria. There is need to devise additional public health education programme promoting IPTp usage through the formation of Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilisation (ACSM) core group in every ward in all the local government areas in the country. In addition, health planners in the country should adopt the use of the Andersen model for assessing key determinants of IPTp usage among childbearing women in the country.

Evaluation of the Intermittent Preventive Therapy in Pregnancy using Sulphadoxine/ Pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) Program in Chiredzi District, Zimbabwe, 2021

Background Intermittent Preventive Treatment in Pregnancy (IPTp) with Sulphadoxine/ Pyrimethamine (SP) is used for the prevention of malaria among pregnant women in Zimbabwe. The program is integrated into routine Antenatal care (ANC) where a minimum of three doses is recommended during each pregnancy. The third dose coverage for Chiredzi District has consistently been below the 80% target coverage. We evaluated IPTp implementation in Chiredzi to understand the reasons for underperformance. Methods An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted using a Process-Outcome evaluation with the Logical Framework Approach. We interviewed 50 women in postnatal care and determined ANC services accessed using their ANC booklets. Health workers were interviewed for knowledge of the program. Stock availability and drug delivery records were reviewed using checklists at five high-volume sites. Epi Info 7.2.4.0™ was used for data capturing and analysis. The software was used to calculate frequencies, medians, proportions, odds ratios and p-values at a 95% confidence interval. The outcome variable was receiving ≥3 doses of SP which was computed against the independent variables such as client-related characteristics to determine which factors were contributory using univariate and bivariate analysis. Results Only 12/50 (24%) women received ≥3 doses of SP during their pregnancy. Two (4%) women started their ANC visits in the first trimester. Thirty-three (66%) had missed at least one SP dose during their ANC visit because of medicine unavailability. Knowing the number of times SP is given (OR 11.9; 95% CI 2.54-55.8) and having attended at least 4 ANC visits (OR 13.6; 95% CI 1.59 -116.0) increased the likelihood of receiving adequate SP dosing. Conclusions The IPTp-SP program in Chiredzi District was underperforming, we attributed this largely to health system factors. Erratic supply and stock-outs of SP resulted in clients missing SP doses. Clients also missed SP doses because of late ANC booking and lack of knowledge on IPTp benefits. Improving stock management and raising community awareness on prevention of malaria among pregnant women was recommended.