Anti-malarial Drug Use in Pregnant Women in Uganda
Author Information
Author(s): Sangaré Laura R, Weiss Noel S, Brentlinger Paula E, Richardson Barbra A, Staedke Sarah G, Kiwuwa Mpungu S, Stergachis Andy
Primary Institution: University of Washington
Hypothesis
To determine the degree to which presumed episodes of uncomplicated symptomatic malaria in pregnancy were treated with a recommended anti-malarial regimen in a region of Uganda.
Conclusion
Self-reported malaria was extremely common in this population and adherence to treatment guidelines for the management of malaria in pregnancy was poor.
Supporting Evidence
- 67% of participants reported self-reported malaria during pregnancy.
- 85% of self-reported malaria episodes were treated with an anti-malarial drug.
- Only 5.6% of first trimester episodes were treated with a recommended anti-malarial.
Takeaway
Many pregnant women in Uganda think they have malaria and often take the wrong medicine to treat it, which can be harmful.
Methodology
Interviews were conducted with a random sample of 500 women who had been pregnant in the past year.
Potential Biases
Recall bias may be present, but is unlikely to be significant as most women believed they had malaria at least once.
Limitations
Data on parasitologically confirmed cases of malaria were unavailable, and the source of non-SP anti-malarial medications was not ascertained.
Participant Demographics
{"age_distribution":{"≤18 years":10.0,"19 - 24 years":40.8,"25 - 34 years":36.4,"≥35 years":12.8},"marital_status":{"married":90.2},"education":{"none":6.8,"primary":70.0,"secondary_or_postsecondary":23.2},"religion":{"Christian":61.0,"Muslim":39.0},"village_type":{"rural":74.4,"peri-urban":25.6}}
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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