Compliance to intermittent preventive treatment of malaria among pregnant women in the Twifo Praso Health district

Abstract

Two main opposing views about compliance in medical health are: firstly it is not possible to ever have the entire clients to comply completely with regimens requirements, and secondly, through education or some other means it is possible to have clients comply. The possibility of clients complying with regimens however increases with strong partnership between clients and health care professionals. This study assessed the factors leading to the low patronage of SP-based IPT of malaria by pregnant women in the Twifo Praso Health District. Data were collected from 135 women who patronised SP-based IPT of malaria in pregnancy in the Twifo Praso Health District. In addition, five health workers were interviewed. The Spearman's Correlation technique was used to find the association between household income and the number of antenatal care (ANC) visits. Eighty-three percent of the clients knew they were susceptible to malaria, and its devastating effects and of the availability of SP-based IPT, yet only a few (26 percent) took the recommended three doses. Some of the women however were not provided with detailed information on the drug, and 50 percent visited ANC late due to inadequate funds. The Ghana Malaria Control Programme needs to involve all stakeholders in decision-making. Health workers should be given intensive training on the administration of the drug whilst both individuals and communities should be sensitized on malaria and its related issues.