UTILIZATION OF IPTP BY PREGNANT WOMEN ATTENDING ANTENATAL CARE AT DANGAMVURA AND SAKUBVA CLINICS OF MUTARE, ZIMBABWE

Sibongile Chituku PhD1, Helen V. Gundani PhD2 and Emmanuel Ifeanyi Obeagu, PhD3*

ABSTRACT

Background: Malaria remains a significant public health threat, particularly impacting children and pregnant women, with the majority of cases and deaths occurring in Africa. Despite the known risks of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality, the uptake of preventive antimalarials, such as intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) using sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (SP), remains low in endemic regions. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to assess the utilization of IPTp among pregnant women attending antenatal care at Dangamvura and Sakubva clinics in Mutare, Zimbabwe. Systematic random sampling was employed to select 80 participants. Although participants received IPTp medication for free and under supervision, only 46% (22.5% aged 20-24 years) took the initial dose within the recommended timeframe, while more than 41% received it only in the third trimester. Less than 40% of participants had not taken IPTp during previous pregnancies; among these, 15% had preterm births, 6.25% experienced abortions, and over 7% had stillbirths. Of the 36% who had taken IPTp in previous pregnancies, only 10% completed all three doses, all of whom had live births. Accessibility was relatively good, with 85% of participants residing within 10 km of the clinics. However, frequent stock-outs of medication and concerns about side effects were cited as barriers by 26% of women each. Conclusions: The utilization of IPTp was significantly affected by late booking for antenatal care, which hindered the completion of the recommended dosing schedule.

Keywords: Intermittent preventive treatment, Pregnant women, Sulfadoxinepyrimethamine, Antenatal care.