Publications

Globally, there was a significant decrease in the number of malaria-risk pregnancies between 2007 and 2020. Therisk of Plasmodium falciparum or Plasmodium vivax malaria increased by 25% in Africa compared to 2007. Due to thefast-expanding population and associated rise in pregnancies in malaria-endemic areas, the number of people at riskin Africa has increased despite malaria rates declining in the region. This study determined the prevalence andfactors associated with malaria in pregnancy among women attending Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital. Thiswas a single-center health facility-based cross-sectional study. Data was collected using a face-to-face interviewthrough a structured questionnaire from willing participants. After collecting the data, the principal investigatorchecked the completed questionnaires for consistency and completeness. Data was coded, cleaned, and entered intothe computer using Microsoft Excel, and then analyzed using SPSS version 20. Logistic regression analysis wasdone to ascertain the relationship between dependent and independent variables. Descriptive statistics weresummarized in the form of frequency tables, pie charts, p-values, and odds ratios. A total of 253 pregnant mothersattending ANC were enrolled in this study. The majority (38.3%) of the study participants were aged 30-39 years,attained secondary education (52.2%), earned 100,000–200,000 per month (56.9%), and were housewives (51.0%). Inthis study, the prevalence of malaria in pregnancy was 10.3%. Age, level of education, income status, and residence,use of an ITN, gravidity, and ANC follow-up were significantly associated with malaria in pregnancy at multivariatelogistic regression analysis. Malaria continues to be a major public health issue among pregnant mothers. Age, levelof education, income status, and residence, use of an ITN, gravidity, and ANC follow-up were factors significantlyassociated with malaria in pregnancy.Keywords: Pregnancies, Malaria, Plasmodium, ITN, ANC.