Assessing demand-side barriers to uptake of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in pregnancy

Abstract

To prevent malaria infection during pregnancy in endemic areas in Africa, the World Health Organization recommends the administration of intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) as part of the focused antenatal care package. However, IPTp uptake in most countries remains low despite generally high antenatal care coverage and increased efforts by governments to address known bottlenecks such as drug stock-outs. The study explored factors that continue to impede uptake of IPTp among women who attend antenatal care. This paper focuses on demand-side barriers with regard to accessibility, affordability and acceptability. The research was conducted in 2013/2014 and involved 46 in-depth interviews with district health officials, health workers, women who attended antenatal care and opinion leaders. Interviews were conducted in Eastern and West Nile regions of Uganda. This research is supported by the Department for International Development’s COMDIS–HSD Programme which is led by the University of Leeds