Prevention Practices, Accessibility and Availability of Roll Back Malaria Programme among Pregnant Women in Nsukka Local Government Area, Enugu State

Abstract

Malaria is one of the most preventable causes of adverse birth outcomes. The population at the highest risk for malaria includes children, the non-immune and pregnant women. The study investigated the prevention practices, accessibility and availability of Roll Back Malaria Programme among pregnant women in Nsukka Local Government Area (LGA), Enugu State. To achieve this purpose, three research questions were posed. The descriptive survey design was used for the study. The population for the study was 1,715 pregnant women and health workers residing within the eight wards in Nsukka LGA. Purposive sampling technique was used to select a sample of 450 respondents. A 15-item researcher-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Frequency and percentages were used for data analysis. The findings showed that the level of prevention practices of malaria among pregnant women and health workers in Nsukka LGA is very high (89.15%); accessibility to insecticide treated net among pregnant women and health workers in Nsukka LGA is moderately high (67.84%); roll back malaria programme is moderately available (68.38%) among pregnant women and health workers in Nsukka LGA. Hence, the government should establish functional enforcement agencies to enhance availability and accessibility of roll back malaria services and preventive measures for malaria infection and diseases.