Assessment of Pregnancy Status, Malaria Knowledge and Malaria Fever Morbidity among Women of Reproductive Ages in Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Malaria is one the major health problem in Nigeria. During pregnancy, it poses serious threat to the survival of both unborn foetus and the mothers. This study determined the effect of adequate malaria knowledge and pregnancy status of women on use of mosquito nets and reported malaria fever morbidity. METHODS: The data were collected during the Malaria Indicator Survey (MIS) from 4632 women. Data analyses were carried out with descriptive statistics and Seemingly Unrelated Bivariate Probit regression. RESULTS: Results show that 13.19% of the women were pregnant, of which about one-third slept under mosquito nets. Also, 25.26% reported malaria associated fever in the previous two weeks to the time of interview, while 78.28% correctly answered that mosquitoes are responsible for malaria. Knowledge on malaria prevention was low with 55.70% and 14.93% indicating sleeping under mosquito nets and ITN, respectively. Probability of sleeping under mosquito nets significantly increased with knowing that sleeping under mosquito nets and ITN could prevent malaria while it decreased with having fever, age, urban residence and knowing that use of mosquito spray and coil can prevent malaria. The probability of having fever increased significantly with household size, being pregnant and age at first birth but decreased with age, knowing that sleeping under ITN, cutting grasses and closing door/windows would prevent malaria. CONCLUSIONS: Use of mosquito nets among the women was low. Also, efforts to enhance their knowledge on malaria prevention and ensuring adequate access to mosquito nets especially for pregnant women would curtail the impact of malaria.