Conference abstract
Analysis of malaria diagnosis and treatment data amongst pregnant women after the implementation of test-treat-track policy, Brong Ahafo Region-2017
Pan African Medical Journal - Conference Proceedings. 2017:3(93).27
Oct 2017.
doi: 10.11604/pamj-cp.2017.3.93.218
Archived on: 27 Oct 2017
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Keywords: Malaria, pregnant women, laboratory diagnosis
Oral presentation
Analysis of malaria diagnosis and treatment data amongst pregnant women after the implementation of test-treat-track policy, Brong Ahafo Region-2017
Asare-Ntow Kofi1,&, George Kuma1, Micheal Rockson Adjei1
1Ghana Health Service, Tain, Ghana
&Corresponding author
Asare-Ntow Kofi, Ghana Health Service, Tain, Ghana
Introduction: in 2015, WHO estimated 212 million malaria cases, with resulting 429 000 deaths globally. In the same year, Africa recorded 90% of malaria cases and 92% of malaria deaths. In Ghana, among pregnant women, malaria accounts for 17.6% of OPD attendance, 13.7% of admissions, and 3.4% of maternal deaths. Strategy for malaria control in endemic countries hinges on diagnosis, treatment, and surveillance. However, the proportion of suspected Malaria treated without laboratory diagnosis has remained high. In 2012, WHO initiated the Test-Treat-Track (T3) policy to reduce the proportion of suspected malaria not confirmed by a laboratory before treatment. We analyzed malaria data amongst pregnant women to determine trends of laboratory diagnosis to provide information on the progress of the T3 policy in the Brong Ahafo Region (BAR).
Methods: we conducted a retrospective descriptive data analysis of suspected malaria among pregnant women in BAR, for the period 2012 to 2016. We abstracted data from the District Health Information Management System (DHIMS) data base, consulting room, admissions and Ante-natal Clinic registers. Variables collected included diagnostic and treatment status, age, and district of residence. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel for frequencies and proportions and presented in text, tables, and charts.
Results: a total of 99,896 pregnant women were suspected of malaria for the period 2012-2015 in BAR. The age range was 10-49 years (median 26 years). Majority of suspected cases were age group 20-34years, 4560/99896 (4.6%). Of the total suspected cases, 7826/99896 (7.8%) were treated without laboratory diagnosis confirmation. The trend of proportion of suspected cases not confirmed by laboratory was 2014, 3.3% (3336/99896), 2015, 1.9% (1849/99896), and 2016, 2.6% (2641/99896). There was no data for laboratory confirmed cases for the period 2012 and 2013 in the DHIMS data base. The highest proportion of suspected cases without laboratory confirmation was from Techiman Municipal 12.8% (1004/7826), while the least proportion was from Nkoranza North 0.3% (21/7826).
Conclusion: the proportion of treated malaria in pregnancy not confirmed by a laboratory has increased from 2015 (1.9%) to 2016 (2.6%) in BAR, despite the T3 policy implementation. We recommend Brong Ahafo regional health directorate to sensitize clinician on the need for laboratory testing before treatment of malaria amongst pregnant women.
