Prevalence of malaria and associated factors among pregnant women in East Dembia District Northwest Ethiopia

Background Even though several measures have been taken to eliminate malaria, its burden remains persistently high in Sub-Saharan Africa. More than 125 million pregnant women are at risk of getting malaria per year. There is a scarcity of community based evidence on malaria prevalence among pregnant women and associated factors in Northwest Ethiopia. This study aimed to generate evidence on the prevalence and associated factors of malaria among pregnant women in East Dembia district, North West Ethiopia. Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June 2022 in East Dembia district, Northwest Ethiopia. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 821 pregnant women. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Malaria was diagnosed using rapid diagnostic testing. The data was entered using EPI info version 7 and transferred to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Descriptive statistics were presented using frequency and percentages. Bivariable and multivariable binary logistic regression models were fitted to identify factors associated with malaria infection among pregnant women. Variables having p-value < 0.2 were considered in the multivariable analysis. And a p value of < 0.05 was used as the cut-off value for statistical significance in the multivariable models. Adjusted odds ratio with its 95% confidence interval was used to measure the strength of the association. Results In this study, 111 (14%, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 10.20-19.40%) of the participants were found to have malaria. Among these, 82 (73.80%) of the parasite-positive pregnant women were infected with Plasmodium falciparum, and the remaining 23 (20.72%) and 6 (5.41%) were infected with Plasmodium vivax and mixed species respectively. In the multivariate analysis; unprotected source of water (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR): 14.99; 95% CI: 1.08-207.50), utilization insecticide-treated bed net (ITN) (AOR: 0.13; 95% CI: 0.03-0.49) stagnant water less than 1Killo meter (KM) distance from home (AOR: 3.52; 95% CI: 1.16-10.74), ownership bed net (AOR: 0.10; 95% CI: 0.04-0.70) were significantly associated with malaria among pregnant women. Conclusion Malaria is still a public health problem among pregnant women in East Dembia district. The present study indicated that adequate distribution of bed net, its community ownership, and eradication of stagnant water in regular basis might be helpful to prevent and control malaria. In addition, screening pregnant women for asymptomatic malaria infection and distribution of proper utilization of bed nets shall be provided.