Abstract:
This study was carried out in an endemic area in Sri Lanka to describethe existing
knowledge and attitudes among pregnent woman and service provides assess the current
level of complience to chloroquine prophylaxis in prophylaxis in pregnency and to plan
,implement and evaluate interventions to improve compliance.The survey of pregnency
woman identified many deficiencies in knowledge .awareness of complications of malaria
during pregnency and methos of prevention were poor.medical practitioners had poor
knowledge of high risk groups in the populations and about the incresed risk of cerebral
malaria associated with pregnecy.Similar deficiecies in knowledge were identified among
field health staff.knowledge on high risk groups parasite vector and methods of prevention
were poor .These deficiencies in knowledge were reflected in the population.Three
inventions to improve complience health education leaflet strippacked chloquine tables and
film-coted chloroquine tablets were identified using focus group discussions among several
categories of stakeholdersthese were implemented and evaluated in the present study.The
success of the health education leaflet in this population may be related to the high level of
literecy seen in the community it apperas that increasing the mother's knowledge on
complications of malaria during pregnency ,to herself and to the foetus was sufficient to
improve complience Based on these findings it is recommended that this method be
employed on a larger scale to improve compliance.
