Table 2 Categories, sub-categories and themes

1

Barriers of Intermittent preventive treatment use

Policy implementation

1–1 Financial obstacles (NMD,SMC,ME)

Inadequate budget for implementation of policies

1–2 Political obstacles (NMD,ME,HCP)

High population density in endemic areas, corruption in the health system

1–3 Social obstacles (NMD,ME)

Political reluctance

1–4 Geographical obstacles (NMD)

Hard to reach areas having rivers and mountains

2

Attendance of women for ANC

2–1 Education (NMD,ME,SMC,HCP)

Low education status of pregnant women

2–2 Husbands’ Support (ME,HCP,PW)

Some husbands don’t support their wives attending ANC due to cultural believes, low educational status or financial status.

2–3 Awareness creation (ME,HCP,PW)

Some pregnant women are not aware of the importance of attending ANC including the effect of Malaria in pregnancy

3

Distribution of IPTp in hospitals

3-1Availability of IPTp (HCP,ME,PW,H)

IPTp is little or sometimes unavailable in public hospitals,.

3–2 Coverage of IPTp (ME,HCP)

Low coverage of IPTp

3–3 Monitoring of IPTp in ANC wards (NMD)

No proper monitoring to ensure a secure supply of IPTp

4

Accessibility of IPTp in the communities

4–1 Out of pocket payment for IPTp (PW,H,ME,CH)

IPTp is not given for free at PHC

5

Facilitators of Intermittent preventive treatment use

Strengthening IPTp service delivery

5–1 Supervised treatment and providing relevant information to pregnant women (ME,HCP)

Training of health care providers on IPTp, the need to improve the quality of services in health facilities, directly observed therapy should be done in all health facilities as a routine

4–2 Community involvement (CH,H,ME)