Prevalence and factors associated with rural mothers' protection against tetanus: a cross-national analysis in 33 sub-Saharan African countries.

Background: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and South Asia account for most new cases of tetanus. Despite efforts by the World Health Organization to eradicate tetanus, it still causes many maternal mortalities. We examined the prevalence and risk factors associated with tetanus protection among rural mothers in 33 SSA countries.

Methods: Data were extracted from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys of 33 SSA countries. A sample of 162 601 women from rural areas was drawn. Both descriptive and binary logistic regression analyses were conducted.

Results: Overall, approximately half (49.3%) of rural mothers were protected against tetanus. The association between maternal age, education, marital status, working status, distance to the health facility and number of antenatal visits were statistically significant with rural mothers' protection from tetanus. Also, relationship to the household head, household size and frequency of listening to radio, reading a newspaper and watching television were statistically significant in predicting rural mothers' protection from tetanus.

Conclusions: Policies and interventions by stakeholders must target high-risk populations, including adult women, those of poorer wealth status, those without media exposure and mothers with low educational attainment.