Effect of insecticide-treated bed net usage on under-five mortality in northern Ghana.

Clifford Afoakwah,Jacob Nunoo,Francis Kwaw Andoh

doi:10.1186/s12936-015-0827-8

Clifford Afoakwah, Jacob Nunoo + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-015-0827-8

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Journal: Malaria journal	Publication Date: Aug 7, 2015
Citations: 24	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: University of Ghana, University of Cape Coast

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough under-five mortality rate seems to be declining in Ghana, the northern part of the country has higher levels of under-five mortality vis-à-vis the national rates. This research examines the correlates of the high under-five mortality among children in the northern part of Ghana, with emphasis on the usage of insecticide-treated bed net (ITN), as recommended by the World Health Organization.MethodsA total of 3,839 under-five children sourced from the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey—was used for this study. Univariate descriptive statistics was employed to describe the variables used for the empirical estimation. The maximum likelihood estimation technique was used to estimate a logit model in other to determine the effect of insecticide treated bed net usage on under-five mortality.ResultsInsecticide-treated bed net usage among children enhances their survival rates. Thus, under-five mortality among children who sleep under treated bed nets is about 18.8% lower than among children who do not sleep under treated bed nets. While health facility delivery was found to reduce to reduce under-five mortality, child bearing among older women is detrimental to the survival of the child.ConclusionsThe study, therefore, recommends that policies targeting reduction in under-five mortality in northern Ghana should consider not mere availability of ITNs in the household, but advocate the usage of these treated nets. The study recommends to the Ministry of Health to extend their services to unreached rural communities to encourage health facility delivery to reduce under-five mortality.

Highlights

Under-five mortality rate seems to be declining in Ghana, the northern part of the country has higher levels of under-five mortality vis-à-vis the national rates
In terms of health facility delivery as a proxy for skilled birth attendant, about 9.3% of children were delivered at a health facility
The odds ratio 0.812 implies that underfive mortality among children who sleep under treated bed nets is 18.8% lower than among children who do not sleep under treated bed nets

Summary

Introduction

Under-five mortality rate seems to be declining in Ghana, the northern part of the country has higher levels of under-five mortality vis-à-vis the national rates. This research examines the correlates of the high under-five mortality among children in the northern part of Ghana, with emphasis on the usage of insecticide-treated bed net (ITN), as recommended by the World Health Organization. There is a declining trend in the national under-five mortality rate in Ghana, the three northern regions—Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions—still experience a high incidence of under-five death. In 2003, while the national average of underfive mortality was estimated to be 111 deaths per 1,000 live births, that of the Northern, Upper East and Upper West were estimated to be 154, 79, and 154, respectively. While the 2008 demographic and health survey (DHS) indicated a significant reduction in under-five mortality rate of 80 per 1,000 live births, the northern, Upper East, and Upper West regions were recorded as 137, 79, and 142, respectively [2, 3]

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