Abstract
IntroductionAn estimated 125 million pregnancies around the world are at risk of malaria infection every year. Insecticide Treated Bed Nets is a form of personal protection that has reportedly been shown to reduce severe disease and mortality due to malaria in endemic regions. This study investigated ownership and utilization of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in Wa Municipality of Ghana.MethodsA cross-sectional study design was adopted to collect data among 394 pregnant women in six antenatal clinics. A two stage sampling technique was adopted and the data collection tool used was a semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics involving logistic regression were performed using Stata 14.ResultsMore (33.3%) of the pregnant women were aged between 25-29 years with no formal education (29.9%) whiles most (69.6%) of the pregnant women were in Islam religion. About 95.9% have heard about Long Lasting Insecticide Nets and its benefits. Intuitively, ownership of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets was 82.2% with 69.3% utilization of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets. Pregnant women aged 30-34 and 35 years and above were significant predictors, however, less likely to own Long Lasting Insecticide Nets compared to 15-19 years [AOR(95%CI)=0.29(0.10-0.87) and 0.08(0.01-0.72) respectively] whiles pregnant women aged 35 years and above were significantly less likely to utilize Long Lasting Insecticide Nets compared to 15-19 years [OR(95%CI)=0.12(0.03-0.48)].ConclusionThe study found utilization of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets among pregnant in the Wa Municipality low as compared to the National Malaria Control Program target in Ghana although Long Lasting Insecticide Nets ownership was high. The study recommends that Public Health Nurses and Disease Control Officers should intensify sensitization on the importance and misconception of the use of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets during outreach clinics.
Highlights
Malaria is a public health problem in the world that threatens the lives of 3.2 billion people and leads to over one million deaths annually [1]
In Malawi for instance awareness of bed net was as high as 70%, while Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLIN) use was as low as 3% [5]
The study found out that age, educational status, and occupation were found as statistically significant predictor of pregnant women ownership of LLIN in this study
Summary
Malaria is a public health problem in the world that threatens the lives of 3.2 billion people and leads to over one million deaths annually [1]. At least 300 million acute cases of malaria occur each year worldwide with about 90% of malaria deaths occurring in Africa [1, 2]. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), 80-90% of the world's malaria cases occur of which approximately 19-24 million women are at risk of malaria and its adverse consequences during pregnancy [3]. The use of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) is one of the effective intervention strategy for the prevention of malaria in endemic areas [3, 4]. Awareness-use nexus of bed net use and the outcomes for malaria are reported in some studies in Africa. In Malawi for instance awareness of bed net was as high as 70%, while Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLIN) use was as low as 3% [5]. In Ethiopia, from the total households surveyed, 89.94% (456) own at least one LLIN in a household whiles 85.1% (388) had utilized LLIN the night before the survey [7]
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