Households with insufficient bednets in a village with sufficient bednets: evaluation of household bednet coverage using bednet distribution index in Xepon district, Lao PDR

ABSTRACT

InLao PDR, the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) evaluates bednet coverage,often at the village level, using a coverage target of one net per 2.5 (or fewer)persons in a given population. However, in villages that meet the target, notall households necessarily meet the target or utilize all available bednets. Thisstudy explored households that fell short of the target and household utilizationof bednets in villages that met the target of bednet coverage set by the NMCP. Thepersons per net ratio (PPNR), which is defined as the population divided by thenumber of available bednets in a household/village, was used to determine whethera household/village met the NMCP target. Using a household survey, we collectedand analyzed the data of 635 households in 17 villages in Xepon district in2012. Households that fell short of the target (households with a PPNR of >2.5 or no bednet) existed in every village. The proportion of these households differedgreatly among the villages, ranging from 3.4–50%, with some households fallingfar short. Of the 635 households, 275 (43.5%) had at least one bednet that wasnot being used on the night preceding the survey and 131 (20.6%) had at leasttwo. In conclusion, in villages that met the NMCP target, a considerable numberof households fell short of the target. Available bednets were not fullyutilized in many of the surveyed households.