Possession, Attitudes and Perceptions of Insecticide-treated Bed Nets among Pregnant Women in a Post Conflict District in Northern Uganda.

ABSTRACT

Background: The use of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) is one of the main strategies to control malaria in Uganda. The Uganda’s Ministry of Health had set a target of 50% of households to be covered with ITNs by the year 2007. This study aims at determining ITN possession, attitudes and perceptions among pregnant women who were living in internally displaced persons’ (IDP) Camps where buildings offered little or no protection against mosquitoes in Gulu district. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in 20 randomly selected IDP camps in Aswa and Omoro counties, Gulu district, Northern Uganda. Probability proportion to size cluster sampling technique was used to determine the numbers of expectant mothers in the selected camps. Consecutive sampling method was used by moving to the next nearest household until the required numbers of respondents were generated from each camp. Data was collected using well designed pretested questionnaires. The questionnaires were administered by trained research assistants who were fluent in the local language (Acholi). Results: ITN possession 42% of respondents (95% CI 0.39 – 0.46) possessed ITN. 98% of the respondents reported that it was good to use ITN. 97% of the respondents perceive ITN as being effective at preventing mosquitoes bites which transmit malaria. 96% of the respondents who owned ITN were willing to continue using ITNs. Factors associated with ITN possession were; Having attended antenatal services (aOR 1.92, 95% CI 1.24 – 2.98, P-value 0.004); Having attained formal education (aOR 1.55, 95% CI 1.03 - 2.35, P-value 0.036); Willingness to buy ITN (aOR 1.98, 95% CI 1.22–3.21, P-value 0.006) and Willingness to recommend ITN use to others (aOR 3.77, 95% CI 1.12 – 12.77, P-value 0.033). Conclusion: Majority of the respondents had positive attitudes and perceptions towards ITN use. However, more than half of the respondents lacked ITN which was below the target set by Uganda Ministry of Health. Therefore government and other stakeholders should scale up free ITN distributions among the vulnerable groups if the Ministry of Health and the Roll Back Malaria Global Partnership Target is to be achieved.