Factors Associated with Utilization of Insecticide Treated Nets Among Residents of Kamwenge Town Council-Kamwenge District-Uganda

Abstract

Background: Malaria continues to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. In Uganda, malaria remains the leading cause of morbidity, accounting for 30 to 50 percent of outpatient visits, 15 to 20 percent of admissions, and 9 to 14 percent of inpatient deaths. The first national-wide Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) coverage campaign was launched in 2010 targeted at households with pregnant women and children below 5yrs of age. Objective: To determine the factors associated with utilization of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) among residents of Kamwenge Town Council, Kamwenge District-Western Uganda. Methodology: The study design was cross-sectional in which data were collected using an interviewer administered structured questionnaire and analyzed using Stata version 13. Results: A total of 285 respondents were interviewed of which 39.7% were male. Ownership of ITNs was 60% whereas utilization in the night prior to the study was 54.4%. The factors associated with the ownership of the ITNs included: marital status: married respondents (p=0.05), level of education (p=0.001), knowledge of malaria cause (p=0.033), presence of children under 5 years (p=0.025). The factors associated with the utilization of ITNs included: marital status of the respondents: married respondents (p=0.018), education level (p=0.009), presence of children under five years (p=0.048), knowledge of cause of malaria (p=0.019), having faced challenges in using ITNs (p=0.001), and malaria episode in the last one month (p=0.011). Conclusion: The study concludes that the ownership and utilization of ITNs were low since they were all below the national target of universal coverage. The factors statistically associated with the ownership of the ITNs included: marital status, level of education, knowledge of malaria cause and the number of children under 5 years in a household. The factors statistically associated with the utilization of ITNs were marital status, education level of the respondents, and presence of children under five years of age in the household, having knowledge about malaria, having faced challenges in using ITNs in the past and malaria episode in the last one month.