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Introduction: Despite the increase in availability of bed nets in Muleba, utilization among households owning bed nets has not been satisfactory. Identifying individual and household factors associated with bed nets utilization is necessary to achieve the Global malaria action plan targets of reducing malaria related death to nearly zero and to reduce new cases by 75% at the end of 2015.
Objective: The main objective of the study was to determine the individual and household factors associated with low bed nets utilization among individuals of Muleba District.
Methods: Household cross section survey was conducted three months after the universal coverage campaign on July 2011. A total of 2,499 households were randomly selected and surveyed. Total number of individuals from these households was 13,766. Using standard adopted version of questionnaire, household heads or other resident adults were interviewed. Individual and household factors were investigated at household and village level clusters.
Results: Bed nets utilization was low across all the individual and household factors (<80%). At individual level pregnant (AOR=1.41; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.89 P=0.018) age e.g. 31+ (AOR=1.49 95% CI 1.61, 2.06 P<0.041) in individuals aged more than 31 years compared to 0-5 years and permanent residents (AOR=2.61; 95% CI: 1.35, 5.02 P <0.003) were associated with increased bed nets. In the household level, number of rooms, households attended in UCC, number of under fives , and SES were strongly associated with bed nets utilization (P=<0.001)
Discussion: Low bed nets utilization could be associated with low ownership as we have seen in the UCC one household were getting the maximum of only two coupons which was not enough compared to number of people. This could also supported by the evidence that riches had higher odds of using nets than poor and middle classes. Pregnant women and under fives had higher odds of using bed nets following many malaria interventions among these groups as they are malaria vulnerable groups.
Conclusion: Low bed nets utilization was observed in both individual and household factors (<80%). Age, pregnancy status and being a permanent resident in the household were the determinants of the bed net utilization at individual factors. Household head education level, households attended the UCC, under fives in the household and SES of the households was the positive determinants of bed nets utilization at the household level. |
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