Mosquito net ownership and factors associated with net usage, among children 0-12 years and their parents/caretakers, coming to Kasangati Health Centre, Uganda.

Abstract

Abstract Degree Project thesis, Programme in Medicine Mosquito net ownership and factors associated with net usage, among children 0-12 years and their parents/caretakers, coming to Kasangati Health Centre, Uganda. Josefin Henrysson, spring 2015 Supervisors: Dr. Rune Andersson, MD, PhD, Gothenburg University, Sweden. Dr. Ivan Nyenje, Kasangati Health Centre, Uganda. Department of Infectious Diseases, Sahlgrenska University Hospital Background: Malaria is a leading cause of death in Uganda, especially among children < 5 years. One of the most effective ways of protecting against malaria is a consistent use of an insecticide treated mosquito net (ITN). It has been shown in studies that community-level use of mosquito nets significantly reduces malaria transmission in children < 5 years. Aim: To map the frequency of net ownership and net usage among children 0-12 years and their parents. To see if there are any factors associated with net usage. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with randomly selected respondents who met inclusion criterias. Results: 100 % of the households owned at least one mosquito net. Over 90 % of both the children and the parents had slept under a mosquito net the previous night. Some factors associated with net usage were; age of the child, the highest level of education of the mother and the way of sleeping. The majority of respondents reported there had been a mass campaign in their local area less than six months ago. Discussion and conclusions: Mosquito net usage is very high, both among the children and their parents. Mass campaigns have most likely had a significant impact on the uptake of net usage in the study population. The usage of mosquito nets tends to decrease in the months following such a campaign. Earlier studies have shown follow upp campaigns to be important in maintaining the high usage after a mass campaign