Factors influencing utilisation of insecticide treated nets among children under-five years of age in Kpone-On-Sea in the Kpone Katamanso District in Ghana

Abstract

Children under-five years of age are among the vulnerable group mostly affected by morbidity and mortality due to malaria. Insecticide  treated nets (ITNs) have proved to be effective in reducing malaria transmission  and increasing child survival. Significant investment into  scaling up of ITNs has been done but achieving actual  utilisation among beneficiaries is still a challenge in malaria endemic regions  including Ghana. The study aimed  to assess factors influencing utilisation of ITNs among children under-five years in Kpone-On-Sea in  Ghana. We  used a cross-sectional community survey design to determine the proportion of children under-five years of  age sleeping  under ITNs and factors influencing utilisation of ITNs among care-givers in Kpone-On-Sea. We  randomly sampled 325 care-givers of  children under-five years between March and June 2017. Microsoft Excel  version 2016 and SPSS were used for data entry and analysis,  and further analysis was conducted using STATA  version 14 software. Chi-square test was used to test for associations and multiple  logistic regression to  determine strength of associations. We found that the proportion of children under-five years sleeping under  ITNs  was 91%. Factors associated with ITN utilisation among children under-five years included caregivers’  level of education (p<0.01), their  awareness that children under-five years are most at risk of malaria (P<0.05),  knowledge that ITN protect against mosquito bite (P<0.02),  knowledge on the importance of ITNs in preventing  malaria (P<0.01), ITN ownership (P<0.03), type of ITN owned (p<0.02) and the period  within which caregivers  utilise ITN (P<0.00). We also found high ownership of ITNs among caregivers, and no difference between  caregivers’ knowledge on malaria and its prevention. These data improved the current knowledge of ITNs  utilisation among caregivers  of children under-five years and offer opportunities to conduct further studies in  other regions of Ghana.