Socio-Demographic, Environmental And Technical Factors Influencing Use Of Bed Nets Amongst Residents Of Meibeki Location

ABSTRACT

Malaria is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Africa. In Kenya, malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, accounting for 30-50% of all out patient attendance and 20% of all admissions to health facilities. The Kenyan government encourages strategies such as; Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS), prompt treatment to confirmed malaria cases, clearing of bushes around residential places and use of Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLITNs) in malaria prone areas (epidemic and endemic). Meibeki location is located in Meibeki-Karuna Ward, Uasin Gishu County and has the highest malaria prevalence rate of 4.7% in the division compared to the neighboring locations with a prevalence rate of not more than 3.5%. In 2011, a mass net distribution exercise was conducted in the location. Despite all these efforts, the location still reports the highest malaria prevalence in the entire County. The factors influencing the use of bed nets in Meibeki Location of Meibeki-Karuna Ward, Uasin Gishu County remains unknown. As such, the current study was designed to determine factors influencing the use of bed nets in Meibeki Location of Meibeki-Karuna Ward, Uasin Gishu County. A cross-sectional study design was employed on 319 households. The sample size of 319 households was based on the total number of 2,841 households in Meibeki Location. Data collection was done by use of structured questionnaires. Proportionality was determined by chi-square tests while logistic regression analyses was used to identify factors influencing the use of bednets in Meibeki Location. All statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 20. About 58% of the respondents were males while 42% were females. Net use amongst the residents stood at 200/311(67.8%) with various factors contributing to use and nonuse of bed nets. A significant association between demographic factors and net use was noted in the study findings with 42% of females and 36% of males sleeping under an bednets the night before the survey (χ2=10.653, p=0.001). Significant association was also noted in the level of education with those with some level of literacy comprising 77% of those who slept under a bed net the night before the survey (χ2=10.723, p=0.057). Environmental factors such as weather, season, and mosquito density are amongst the factors that were established to influence net use with 39% of respondents admitting to sleeping under bed net during such seasons. A significant association was established to exist between bed net use and such environmental factors (χ2=6.571, p=0.037). Technical factors such as shape of net, material used in making the net, size of house and knowledge on how to hang a net were also found to influence use of bed nets (χ2=178.823, p