Knowledge, Attitude and Practices on mosquito net use for prevention of malaria among households in Kabasekende sub county, Kibaale district.

Abstract

Introduction – Malaria is still a major cause of morbidity in Uganda. Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) are a central component of the current global malaria control strategies however, their effectiveness depends on consistent use. Use of LLINs in Kibaale district is very low and the community knowledge, attitudes and practices on mosquito nets use for prevention of malaria are not well documented. Objective - To determine the knowledge, attitude and practices on mosquito net use for prevention of malaria among households in Kabasekende sub county, Kibaale district. Method – The study was a cross sectional house hold survey with both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. A total of 207 household heads and 10 key informants were interviewed. Quantitative data was analyzed in SPSS version 20 and results presented as frequency, proportions, percentages, means and their corresponding standard deviations. Results - The majority 107(51.6%) of the respondents slept under mosquito nets. Most 162(78.3%) of the respondents believed that bed nets prevented mosquito bites, 197(95%) believed that bed nets were beneficial to users and that everybody should sleep under a LLIN Most 198(75%) of the respondents reported that they had ever used LLIN. Generally, respondents had negative attitude towards the utilization of ITNs in the prevention of malaria. Majority believed that mosquitoes could still bite through ITNs, nets make getting up at night difficult and their use could lead to suffocation. Majority never retreated their ITNs, did not always check for holes and washed them after 3 months. Conclusion and recommendations -The study found relatively good knowledge about ITNs use because respondents had ever heard of ITNs and knew they were used to prevent malaria however negative attitudes to use of nets still persists and the benefits of sleeping under an ITN should be promoted to counter fears of false beliefs such as suffocation.