Knowledge, attitudes and utilization of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) among pregnant women attending antenatal care at health facilities in Ibanda Municipality, Western Uganda

Abstract

Malaria in pregnancy is a vast public health problem that threatens both the mother and fetus. These threats can be minimized by the use of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs). This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and utilization of ITNs among pregnant women attending antennal care at health facilities in Ibanda Municipality, to inform interventions to improve the use of ITNs and the overall health outcomes among pregnant women. A descriptive cross-sectional study employing quantitative data collection methods was conducted in selected government health facilities in Ibanda Municipality, among 146 pregnant women attending antenatal care. Participants were selected using systematic random sampling. An interviewer administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The collected data was exported to Microsoft Excel 2016 for cleaning, then transferred to STATA 14.0 for analysis. To identify factors associated with utilization of ITNs, multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted and variables with p-values <0.05 were taken as significant. A total of 146 participants took part in this study. About half 74/146 (50.7%) were aged between 25-34 years, majority 130/146 (89.0%) were married and less than half 59/146 (40.4%) had attained secondary level of education. Majority 109/146 (74.7%) had slept under ITNs the previous night. Increasing age (35+ years), living in urban residence, higher gravidity (multigravidae), ever hearing about or seeing ITNs, knowing how to hang ITNs, high knowledge on use of ITNs and having a positive attitude towards ITNs were significantly associated with increased utilization of ITNs. Conversely, not receiving health education on ITN use was significantly associated with low utilization of ITNs. Despite high knowledge and a positive attitude, the level of utilization of ITNs was sub-optimal. Therefore, continuous health education efforts ought to be strengthened to improve utilization of ITNs among pregnant women and ensure protection against malaria.