Use of Long Lasting Insecticide Bed Net Among Pregnant Women in Ga East Municipality of the Greater Accra Region

Abstract

Background: Use of Long Lasting Insecticide Bed Net (LLIN) is one of the recommended interventions by WHO to reduce the rate of malaria transmission especially among the vulnerable which include pregnant women and children. In Africa, out of 45 countries where ITNs form part of the national malaria control strategy, 36 had a representative household surveys that measured usage of nets and/or ITNs at some point between 1999 and 2004. According to available surveys, only Eritrea, in 2003 reached the Abuja target of 60% ITN usage. In later part of 2012 the Government of Ghana distributed LLIN to households in order to increase coverage extensively. The challenge is how to ensure consistent use of LLIN in Ghana to bring better outcome for pregnant mothers and their unborn babies. This study was to assess the use of Long Lasting Insecticide Bed Net (LLIN) among pregnant women and describe factors affecting its use in GA East Municipality. Methods: The study employed cross sectional quantitative method. The data was captured using self-developed questionnaires. A two-staged sampling technique was adopted. At the first stage, we employed proportionate sampling procedure where sampled population is selected based on the size of the estimated number of pregnancies in each of the sub- municipalities. We later compiled a list of all pregnant women registered in each community from which we randomly select our sample. SPSS and Stata were used to analyze the data. Results: Use of LLIN among pregnant women within the four communities of Ga East municipality was low. Most of them have high knowledge on LLIN and its appropriate use. Approximately half of the respondents had certain barriers on the use of LLIN. It was also realized that the use of LLIN was related to the educational level, occupation, age and marital status of the pregnant women. Conclusion: Two main barriers to LLIN use in the municipality were cost and perceived harmful effect of LLIN on pregnancy. It is recommended that Community Health Nurses intensify Information, Education and Communication (IE&C) activities at outreach clinics and communities in the municipality