Utilisation of insecticide treated nets among pregnant women in Gulu: a post conflict district in northern Uganda

JH Obol, S Ononge, CG Orach

Abstract

Background: Malaria during pregnancy causes severe anaemia, placental malaria or death to the mother while the fetus may be aborted or stillborn.

Objective: To establish the prevalence and factors associated with Insecticide Treated Net (ITN) utilisation among pregnant women in a post conflict Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps of Gulu district.

Methods: We conducted cross-sectional study in 20 IDP camps in which 769 pregnant women were interviewed for ITN utilisation the night before the survey. The 20 IDP camps were selected using simple random sampling technique as clusters. Households that had pregnant women were then consecutively selected. Data were entered in EpiData 3.1 and analyzed using STATA11.

Results: 35% of pregnant women (95% CI 31% – 38%) had utilised ITNs. Factors that promoted ITN utilisation includes: antenatal visit (AOR 1.90, p-value 0.000); ITN awareness (AOR 1.57, p-value 0.011), and willingness to purchase ITN (AOR 2.12, p-value 0.000). Factors which hinder ITN utilisation were: hours taken to reach health centre (AOR 0.64, p-value 0.050) and being single/widow/divorced (AOR 0.22, p-value 0.000).

Conclusion: Majority of the respondents were not utilising ITN. Therefore, leaders in Gulu district should encourage pregnant woman to acquire and use ITN to reduce their vulnerability to malaria.

Keywords: Utilisation, ITN, pregnant women, post conflicts, internally displaced persons