Socio-Economic Factors Hindering Utilization of Insecticide Treated Nets in Households with Children under Five Years of Age in Rwentuha Town Council, Bushenyi District, Uganda

Abstract

Insecticide treated nets (ITNs) are the powerful tools used in prevention of malaria and this has attracted Government of Uganda to distribute free ITNs at household level using its village health facilities. Despite the distribution of free ITNs, there have been cases of malaria among children under five years of age. This makes the basis for examining the socio-economic factors hindering the utilization of the ITNs among such children in Rwentuha Town Council, Bushenyi District. The study used a cross-sectional design, employing quantitative method for data collection and analysis. Data was checked for competences and analyzed using STATA version 13 to generate both descriptive and inferential statistics using a binary regression analysis. The study found that education levels significantly hinder utilization of ITNs since its P<0.05 (P = .030). It was also found that, the household size (P=.008); the seasons where participants were not using ITNs (P=.011) and the lighting system (P= .021) were also significant factors that could hinder the utilization of ITNs. The study affirms that there are socio economic factors hindering utilization of insecticide in Rwentuha Town Council. These factors vary from household to another and hinder utilization differently which has made malaria persistent among the under five. The study recommends that plans be made to increase the number of free ITNs distributed to all households, increase in community education and public awareness on ITNs use