Factors associated with ownership of insecticide-treated nets for malaria prevention among pregnant women in Ghana

Abstract

Introduction In Saharan Africa, an estimated 25 million pregnancies are at risk from malaria every year, with substantial morbidity and death effects for both mother and fetus. The aim was to identify socioeconomic and demographic factors associated with ownership of insecticide-treated nets for preventing malaria among pregnant women reporting at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, Ghana. Methods This study was conducted in the antenatal clinic of Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) in 2021 with 250 pregnant women using a descriptive cross-sectional survey design. Data analysis was done with SPSS version 20. Graphs and tables were used to present the study data. Bivariate analysis was done using chi-squared tests to determine the relationships. Results The mean age of the study participants was 30.0 ± 4.5 years and most (73.0%) were aged 25–35 years. The prevalence of ITN ownership among the studied pregnant women was 83.2%. Most (62.4%) of those who owned an ITN obtained it free of charge from public campaign programs. Factors associated with ITN ownership were: age (χ 2 =7.659, p=0.022), marital status (χ 2 =9.047, p<0.029), education level (χ 2 =19.027, p<0.001), employment status (χ 2 =13.279, p=0.001), and monthly income (χ 2 =6.686, p=0.035). Conclusions Though not of the national target, this study recorded very good ITN ownership coverage among pregnant women. Educational level and economic status were the major factors associated with ITN ownership.

Keywords

• pregnancy
• malaria
• insecticide-treated nets
• ownership