Abstract:
Background: Malaria is one of the most serious public health problems in Ethiopia. Pregnant women are among the groups with high risk of malaria. Use of insecticide treated bed nets is a cost-effective method of controlling malaria. Despite this, there is low utilization of insecticide treated bed nets among pregnant women as reported in some studies conducted in some parts Ethiopia. Objective: To describe the possession and utilization of insecticide treated nets in the prevention of malaria among pregnant women giving emphasis on determining the factors associated with its use and prevalence of peripheral parasitemiae. Methodology: A facility based, cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted among a sample of 414 pregnant women attending antenatal clinics from February 25 to March 25, 2011. Systematic sampling technique was used to get study subjects from Arba Minch Hospital and Health Center. A pre-tested interviewer administered structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on the utilization of insecticide treated bed nets and blood sample was taken to determine the prevalence of parasitemiae. The blood sample was taken after written consent was obtained. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 and univariate descriptive, bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were done. Result: Four hundred eight pregnant women were included in this study making a response rate of 98.5%. About 259(63.5%) knew that malaria is transmissible and 230(88.8%) associated the transmission with mosquito bites. Out of the total pregnant women interviewed, 371(90.9%) own at least one insecticide treated bed net, while 143(35 %) reported to have two. Among those having at least one bed net, 278(74.9%) slept under it in the night preceding the study. The overall prevalence of malaria parasitemiae was 2.5 %. The willingness to use bed net [AOR=0.27(0.10, 0.27)] and a history of malaria attack [AOR=2.66(1.43, 4.93)] were found to be independent predictors of bed net use. Conclusion: There is inconsistency between bed net ownership and utilization among antenatal care attendees. The prevalence of malaria parasitemiae was found to be high among the primigravidas. Therefore health education programs should focus on comprehensive knowledge on the basics of malaria, prevention and control of malaria including use of bed net. This is important to narrow the gap between ownership and utilization of bed net by pregnant women.
