Taremwa Ivan M, Ashaba Scholastic, Adrama Harriet O, Ayebazibwe Carlrona, Omoding Daniel, Kemeza Imelda, Yatuha Jane, Turuho Thadeus, MacDonald Noni E, Hilliard Robert
Institute of Allied Health Sciences, International Health Sciences University, P.O Box7782, Kampala, Uganda.
Department of Psychiatry, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, P.O Box 1410, Mbarara, Uganda.
BMC Public Health. 2017 Oct 10;17(1):794. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4824-4.
The burden of malaria in Uganda remains unacceptably high, especially among children and pregnant women. To prevent malaria related complications, household possession and use of Insecticide Treated mosquito Nets (ITNs) has become a common practice in the country. Despite the availability of ITNs, malaria remains a foremost public health concern in Uganda. We sought to explore knowledge, attitude, and behaviour towards the use of ITNs as a nightly malaria prevention strategy among pregnant women and children under five years of age in Isingiro district, Southwestern Uganda.
This was a community based, descriptive cross-sectional study, in which households with children under 5 years, and/or pregnant women were enrolled. We used a structured questionnaire to collect data on participants' understanding of the causes, signs and symptoms of malaria; use of ITNs to prevent malaria; attitudes and behaviours towards the use of ITNs. We also conducted key informant interviews (KIIs) to get in-depth understanding of responses from the participants. We analysed quantitative data using STATA version 12.Qualitative findings from the KIIs were transcribed and translated, and manually analysed using thematic content analysis.
Of the 369 households enrolled, 98.4% (N = 363) households had children under five. Most participants (41.2%, N = 152) were in the 21-30 age category (mean age; 32.2 years). 98.1% (N = 362) of the respondents considered ITNs a key malaria prevention strategy. The ITN possession rate was 84.0% (N = 310), of these, 66.1% (N = 205) consistently used them. 39% of the respondents did not have a positive attitude towards ITNs.
Although 84.0% of the respondents possessed ITNs, many were not consistently using them. To this, there is need to engage all stakeholders (including cultural leaders, community health workers, religious leaders and the government) in the malaria prevention campaigns using ITNs through: a) government's concerted effort to ensure universal access of right fit ITNs, b) end-user directed health education to emphasize positive attributes of ITN use, c) telling the ITN success stories to improve on the usage.
乌干达的疟疾负担仍然高得令人无法接受，尤其是在儿童和孕妇中。为预防与疟疾相关的并发症，在该国，家庭拥有并使用经杀虫剂处理的蚊帐（ITN）已成为一种普遍做法。尽管有ITN可用，但疟疾在乌干达仍然是首要的公共卫生问题。我们试图探讨乌干达西南部伊辛吉罗区5岁以下儿童和孕妇对使用ITN作为夜间疟疾预防策略的知识、态度和行为。
这是一项基于社区的描述性横断面研究，纳入了有5岁以下儿童和/或孕妇的家庭。我们使用结构化问卷收集关于参与者对疟疾病因、体征和症状的理解；使用ITN预防疟疾的情况；对使用ITN的态度和行为的数据。我们还进行了关键 informant 访谈（KIIs），以深入了解参与者的回答。我们使用STATA 12版分析定量数据。KIIs的定性结果进行了转录和翻译，并使用主题内容分析进行人工分析。
在纳入的369户家庭中，98.4%（N = 363）的家庭有5岁以下儿童。大多数参与者（41.2%，N = 152）年龄在21 - 30岁之间（平均年龄；32.2岁）。98.1%（N = 362）的受访者认为ITN是关键的疟疾预防策略。ITN拥有率为84.0%（N = 310），其中66.1%（N = 205）持续使用。39%的受访者对ITN没有积极态度。
尽管84.0%的受访者拥有ITN，但许多人并未持续使用。为此，需要让所有利益相关者（包括文化领袖、社区卫生工作者、宗教领袖和政府）参与使用ITN的疟疾预防运动，方法包括：a）政府协同努力确保普遍获得合适的ITN，b）以终端用户为导向进行健康教育，强调使用ITN的积极属性，c）讲述ITN的成功故事以提高使用率。
