Abstract:
Abstracts
Introduction: Malaria during pregnancy and childhood is one of the major public health
challenges globally. Its prevalence is huge in Africa especially in sub-Saharan countries
including Ethiopia. Insecticide Treated Mosquito Net
preventive measures. Although several studies had been done on ITN utilization, they were
deficient in addressing the health belief and behavioral aspects using Health belief Model.
Objective: This study was aimed at assessing the prevalence of insecticide-treated nets
utilization and associated factors among pregnant mothers and under-five children in East
Bellessa district, Northwest Ethiopia, 2020.
Method: A cross-sectional mixed quantitative and qualitative study design was conducted in east
Bellessa district from February 01-30 / 2020. A total of 724 eligible participants were included in
the quantitative study. A multistage cluster sampling technique was used. The quantitative data
were collected using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire. Data were entered
into Epi data version 4.6.0.2 and then exported to SPSS version 16 for analysis. The binary
logistic regression model was fitted and variable’s statistically significant association was
declared based on AOR with its 95% CI and p-value
? 0.05. Meanwhile, the qualitative data
were collected using focus group discussion and key informant interviews and analyzed using
thematic analysis approach with open code 4.03 software.
Result: The prevalence of ITN utilization was 56.5%
Conclusion: The prevalence of ITN utilization in the study area was lower than the national
target
Keywords: Ethiopia, Health Belief Model, Insecticide-treated net, Malaria, Utilization
