Bed net ownership, use, and perceptions among women seeking antenatal care in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): opportunities for improved maternal and child health

Methods:
Women attending their first ANC visit at one maternity in Kinshsasa
were recruited to take partin a study where they were given free
insecticide treated bed nets(ITNs) and then followed up at delivery and
6 months post delivery to assess ITN use. This study describes the
baseline levels of bed net ownership and use, attitudes towards net use
and factors associated with net use

Results: Among 351 women
interviewed at baseline, 115 (33%) already owned a bed net and 86 (25%)
reported to have slept under the net the previous night.

Cost
was reported as the reason for not owning a net by 48% of the 236 women
who did not own one. In multivariate analyses, women who had secondary
school or higher education were 3.4 times more likely to own a net (95%
CI 1.6, 7.3) and 2.8 times more likely to have used a net (95% CI 1.3,
6.0) compared to women with less education

Conclusion: Distribution of ITNs in antenatal clinics in this setting is needed and feasible.

The potential for ITN use by this target population is high.

Author: Audrey E Pettifor, Eboni Taylor, David Nku, Sandra Duvall, Martine Tabala, Steve Meshnick and Frieda Behets
Credits/Source: BMC Public Health 2008, 8:331