%0 Journal Article
%T Mosquito nets in a rural area of Western Kenya: ownership, use and quality
%A Sophia Githinji
%A Susanne Herbst
%A Thomas Kistemann
%A Abdisalan M Noor
%J Malaria Journal
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1475-2875-9-250
%X A structured questionnaire on ownership and use of nets was administered to the households of individuals sampled from a local health centre in south Kisii district, Kenya. A physical inspection of all the nets in the households was done and their conditions recorded on spot check forms designed for that purpose.Of the 670 households surveyed, 95% owned at least one net. Only 59% of household residents slept under a net during the night prior to the survey. 77% of those who slept under a net used an insecticide-treated net (ITN) or long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLIN). Out of 1,627 nets in the survey households, 40% were deemed to be of poor quality because of holes. Compared to other age groups, children aged 5-14 years were most likely to have slept under nets of poor quality (odds ratio 1.41; p = 0.007).Although net ownership was high following increased delivery of ITNs, continuous promotion of effective maintenance and routine use is needed and efforts to replace damaged nets must be implemented.The widespread implementation of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) is a major intervention strategy likely to significantly reduce morbidity and mortality from malaria across Africa [1]. The Kenya national programme for ITNs started in 2002 with social marketing that promoted subsidized nets within the existing retail sector. This was expanded to heavily subsidized nets provided to children and pregnant women through the maternal and child health clinics in 2004. Following a substantial grant from Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM), a campaign of mass distribution of free nets to all children younger than five years was organized in 2006. These measures have resulted in a rapid increase in ITN use by children aged less than five years from 7.1% in 2004 to 67.3% in 2006 in selected districts [2,3]. Monitoring ITN coverage in African countries is central to evaluating the progress of malaria control under the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) partners
%U http://www.malariajournal.com/content/9/1/250