Malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Kenya, with
close to 70 percent (24 million) of the population at risk of infection. It
affects people of all age groups: children under five years of age and pregnant
women living in malaria endemic regions who are vulnerable. The main objective
was to assess the utilization of the insecticide treated bed nets among the
mothers attending MCH/FP in Webuye District Hospital, Bungoma County, Kenya. This
research was based at the Webuye District Hospital, Bungoma County, Kenya from
February to May, 2013. Sample size included 40 adult mothers attending MCH/FP
aged 18 years and above during the study period. The design of the study was cross-sectional
where sampling technique employed was non-probabilistic, purposive sampling.
Data was collected by interviews using structured questionnaire which was
administered by the researchers. SPSS version 16 was employed in Data analysis.
The association between the overall knowledge about ITN use and malaria attack
and level of education was tested and correlation between knowledge about
malaria and ITNs utilization was calculated. Nearly all mothers attending
MCH/FP had knowledge about ITNs nets and used it, with majority, 82.5% of the
respondents used it for protection and 75% knew the importance of ITNs which were
for malaria prevention. A majority of mothers attending MCH/FP were aware of ITNs
and used it. Malaria morbidity was influenced by various factors including
frequency of ITN use and most respondents interviewed had contracted malaria
once before. The difference was found to be highly statistically significant
between the overall knowledge about ITN use and malaria attack and level of
education (χ2 = 58.7, p = 0.000). There was a significantly moderate
positive correlation between total knowledge and ITN utilization (r = 0.449
& p = 0.000). The same was for the frequency of use but it was found to be
in a weak magnitude, (r = 0.223 & p = 0.000). There was a strong positive
correlation between knowledge about risk which is exposed to the case of non-utilization and the overall knowledge (r = 0.853 & p =
0.000). Based on the above results, it’s recommended that the Ministry of Health
increase knowledge of effective malaria prevention and treatment methods in
communities where
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