Insecticide-treated net utilization and associated factors among infants in Southwestern Nigeria

Insecticide-Treated Nets (ITNs) are essential tools to reduce malaria transmission, morbidity and mortality, especially among children in sub-Saharan Africa. Tĥere is need for context-specific evidence regarding the prevalence of ITN usage and its associated factors in the region. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of ITN use and factors associated with ITN utilization among infants in Southwestern Nigeria in order to close the ownership-use gap.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 2,264 caregivers of infants (1-20 weeks) attending 18 immunization clinics in Ogbomoso community in South-west Nigeria. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire administered to the parent/guardian of the study participants. Logistic regression was carried out to identify the determinants of insecticide-treated nets use at 95% confidence interval and p-value < 0.05.

62.6% of the participants owned ITNs, while 55.2% of children slept under an ITN the previous night. Chi-square analysis showed significant associations between mothers' (p = 0.006) and fathers' educational levels (p = 0.002) and ITN usage (p < 0.05). However, no sociodemographic factors was significantly associated with ITN use after adjusting for confounders in multiple logistic regression. The awareness of the effectiveness of ITNs as a malaria prevention strategy was found to have significant association with ITN use (OR = 174.402; 95% CI: 40.860-744.396; p < 0.001).

Utilization of ITN among infants remains suboptimal in South-Western Nigeria despite moderate ITN ownership. There is an urgent need to design and deploy appropriate interventions to address misconceptions regarding ITN utilization, in order to move beyond ITN distribution to consistent ITN use.