Analysis of Communication Approaches and Effects Used by the Government on Household Utilization of Freely Distributed Insecticide Treated Mosquito Nets in Migori County, Kenya

Abstract

Malaria is a weighty public health concern in most parts of Migori County, notably amongst the expectant and lactating women and their children. In this county, the disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality despite several interventions and initiatives by both the national and county governments. Relatively less attention has been paid to the impact of malaria communication approaches in Migori County. This is withstanding the fact that evidence points to existence of some literature on communicating strategies somehow .It is against this backdrop that this paper seeks to study  factors that hinder  utilization of health services for  fighting malaria by evaluating three factors namely communication strategies, socio-economic and cultural factors and netting material design. Cross-sectional descriptive and analytical survey design was adopted in the study. Purposive sampling was employed in identifying key health centers where both secondary and primary data on malaria related cases was obtained. In order to establish the relationship between the failure and or success of utilization of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) with aforementioned factors, multiple regression model was adopted. This study investigated the factors that influence use of ITNs by pregnant and lactating women as well as children under the age of five in the County using a multiple regression approach. The regression results showed that the current government(s) (national and county) communication strategies and approaches, socio-economic factors, value attached to the free ITNs and netting material design significantly affected use of ITNs. The study concludes that these factors hinder use of ITNs by women and children under five years and therefore the mere presence or ownership of an ITN by a household may not guarantee utilization of the same. The study recommends that urgent efforts be made to change communication strategies and approaches, redesigning of netting material to fit different types of recipients’ houses as well as increase awareness on the importance of ensuring children less than five years sleep under an ITN if reduction in morbidity and mortality in these vulnerable groups is to be achieved.