Utilization of Insecticide Treated Nets among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic in a Suburban Referral Hospital, North-East Nigeria

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and usage of ITNs among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in a referral health facility in Nigeria.
Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out at the antenatal clinic of the Federal Medical Centre Azare, North-East Nigeria between October and December 2012. A structured questionnaire was administered on consenting consecutive pregnant women until the sample size was reached. Data obtained were analysed and associations were compared using χ2 and Fisher’s exact test where applicable, with P-value <0.05 considered significant.
Results: A total of 197 pregnant women were recruited and interviewed. The maternal age ranged from 17-45 years with mean age of 24.2±5.5 years while the parity ranged from 0-11 with multipara constituting 95 (48.22%) and grand multipara, 29 (14.72%). While only 31 (15.74%) of the respondents had tertiary level of education, 64(32.49%) and 15(7.61%) of them had secondary and primary levels of education respectively. Twenty five (12.69%) had no formal education. Majority of the clients, 162 (82.23%) were unemployed, 14 (7.11%) were civil servants and 17 (8.63%) were petty traders. Although most of the women, 189 (95.94%), had knowledge of ITNs, only 132 (67.01%) owned them and much less, 97 (49.24%), used them. Para 5 and above were significantly more likely to use ITNs than para 1-4 and para 0 (χ2=21.118; P=0.03). Age, educational status, occupation, ethnic groups and religion (χ2=1.084; P=0.30) did not influence the use of ITNs.
Thirty two (32.00%) and 23 (23.00%) of the ITN non-users gave heat and poverty respectively, as reasons for non utilization.
Conclusion: Only few of the clients studied utilized ITNs mainly because of heat and poverty. Education of pregnant women to correct the myths associated with the use of ITNs will improve compliance rate.