LONG-LASTING INSECTICIDE NETS OWNERSHIP AND MALARIA MORBIDITY IN KRACHI EAST MUNICIPALITY, GHANA

Background: Malaria-related morbidity and mortality are issues of great concern to public health globally though, a higher proportion of cases reside within Sub-Saharan Africa. The situation in Ghana though not new, is very disturbing, as millions of people especially children and pregnant women suffer severely from malaria. Seasonal chemoprevention and indoor residual spraying are among many measures deployed in the northern parts of Ghana with nationwide outreach and point distribution of LLINs across the country but reports from OPDs indicate millions of malaria cases annually. Objective: To identify the levels of ownership and usage of the treated bed nets, and describe the relationship between ownership of LLINs and malaria morbidity. Methods: The 30-cluster sampling method was deployed. Using both a modified WHO EPI survey method for more rural areas and a random walk sampling for more urban areas, each community had a listed starting point where the use of a spun pen determined the direction to conduct the surveys within the specified cluster. Selected households’ heads/representatives (any adult aged 18 years and above, in a household where the head is absent) participated voluntarily. STATA version 16.0 was used to run the statistical analysis and the results were presented in tables and figures. Results: Findings revealed high levels of ownership of LLINs (73.4%) but moderately low usage levels (49.5%). Some other uses of LLINs (22.9%) aside from sleeping under them were identified. Malaria morbidity (59.6%) was also determined. Multivariate analysis results revealed statistically significant association between some socio-demographic characteristics and LLINs ownership including female sex (AOR = 2.1 (95% CI: 1.15, 3.87) p=0.016), being married (AOR = 3.4 (95% CI: 1.76, 6.74) p<0.001), cohabiting (AOR = 6.1 (95% CI: 2.15, 17.02) p=0.001) and being separated or divorced (AOR = 9.4 (95% CI: 1.09, 81.27) p=0.041). A positive correlation was identified between ownership of LLINs and their usage, however both ownership and usage had no influence on malaria morbidity. Conclusion: The study highlights a high ownership rate but lower usage of Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs), indicating the need to address barriers to consistent utilization. There is a significant burden of malaria within the surveyed population, emphasizing the importance of effective malaria control measures. Further research is required to validate the impact of LLINs ownership and sociodemographic characteristics on malaria morbidity.