Access to and use gaps of insecticidetreated nets among communities in Jimma Zone, southwestern Ethiopia: baseline results from malaria education interventions

Аннотация

Background: Malaria remains one of the major public health concerns in Ethiopia. Use of long- lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) is the country’s key malaria prevention and control strategy. This study intended to determine access to and usage gap of LLINs in malaria endemic settings in Southwestern Ethiopia.Methods: Data were collected from 798 households in three districts (Mana, Kersa and Goma) of Jimma Zone,Southwestern Ethiopia, from December 2013 to January 2014. The data were analyzed using SPSS software package version 17.0. LLINs ownership, access and utilization gap were determined following the procedure developed by Survey and Indicator Task Force of the Roll Back Malaria Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group. To complement the quantitative data, focus group discussions and interviews were conducted with community groups and key informants.