Research article

Bed net ownership, use and perceptions among women seeking antenatal care in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): Opportunities for improved maternal and child health

Audrey Pettifor¹ , Eboni Taylor¹ , David Nku² , Sandra Duvall¹ , Martine Tabala³ , Steve Meshnick¹ and Frieda Behets¹

¹  Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA

²  Salvation Army, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

³  School of Public Health, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

author email corresponding author email

BMC Public Health 2008, 8:331doi:10.1186/1471-2458-8-331

Published:	24 September 2008

Abstract

Background

To describe malaria knowledge, attitudes toward malaria and bed net use, levels of ownership and use of bed nets, and factors associated with ownership and use among pregnant women attending their first antenatal care (ANC) visit in Kinshasa, DRC.

Methods

Women attending their first ANC visit at one maternity in Kinshasa were recruited to take part in a study where they were given free insecticide treated bed nets (ITNs) and then followed up at delivery and 6 months post delivery to assess ITN use. This study describes the baseline levels of bed net ownership and use, attitudes towards net use and factors associated with net use

Results

Among 351 women interviewed at baseline, 115 (33%) already owned a bed net and 86 (25%) reported to have slept under the net the previous night. Cost was reported as the reason for not owning a net by 48% of the 236 women who did not own one. In multivariable analyses, women who had secondary school or higher education were 3.4 times more likely to own a net (95% CI 1.6–7.3) and 2.8 times more likely to have used a net (95% CI 1.3–6.0) compared to women with less education

Conclusion

Distribution of ITNs in antenatal clinics in this setting is needed and feasible. The potential for ITN use by this target population is high.