Exposure to Malaria Prevention Messages and Insecticide Treated Bednet Usage among Children under Five Years in Ghana

Stella Blanch Apo, University of Ghana and Pennsylvania State University
Stephen O. Kwankye, University of Ghana
Delali M. Badasu, University of Ghana

Despite widespread awareness of the importance of insecticide treated bednet (ITN) usage as a malaria preventive strategy in Ghana, its use among children under-five is still low. This study assesses exposure to messages on malaria prevention among household heads of under-fives and examines whether and which channels are associated with ITN usage among under-fives. Data were from the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey for which over 12,000 households were selected. Considering only households with under-fives residing in them, the sample is reduced to 1770. Multivariate models net of conceptually important controls show that under-fives whose household heads were exposed to malaria prevention messages were twice as likely to use ITNs as those whose heads had no exposure. Usage was also higher among under-fives whose household heads had exposure through health workers and community volunteers, suggesting that exposure influences ITN usage especially when messages are transferred through human interactions.