Community knowledge and perceptions about indoor residual spraying for malaria prevention in Soroti district, Uganda: a cross-sectional study
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Date
2013
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Malaria Journal
Abstract
Malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Uganda. The Ministry of Health (MoH) plans
to scale up indoor residual spraying (IRS) for malaria vector control. However, there is limited information on
community knowledge and perceptions towards IRS. This study assessed community knowledge and perceptions
about IRS in Soroti district, eastern Uganda.
Methods: The study was cross-sectional and it covered 770 randomly selected households in urban and rural
settings in Soroti district, Eastern Uganda. The respondents were heads of household and or their proxies. The data
were collected on the sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge of the insecticides that could be used for IRS,
parts of the houses that would be sprayed, importance of IRS, role of household heads in IRS programme,
frequency and the time of spraying. Responses to the questions on these areas were used to create a composite
dependent variable categorized as knowledgeable if they had responded correctly to at least three questions or
not knowledgeable about IRS if they responded correctly to less than three questions. In addition, respondents
were asked if they thought the IRS programme would be beneficial or not. Bivariate and multivariate logistic
regression analyses were carried out using SPSS version 17.
Results: Less than half, (48.6%, 374/770) of the respondents were knowledgeable about IRS. Urban residents
(AOR 1.92, 95% CI 1.04-3.56) and those with secondary education or higher (AOR 4.81, 95% CI 2.72-8.52) were
knowledgeable about IRS. Three-quarters, (74.4%, 354/473) of respondents who had ever heard of IRS, perceived
it as beneficial. Two-thirds, (66.4%, 314/473) reported that IRS would have negative effects. Respondents who
reported that, IRS programme is beneficial were: 23 years or older (AOR 2.17, 95% CI 1.07-4.38), had attained
secondary education or higher (AOR 2.16, 95% CI 1.22-3.83) and were knowledgeable about IRS
(AOR 2.21, 95% CI 1.17-4.17).
Description
Keywords
Indoor residual spraying, Community, Knowledge, Perceptions, Malaria prevention
Citation
Ediau, M., Babirye, J. N., Tumwesigye, N. M., Matovu, J. K., Machingaidze, S., Okui, O., ... & Waiswa, P. (2013). Community knowledge and perceptions about indoor residual spraying for malaria prevention in Soroti district, Uganda: a cross-sectional study. Malaria Journal, 12(1), 1-9.