article · PubMed
Community perceptions directly influence the adoption of insecticide treated nets for preventing malaria during pregnancy in parts of Nigeria. While awareness of the benefits of these nets is generally high, several barriers restrict their actual use. Key deterrents include the high purchase cost of nets, widespread fears that the treatment chemicals could harm an unborn child or pregnancy, and low attendance at antenatal care services. In addition, lack of spousal engagement in malaria prevention and misconceptions that adolescent girls face minimal malaria risk further lower uptake. Addressing these hurdles requires targeted public health strategies, specifically subsidising net distribution to make them affordable and educating communities to dispel myths surrounding the safety of the chemicals used in net treatment.
Malaria poses severe health risks during pregnancy, yet life saving interventions often fail due to social and financial barriers. Identifying specific deterrents, such as fears over chemical safety and net costs, allows healthcare planners to design better educational campaigns and subsidy programmes that ensure critical protective tools reach vulnerable mothers and adolescent girls.
The findings are relevant to public health agencies, non governmental organisations, and manufacturers of insecticide treated nets seeking to improve product distribution in developing markets. Applying these insights requires policy and social marketing interventions rather than product development, highlighting an immediate, field ready need for subsidised pricing models and community communication strategies to address safety fears regarding chemical treatments.
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This study aimed at assessing perceptions on use of ITNs in parts of the Imo River Basin, Nigeria and its implications in preventing malaria in pregnancy. Data was collected using focus group discussions, key informant interviews and structured questionnaires. Results showed high awareness on the benefits of ITNs. Factors affecting use of ITNs included its high cost, perceptions of chemicals used to treat them as having dangerous effects on pregnancy, low utilization of antenatal care, husband's lack of interest in malaria prevention and perceptions that adolescent girls are at low risk of getting malaria. The implications of these findings include demystifying the negative perceptions on the chemicals used for net treatment and subsidizing the cost of ITNs to increase access. These findings provide important lessons for malaria programmes that aim at increasing access to ITNs by pregnant women in developing countries.
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