Factors influencing The use of Itns Among The Jaggery and Tea workers In The Prevention of Malaria In South mugirango Sub -county, Kisii county,Kenya.

Abstract

Background;Insecticide treated nets remains the most preferred malaria control intervention measures advocated worldwide if used well.In some place to date its use has been very low with about three percent of people in Africa sleeping under ITNs with twenty percent sleeping under any kind of net. Worse still 51.6% of adults Jaggery and tea workers by age distribution between 18-49 years are at risk of getting malaria infectionsdue toimproper ITNs use in South Mugirango Sub-County, Kisii County,Kenya. Malaria isamongthe top ten diseases that leadto high level of morbidity and mortality.This study therefore focuses on the factorsinfluencinguseof ITNsin the prevention of malaria among the Jaggery and tea workersaged 18-49yearsin South Mugirango Sub County,Kisii County, Kenya. Methods;This wasdescriptive cross sectional study design whereKisii County was purposively selected. Overall209 Jaggery and tea workers weresystematically andrandomly selected andinterviewed. Datawascollected through the use of questionnaires;focused group discussions and key informant interviewto obtain views.Both qualitative and quantitative data were transcribed; coded and categorizedandanalyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Chi-Square was used to determine the statistical significance between variables;Results;Theresults shows thatabout209 Jaggery and Tea workers were selected and interviewed;56% males and 44% females. The majority were between 29-39 years (44.3%) while 95 (49.5%) were married. About 88 (45.5%) had secondary education and 54.5% were tea workers by occupation.Chi-square was used to establish relationships between variables.From the socio-demographicfactors only gender and education were found to be statistically related with (P<0.001) and ITNs use among the Jaggery and tea workers. Among the economic variables only cost, accessibility and house structures were found to be related (P<0.001) with ITNs use. Conclusion and recommendations: Thisstudy concludesthere was low level of ITNs use among the Jaggery and tea workersand they were attributed bysocio-demographicfactors,economicfactorsand weather conditions which were found to be statistically associated (P<0.001) with ITNs use. This study therefore, recommends implementation of programs and policy formulation to empower the Jaggery and tea workers in education and economically through income generating activities to strengthen their resource base.Thisresult isuseful in addressing ITNs useamong the Jaggery and tea workers in the prevention of malaria in Kisii County, Kenya. It will also help the Kisii County government tomobilize the necessaryresourcesand direct it to malaria preventionand control.