TY - JOUR
T1 - "It is about how the net looks"
T2 - A qualitative study of perceptions and practices related to mosquito net care and repair in two districts in eastern Uganda
AU - Scandurra, Leah
AU - Acosta, Angela
AU - Koenker, Hannah
AU - Kibuuka, Daniel Musoke
AU - Harvey, Steven
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the President’s Malaria Initiative under the terms of USAID/JHU Cooperative Agreement No. GHS-A-00-09-00014-00 for the NetWorks Project. The contents are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, PMI, or the United States Government. We would like to thank the Stop Malaria Project Uganda (SMP) and their media partner, Omnicom Limited, for their support throughout the BCC intervention. We would like to thank Matt Lynch, Gabrielle Hunter, Sara Berthe, Emily Ricotta, and April Monroe for their review of the paper. We are grateful to the members of the data collection team from Service for Generations (SFG). Most importantly, we extend our gratitude to the communities who participated in this study whose feedback has been vital to understanding critical issues surrounding net care and repair in Uganda.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Scandurra et al.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Background: Prolonging net durability has important implications for reducing both malaria transmission and the frequency of net replacement. Protective behaviour, such as net care and repair, offers promise for improving net integrity and durability. Given the potential cost-savings and public health benefit associated with extending the useful life of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), prevention and mitigation of damage will become ever more critical to ensuring adequate net coverage at the population level. Methods: A qualitative assessment was conducted in two districts in central eastern Uganda in September 2013. Data on household net care and repair behaviour, attitudes and practices were collected from 30 respondents through in-depth interviews (IDIs), observations, photos, and video to gather an in-depth understanding of these behaviours. Results: Net damage was common and the most cited causes were children and rodents. Responses revealed strong social norms about net cleanliness and aesthetics, and strong expectations that others should care for and repair their own nets. Respondents were receptive and able to repair nets, though longer-term repair methods, such as sewing and patching, were not as commonly reported or observed. Self-reported behaviour was not always consistent with observed or demonstrated behaviour, revealing potential misconceptions and the need for clear and consistent net care and repair messaging. Conclusions: Respondents considered both aesthetics and malaria protection important when deciding whether, when, and how to care for and repair nets. BCC should continue to emphasize the importance of maintaining net integrity for malaria prevention purposes as well as for maintaining aesthetic appeal. Additional research is needed, particularly surrounding washing, drying, daily storage routines, and gender roles in care and repair, in order to understand the complexity of these behaviours, and refine existing or develop new behaviour change communication (BCC) messages for net care and repair.
AB - Background: Prolonging net durability has important implications for reducing both malaria transmission and the frequency of net replacement. Protective behaviour, such as net care and repair, offers promise for improving net integrity and durability. Given the potential cost-savings and public health benefit associated with extending the useful life of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), prevention and mitigation of damage will become ever more critical to ensuring adequate net coverage at the population level. Methods: A qualitative assessment was conducted in two districts in central eastern Uganda in September 2013. Data on household net care and repair behaviour, attitudes and practices were collected from 30 respondents through in-depth interviews (IDIs), observations, photos, and video to gather an in-depth understanding of these behaviours. Results: Net damage was common and the most cited causes were children and rodents. Responses revealed strong social norms about net cleanliness and aesthetics, and strong expectations that others should care for and repair their own nets. Respondents were receptive and able to repair nets, though longer-term repair methods, such as sewing and patching, were not as commonly reported or observed. Self-reported behaviour was not always consistent with observed or demonstrated behaviour, revealing potential misconceptions and the need for clear and consistent net care and repair messaging. Conclusions: Respondents considered both aesthetics and malaria protection important when deciding whether, when, and how to care for and repair nets. BCC should continue to emphasize the importance of maintaining net integrity for malaria prevention purposes as well as for maintaining aesthetic appeal. Additional research is needed, particularly surrounding washing, drying, daily storage routines, and gender roles in care and repair, in order to understand the complexity of these behaviours, and refine existing or develop new behaviour change communication (BCC) messages for net care and repair.
KW - BCC
KW - Bed nets
KW - Direct observation
KW - ITN
KW - LLIN
KW - Malaria
KW - Net care and repair
KW - Qualitative research
KW - Uganda
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U2 - 10.1186/1475-2875-13-504
DO - 10.1186/1475-2875-13-504
M3 - Article
C2 - 25519882
AN - SCOPUS:84924285450
SN - 1475-2875
VL - 13
JO - Malaria journal
JF - Malaria journal
IS - 1
M1 - 504
ER -