• Maureen Andinda, Edgar Mulogo, Eleanor Turyakira, and Vincent Batwala.
• School of Health Sciences, Mountains of the Moon University, P.O. Box 837, Fort Portal, Uganda.
• Afr Health Sci. 2019 Mar 1; 19 (1): 1353-1360.

BackgroundIn 2010, Uganda Malaria Control Programme distributed cost-free mosquito bed nets to households with children under-five years and pregnant women in selected sub-counties. We assessed the factors associated with sleeping under costfree mosquito nets among children under-five years in Nyakayojo sub-county, Mbarara District, Uganda.Methods381 households with at least a child under-five years and benefited from cost-free bed nets in Nyakayojo were randomly selected. Caregivers of children were interviewed using a questionnaire.Results74% children slept under bed nets a night before the study. Children from households with ≥2 nets [aOR=1.75; 95% CI: 1.09-2.81, p=0.02], female caregiver [aOR=2.11; 95% CI: 1.16-3.79, p=0.01] and children from households that did not face problems (skin irritation, torn nets, suffocation, night sweating, nasal congestion and candle fire) when sleeping under bed nets [aOR=1.81; 95% CI: 1.10-2.98, p=0.02] were more likely to use nets. Main reason for not sleeping under a net was damage to the net (47.1%).ConclusionThe proportion of children sleeping under nets was comparable to MDG target. Improvements in use of mosquito nets by children can be achieved through increasing number of nets in a household.

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