Ownership and utilization of mosquito bed net among pregnant women in Ghana: a national population-based survey.

Background: Despite mosquito bed net use being among the many evidence-based safe and successful interventions to avert plasmodium infection during pregnancy, its use remains low among pregnant women due to various barriers. This study, therefore, examined the factors associated with mosquito bed net utilization and ownership among pregnant women in Ghana.

Methods: Data from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey were analyzed for this cross-sectional study. A representative sample of 1111 pregnant women from the 16 regions of Ghana were included in the study. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors associated with mosquito bed net ownership and utilization among pregnant women of reproductive age.

Results: The prevalence of mosquito bed net ownership among pregnant women was 80.1% [CI 76.8-83.0] and that of mosquito bed net utilization was 47.6% [CI 43.9-51.4]. We also found that pregnant women with 1-3 children [aOR = 2.07, 95% CI 1.25-3.43] and 4 or more children [aOR = 2.52, 95% CI 1.38-4.59], had a partner with secondary level education [aOR = 2.11, 95% CI 1.10-4.06] and higher educational status [aOR = 2.47, 95% CI 1.06-5.74] had higher odds of mosquito bed net use. However, pregnant women who belonged to middle wealth quintiles [aOR = 0.41, 95% CI 0.21-0.82], richer wealth quintiles [aOR = 0.19, 95% CI 0.09-0.41], and richest wealth quintiles [aOR = 0.09, 95% CI 0.03-0.25] had decreased odds of mosquito bed net use. In addition, pregnant women who had female household heads [aOR = 1.73, 95% CI 1.03-2.91], resided in the rural areas [aOR = 1.97, 95% CI 1.12-3.49], had 1-3 children [aOR = 1.65, 95% CI 1.05-2.58] and 4 or more children [aOR = 2.08, 95% CI 1.03-4.20] had higher odds of mosquito bed net ownership. Meanwhile, pregnant women with active health insurance [aOR = 0.29, 95% CI 0.10-0.80] had lesser odds of mosquito bed net ownership.

Conclusion: The rate of mosquito bed net ownership was high among pregnant women. However, the effective utilization of mosquito bed net among pregnant women was low. Considering the low utilization of mosquito bed nets, public health practitioners and clinicians should develop awareness and educational interventions tailored toward improving mosquito bed net use among pregnant women.