Exposure to mass media malaria messages and use of insecticide-treated nets and artemisinin combination therapy among Southeast Nigeria residents

Background: Malaria remains endemic in Nigeria. The National Malaria Elimination Programmeutilizes the mass media to educate Nigerians to adopt insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and Artemisinin Combination Therapy (ACT) for malaria prevention and treatment respectively. This study investigated the influence of media messages on ITN and ACT use in Southeast Nigeria. Methods: Data was collected with a structured questionnaire from 480 respondents across 15 communities in Southeast Nigeria. Analysis was carried out on the data using percentages and logistic regression. Results: Results indicated high exposure to malaria messages, but limited effect on ITN and ACT use. Regression results showed that exposure to newspapers (OR=1.017); magazines (OR=1.639) and internet (OR=1.444) increased the odds of ITN use. Exposure to television messages(OR=1.707;P<0.001);billboards(OR=2.098;P<0.011);Internet(OR=1.805;P<0.011) and tertiary education(OR=8.454;p<0.000) positively predicted ACT use. Conclusions: Exposure to malaria messages has not resulted in population-wide adoption of ITNs and ACT. There is need for the National Malaria Elimination Programme to address factors that hinder ITN and ACT use.