Background: Malaria is a
disease caused by an infected female Anopheles mosquito. Nigeria, one of the
two epicenters of malaria transmission across the globe, contributes to 40
percent global malaria burden. The disease, considered a global priority, has an
annual global death toll of around 400,000 people. The global reduction in
malaria burden which is the result of direct scale-up of one of the core
malaria interventions using the insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), has prevented
around 663 million cases of malaria in the sub-Saharan Africa. The most cost-effective
evidenced-based strategy against malaria and its unwanted consequences is
sleeping under the LLINs; studies have proven this measure to confer adequate
protection to the mother and her unborn child. Methods: Quantitative
cross-sectional study using secondary data obtained during the 2015 Nigeria
malaria indicator survey. The eligible participants in the survey were pregnant
women and caregivers who had at least a child under the age of five years. The
survey was conducted in October and November 2015 across the thirty-six states
of the country including the Federal Capital Territory. Using SPSS version 24,
correlation and regression analyses were run to check for any significant
correlation between LLIN use and malaria prevalence. Results: The Pearson
correlation is 0.866 (α = 0.026, p < 0.05) 2-tailed test,
showing positive linear relationships between LLIN use and malaria prevalence across the six geo-political zones in 2015. The
ANOVA test shows F value 21.510 (α = 0.017, p < 0.05) and Regression analysis,
R-square 0.935; these further shows a significant correlation between LLIN use
and malaria prevalence. In favour of the Alternative Hypothesis, the Null
Hypothesis was rejected. However, LLIN ownership and malaria prevalence shows
weak correlation with a Pearson correlation of 0.635, (α =
0.175, p < 0.05) 2-tailed
test. Conclusion: The outcome of this study once again underscores LLIN as an
important prevention tool against malaria and its unwanted consequences. The
positive linear correlation on LLIN use and the decline in malaria prevalence
underscores the need for governments at all levels to ease up LLIN access to
reduce any intervention gaps to further reduce malaria morbidity and mortality
and achieve malaria elimination across the country.
Cite this paper
Saleh, J. A. , Saddiq, A. and Uchenna, A. A. (2018). LLIN Ownership, Utilization, and Malaria Prevalence: An Outlook at the 2015 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey. Open Access Library Journal, 5, e4280. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1104280.
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