Regional variations in child and mother’s characteristics influencing the use of insecticide treated net in Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria accounts for a quarter of malaria cases worldwide, which can be prevented with the use of insecticide treated nets (ITN). While studies have documented mother-related characteristics influencing use of ITN, regional variations in the influence of those factors are not well known. This study investigated nine factors (age, place of residence, education, religion, wealth, number of children in the household, sex of child, age of child and previous experience of child mortality) as possible predictors of use of ITN for children and how the associations vary across northern and southern parts of the country. The study utilised the 2015 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey, which comprised 6524 mothers (4009 from the north and 2151 from the south) aged 15-49. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were fitted. It was found that, less than half (47.9%) of the respondents reported no access to a mosquito net in the north compared to 70.8% in the south. More than half (51.4%) of the northern respondents used insecticide treated net (ITN) for the child compared to 27.1% of southern mothers. When the variables are fitted together in the same model, place of residence, mother’s age, mother’s education, wealth, religion, number of children in the household and previous experience of child mortality were associated with the use of ITN. Regional variations exist in the influence of mother’s age, number of children in the household and previous experience of child mortality. It was submitted that mother’s characteristics are more important than the child’s factors in the use of ITN, and that, contrary to the theory of poor utilisation of health-related facilities in the north compared to the south, residents in the former have access to and use ITN more than their counterparts from the latter.

Slim north, fat south: explaining regional differences in abnormal weights in Nigeria

“…This study has shown that there are differences in weight abnormalities between the north and south and variations among ethnic groups. Unlike earlier studies Alabi & Ramsden, 2022) that suggest that the south may have better health and social indicators than the south, this study, like that of Adejoh et al (2023), found the reverse. Women in the north have healthier weight than their counterparts in the south.…”

“…The finding that the two regions have notable differences in abnormal weights is in tandem with the reports of earlier studies that investigate north-south differences in Nigeria (Adejoh et al, 2023;Alabi, 2023;Alabi & Ramsden, 2022). Specifically, the finding that the north has a higher prevalence of underweight than the south may suggest that southern women have a healthier weight than the northern women.…”

“…Hence, some pregnant women may not be delivered by a male doctor. However, the study of Adejoh et al (2023) latter found that 51.4% of mothers in the north used insecticide-treated nets for their children (less than five years old) compared to less than 30% in the south. The explanation provided was that international organizations and donor-funded projects (including the distribution of insecticide-treated nets) are concentrated in the north because of the region's high level of poverty and vulnerability to malaria.…”

Regional variations in the acceptance and experience of intimate partner violence in Nigeria: Revisiting cosmopolitan-success and conservative-failure hypothesis

“…However, the findings on IPV experience contradicts the tenets of theory. Like earlier studies (Alabi et al, 2020;Alabi & Badru, 2021;Adejoh et al, 2022), this study has contributed to CSCFH and argued that being 'conservative' does not necessarily attract failure neither does being 'cosmopolitan' lead to success in all social and health outcomes. The association between IPV experience and IPV acceptance is not clear, and future studies, in this regard, should be careful about making causal inferences.…”

“…However, recent studies conducted on the use of insecticide-treated nets [ITNs] (Adejoh et al, 2022), and obesity/overweight (Alabi & Badru, 2021) do not give credence to the assumption of CSCFH that the south exhibits better health and social behaviours than the north. This is so because a higher proportion of residents in the north utilized ITNs and have lower risks of overweight/obesity than their counterparts in the south.…”