Abstract
Malaria remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in many tropical countries with potential adverse effects on economic growth and development. Recognizing these negative effects, several mosquito control measures including bednets and household insecticide products (such as coil and repellent) have been promoted to reduce malaria. However, there is little evidence on the effects of combined measures on malaria reduction. This study examines the interaction effects of household use of bednets and insecticide products on self-reported malaria prevalence in Southern Ghana using panel data collected from two administrative districts and a doubly robust estimation technique. The study finds that the use of bednets is associated with lower malaria among household members. Household use of insecticide products singly shows no statistically significant negative relationship with malaria. The study finds some evidence that adopting the two measures jointly increases the efficacy of insecticide products and this signifies the importance of combining various measures to prevent malaria. The results also suggest that combining bednets and household insecticide products reduce malaria for all individuals, females and children under five years. The main policy implications are that single interventions on malaria prevention should focus on bednets, and the use of insecticide products should be combined with other measures in order to improve its efficacy to prevent malaria in developing countries.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e00866 |
Journal | Scientific African |
Volume | 13 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Sep 2021 |
Keywords
- Bednets
- Household insecticide products
- Intrahousehold allocation
- Malaria
- Panel data analysis
- Treatment effects