Exposure and Determinants of Mosquito’s Bite Within Health Facilities in Northern Ghana

Abstract

Mosquitoes are considered the main agents for the transmission of several deadly diseases including malaria with controlling and preventing exposure to this vector being one of the main strategies for malaria control and prevention in Ghana. Exposure to this vector by patients/caretakers and hospital staff within wards of hospitals is a public health threat and should be a public health concern. The study assessed exposure to mosquitoes, the determinants of exposure to the vector by patients and hospital staff within wards of hospitals. A descriptive cross-sectional survey involving a mixed-method research design was conducted among 313 patients and nurses/midwives within the selected hospitals and 5 members of hospital management including ward in-charges and medical superintendents. A structured questionnaire was used for the quantitative data and an interview guide for the qualitative data collection. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.0 for the quantitative data and NVivo version 10.2, and content analyses for the qualitative data. Majority of the respondents (69.3%) were females and almost all the respondents were exposed to mosquitoes. About 98.4% experienced the presence of mosquitoes, 95.2% reported yes to have bitten by mosquitoes, 69.6% were unable to sleep due to mosquitoes the night preceding the study interview and 69.3% were highly exposed. Access to health information, state of nets of windows and doors of the ward, cracks on the walls of the ward, broken ceilings on the ward and grown bushes around the ward were observed to be significantly related to exposure to mosquitoes. Exposure to mosquitoes within the health facilities is obvious and considered normal as there is no or little effort towards preventing such a public health threat. All hospital stakeholders should work to curb this menace, the national malaria control program should consider hospitals as a priority area as far as controlling and preventing malaria is concerned.