Abstract
BACKGROUND: Malaria is endemic in Guinea. The use of mosquito nets by women of childbearing age helps protect children under five from malaria. AIM: To estimate the proportion of mosquito nets use and identify the factors explaining that use among women aged 15 to 49 in four regions of Guinea. SETTING: The study was carried out in Guinea specifically in Conakry, Boke, Kindia, and Labe regions. METHODS: We conducted a secondary analysis of a 2023 cross-sectional study, yielding a sample of 1,876 women. The outcome was mosquito net use the night before the survey. Simple logistic regressions assessed associations with independent variables were included in multivariate analysis. RESULTS: In our study, 64.23% of women slept under a mosquito net the night before the survey. Living in an urban area is associated with a reduced likelihood of sleeping under a mosquito net (OR = 0.54; 95% CI = 0.43-0.68). Believing that sleeping under a mosquito net poses no health risk significantly increases the likelihood of using it (OR = 2.14; 95% CI = 1.64-2.79), as does the belief that mosquito nets are very useful (OR = 2.33; 95% CI = 1.38-4.00). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that communication strategies must focus on transforming women's knowledge and attitudes by using approaches that are more engaging, participatory, and adapted to local realities. CONTRIBUTION: This study shows that knowledge and attitudes toward malaria matter when it comes to preventive practices like the use of mosquito nets among women in childbearing age.