Mothers’ Demand for Preventive Health Care for Children aged Under-Five Years: The Case of Utilization of Insecticide-Treated Bednets in Ghana.

Abstract

Child health outcomes remain one of the most important barometers for measuring the overall social and economic well being of a country. Malaria is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, being the major cause of under-five mortality in Ghana. An effective strategy to combat the widespread malaria morbidity among children aged under-five is the utilization of preventive health care via Insecticide Treated Bednets (ITNs). This paper examines the socio-economic factors influencing the adoption and usage of ITNs by mothers or care-givers for children aged under-five years. Logistic regression is employed for the empirical estimation. The study finds that low-income households, age of the child, area of residence, distance to the nearest health facility and distance to food market inter alia significantly predict mother’s adoption and utilization of ITN among children aged-under five. It is also worth-noting that women who had experienced childhood mortality in the last five years preceding the survey were 37 percentage points more likely to have their children sleep under ITN. In addition, mothers who profess the Catholic faith were 2.4 times more likely to have their children sleep under ITN compared to their counterparts who are traditionalist. The paper contributes to the general debate on preventive health care.