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Table 1 Reported reasons for non-use as given by participants who own/have available a mosquito net

From: Reported reasons for not using a mosquito net when one is available: a review of the published literature

Study

Study Population

SS

Net Type

Non-use Measure

Reported Reasons for Non-use

N

Non-use Category

[20]a

Children < 5 yrsb

69c

ITN

Undefined

Physical barrier to net used

23

Technical

     

Heat

22

Discomfort

     

Disruption of sleeping arrangements

16

Social

     

Perceived mosquito density (PMD)

11

PMD

     

Net temporarily unavailablee

9

Availability

     

Caregiver not presentf

8

Social

     

Inconvenienceg

4

Technical

     

Forgetfulness

4

Other

     

Cannot use since child is sick

3

Other

     

Funeral affected net use

2

Social

     

Slept elsewhere

1

Social

     

Net is damaged

1

Other

     

Net is in storage

1

Other

     

Child fears ants will climb up net

1

Other

[21]h

Household members

294i

ITN

No use - previous night or week

Away on business or visiting relatives

44j

Social

     

Attending an all night affair

29k

Social

     

Night work

9l

Social

     

Heat

4

Discomfort

[28]

Pregnant women

52p

LLIN

No use previous night

Experiencing labour pains

22

Other

     

Heat

14

Discomfort

     

Difficult to breathe under net

12

Discomfort

     

Saving net for use after delivery

10

Other

     

No place to tie net

6

Technical

     

Net was dirty

5

Availability

     

Slept elsewhere

5

Social

[29]

HIV positive adults

17

LLIN

Use < 7 nights a week or not at all

Heat

8

Discomfort

     

Net unavailable

6

Availability

     

Perceived mosquito density

2

PMD

     

Slept elsewhere

2

Social

     

Net too difficult to mount

1

Technical

     

Forgot

1

Other

[30]h

Caregivers to children < 5

27c

ITN

No use previous night

Heat

9

Discomfort

     

Perceived mosquito density

5

PMD

     

Too difficult to get up at night

2

Technical

     

Blocks the breeze at night

1

Discomfort

[31]n

Household members

25

LLIN

No use previous night

Perceived mosquito density

5

PMD

[32]h

Household head, mother or adult

277m

LLIN

Use < 7 nights a week

Heat

100

Discomfort

     

Dislike of sleeping under net

93

Discomfort

     

Perceived mosquito density

36

PMD

     

Slept elsewhere

24

Social

[33]h

Caregivers to children < 10

116

ITN

Undefined

Heat

68

Discomfort

     

Perceived mosquito density

27

PMD

[34]n

Pregnant women

710

ITN

Use during pregnancy

Misinformation

41

Other

  1. SS = Sample size; N = Number; a. This study seemingly reports both actual (reasons why a mosquito net was not used) and anticipated (reasons why a mosquito net may not be used) reasons for mosquito net non-use; b. Data reported by caregivers; c. The reported figure differs from that in the respective study as it excludes participants who reported non-ownership as a reason for non-use; d. Reviewer derived category of the reported reasons: 'no room to hang child's net', 'house reconstruction affects net use', 'net is too small for bed or mat', 'roof is leaking, so cannot spread the net', 'cannot hang the net'; e. Reviewer derived category of the reported reasons: 'child's net used by another', 'visitor is using child's net', child's net has been taken for mending', 'child's net was washed'; f. Reviewer derived category of the reported reasons: 'child temporarily lacks caregiver', mother or caregiver is away'; g. Reviewer derived category of the reported reasons: 'difficult to spread net over mat', 'returned home to late to put up net', 'net is too hard to put up and take down'; h. Reported additional reasons for mosquito net non-use, but these were either undefined (i.e. reported as 'other') or the respective number/percentage was not provided; i. This figure was not reported in the study (no denominator was provided); rather, it was calculated by the primary author based on the reported facts that 1347 households were surveyed and that 24% of households reported at least one household member not sleeping under a net in the past week (24% of 1347 = 323). As it was also stated that 24% of the 122 reported reasons for non-mosquito net use were due to insufficient nets, 29 (24% of 122 = 29) was subtracted from 323 = 294; j. Calculated as 36% of 122; k. Calculated as 24% of 122; l. Calculated as 7% of 122; m. The reported figure differs from that in the respective study as it excludes participants who reported non-ownership as a reason for non-usage and participants who reported their mosquito net as 'lost or stolen'; n. The sum total of 'irregular users' reported in Table 2 of this study; o. Additional reasons for non-use of a mosquito net were recorded, but were not reported in the study; p. Calculated as the 18+53 participants recorded as 'no' in the 'used in pregnancy' column in figure 1.