“After a long day of play, I get tired and forget to unfurl my bed net”: a qualitative study exploring factors affecting insecticide-treated bed net use among school-aged children in eastern Uganda
School-aged children face a unique set of personal, social, and structural challenges to bed net use. Fatigue and shared sleeping spaces contribute to inconsistent usage, even when nets are available. Parental involvement is a critical determinant, especially for younger children. Public health interventions should address behavioral habit formation, intra-household net prioritization, and consistent support from caregivers to improve bed net use in this group. Engaging children directly in malaria prevention messaging may also increase their awareness, motivation and accountability.
Authors
- Sarah W. Alexander (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9695-1702)
- Paul J. Krezanoski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5376-5336)
- Joaniter I. Nankabirwa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7818-3845)
- Deborah Ekusai‐Sebatta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8113-6185)
- Maato Zedi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9430-0626)
- John Rek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4063-0763)
- Mallory O. Johnson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0480-2804)
- Moses Robert Kamya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9106-4234)
- Emmanuel Arinaitwe
- Grant Dorsey
Institutions
- Emory University (US)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Infectious Diseases Research Collaboration (UG)
- Makerere University (UG)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Malaria Journal
- Published
- 2025-11-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-025-05653-7
- Primary Topic
- Malaria Research and Control
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00