Knowledge and perceptions about indoor residual spray for malaria prevention in Mumberes division, Nandi County in Central province of Kenya

Background: Malaria control and intervention tool usage and coverage in community depend on community acceptability and compliance. Indoor residual spray (IRS) and long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) are the preferred and recommended intervention tools. This cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the knowledge and perceptions about indoor residual spraying for malaria prevention in Mumberes Division, Nandi County in Central Kenya.
Methods: Household heads were interviewed on the socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge about IRS, role played by IRS in control of malaria, role of household heads in IRS programme and frequency of spraying. The study used scheduled questionnaires to obtain the information from household members.
Results: A total of 348 household members were involved in the study. This study indicated that age, marital status, occupation and income levels were the significant (p<0.05) determinants of utilization of IRS among the rural communities in Mumberes.
Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that, malaria control through the use of IRS in the rural community can be conducted with full participation of the local community members.

Keywords
indoor residual spray; mosquitoes; malaria; transmission; knowledge; attitude; Kenya