Background: The long-lasting insecticide-treated net (LLIN) is one of the main malaria prevention tool promoted by the WHO in Côte d'Ivoire. LLIN-coverage has reached 95% since 2015 and nearly 16 million LLINs were distributed in 2017. Despite these efforts, malaria incidence at the national level remains high (120‰ in 2012 to 164‰ in 2017) although this could be partly explained by increased screening efforts. Our goal was to determine the means of protection against mosquitoes as well as the LLIN maintenance practices of the populations in the city Bouaké, capital city of the Gbêkê region with a malaria incidence of 257‰ in 2017.
Methods: An exploratory-descriptive qualitative investigation took place in Bouaké, in four neighbourhoods that were selected through purposive sampling based on their social composition. Data were collected using a questionnaire based on convenience sampling.
Results: The study revealed that LLINs are the most used means of protection (66.4%). Environmental hygiene was second (28.8%), smoke coils third (23.5%) and aerosol cans last (18.8%). The proportion of the respondent that slept with an LLIN the night before was of 53%. 57.7% of respondents washed their LLINs, 12.1% did not wash them, and 4% replaced dirty ones with new ones. The LLINs washing methods described by the respondents did not comply with the WHO recommend actions and there was no mention of LLINs repairs.
Conclusion: Despite mass distributions of LLINs in Côte d'Ivoire, this key malaria control tool remains underused by the population. Regarding LLIN maintenance, more than half of the population did wash the nets but without following the recommendations or repairing them.