title: Sleeping arrangement and house structure affect bed net use in villages along Lake Victoria.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although insecticide-treated bed nets are effective tools, use often does not follow ownership. House structure and space arrangements may make the attempt to use bed nets difficult, especially for school age children. The objectives of this study were to explore whether an individual's sleeping arrangements and house structure affect bed net use in villages along Lake Victoria in western Kenya.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sleeping arrangements of residents were directly observed for use of a bed net, use of a bed, and location. House size, number and types of rooms, bed availability, and residents' ages were estimated. The family heads and mothers were asked about the reason for not using bed nets. Individual bed net use was examined against age and sleeping arrangement. Net use at the household level was examined against four variables: bed availability, bed net availability, house size, and number of rooms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Bed net use by children between five and 15 years of age was lower than that among the other age classes. However, age was dropped from the final model, and sleeping arrangement was significantly associated with net use. Net use was significantly associated with bed availability, number of rooms and their interaction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Net use was affected by sleeping arrangement and availability of suitable locations for hanging nets, in addition to net availability. Most residents had likely not realized that sleeping arrangement was a factor in net use. The ease of hanging a net is particularly important for children.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of International Health Development, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, Nagasakki 852-8523, Japan.
authors.forename: Hanako
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iwashita
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dida
authors.forename: Kyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Futami
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sonye
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Horio
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawada
authors.forename: Yoshihide
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Maekawa
authors.forename: Yoshiki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.forename: Noboru
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Minakawa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D057148:Insecticide-Treated Bednets; D007630:Kenya; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057147:Mosquito Nets / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012424:Rural Population; D012890:Sleep; D055815:Young Adult