Health beliefs and health behaviour related to bilharziasis in selected Egyptian villages

ABSTRACT

This report provides an investigation of the relationship between health beliefs and health behavior of 128 villagers from Delta region of Egypt. An interview was used to collect data from the respondents. It was found that individuals who were neither previously nor presently infected scored significantly higher in preventive health behavior than those who were previously or presently infected. The presently infected individuals demonstrated a significantly higher perception of barriers to compliance to preventive health behavior than the presently noninfected ones. The perceived susceptibility to, and seriousness of the disease were significantly higher among the previously and presently infected individuals than the previously and presently noninfected individuals. Significantly higher susceptibility and seriousness were demonstrated by individuals who perceived bilharziasis as not preventable than those who believed that it is preventable. Finally, respondents who believed that schistosomiasis is not a punishment from God perceived barriers to compliance to preventive health behavior and perceived seriousness of the disease significantly higher than those who perceived the disease as a punishment from God