ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Pediculosis caused by head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) infestation is still an important health problem in schoolchildren, especially girls, worldwide, including in Thailand. Although pediculicidal agents effectively kill head lice, the re-infestation rate is still high. Thus, prevention is an important strategy for any sustainable control program. We aimed to develop and evaluate the efficacy of a health education program for increasing knowledge, changing attitudes and promoting preventive practices to reduce prevalence of pediculosis among school girls in Amphoe Muang, Khon Kaen, northeastern Thailand. METHODOLOGY: Six schools were selected using multistage simple randomization and were allocated into intervention or control groups. A total of 267 girls was enrolled from these schools. A "knowledge, attitude and practice" (KAP) questionnaire, consent forms and health education materials were constructed and tested by experts and in one pilot school before the main investigation. Baseline prevalence of adult lice and nits was determined. The health education package was given only to the intervention group. The KAP questionnaire was re-evaluated at two months after intervention. RESULTS: At baseline, the prevalence and intensity of head lice infestation, and the KAP scores did not differ significantly between the two groups. After re-evaluation at two months, the KAP score was significantly greater in the intervention group. A significant decrease of the infestation rate from 59% to 44% was observed in the intervention group, whereas infestation increased in the control group (from 56% to 65%). The incidence of new cases in the intervention group (6.14%) was lower than in the control group (12.62%). CONCLUSION: These findings indicated that the newly-established health education package is an effective tool for increasing KAP and reducing head lice infestation in school girls. Efforts to combat pediculosis in schoolchildren elsewhere may consider including this, or a similar, health education package in their programs.
Subject(s)
Health Education , Lice Infestations/prevention & control , Program Evaluation , Adult , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Humans , Incidence , Interviews as Topic , Lice Infestations/diagnosis , Lice Infestations/epidemiology , Male , Middle Aged , Surveys and Questionnaires , Thailand/epidemiologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationships between the knowledge, social support, self-efficacy, appropriate environment, perceived barriers, and perceived benefits of physical activity and levels of physical activity. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A cross-sectional survey with multi-stage sampling was performed in a sample of 642 midlife women aged 40-59 years from Kalasin Province between June and July 2006. Physical activity was measured by interviewing and classified as active and inactive according to the national guidelines. They were also interviewed for general characteristics, factors of interest, and problems and needs for promoting physical activity. RESULTS: Forty seven percent of active physical activity was found in the midlife women. The women with moderate level of physical activity knowledge were more likely to be active than those with a low level of the knowledge (aOR 1.6; 95% CI 1.1, 2.6). The women who perceived high benefits of physical activity were more likely to be active than those with the moderate perceiving (aOR 1.7; 95% CI 1.3, 2.4). CONCLUSION: These findings provided two determinants of the physical activity in rural midlife Thai women for planning the physical activity program.
