<p>Cognitive Factors Associated to Pediculosis Preventive Behaviors Among Mothers of School-Age Children in Chaldoran County, Iran</p>

Abstract

Background: Despite the improvement of living standards and public health as well as conducting the specific programs based on pediculosis control guidelines, Head Lice Infestation (HLI) is still a worldwide health concern. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cognitive factors associated to school-age children's HLI among mothers in an urban community. Subjects and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a multi-stage cluster random sample of 619 mothers of students in elementary schools of Chaldoran County, located in NorthWest of Iran, was recruited to participate in the study. Data were collected applying a set of questionnaires including socio-demographic and cognitive-behavioral factors, including Pediculosis Preventive Behaviors (PPBs), HLI knowledge, threat appraisal, as well as HLI prevention perceived selfefficacy, response efficacy, and perceived collective family efficacy. Results: Statistically significant differences were found in the children's HLI by their mother's age and performance in PPBs (p-value=0.001). Hierarchical multiple linear regressions were performed with PPBs as outcome variable. According to their natures, the predictors for this outcome variable were classified in two different blocks. Demographic characteristics (p > 0.05), and cognitive constructs (p< 0.001) explained 9% and 21.1% of the observed variance in PPBs, respectively. Pediculosis was found as an epidemic among the students, particularly female students, of Chaldoran County, which call for action by health stakeholders and policymakers. Conclusion: The healthcare providers are recommended to develop HLI prevention programs, within which the mothers and their school-age children as well as school mangers and public places' employers are considered as the core target groups for interventions. Besides PPBs, response efficacy and perceived collective family efficacy to perform the behaviors should be considered as the core categories while designing such prevention programs.

Impact of a health educational interventional program on reducing the head lice infestation among pupils in an elementary school of a sub-tropical region: a quasi-experimental study

“…While after the intervention, the ratio has changed significantly. Our findings are in line with studies of [ 29 ] and [ 33 ] that previously measured the level of parental learning in health education programs for pediculosis. Despite this significant decrease in the prevalence rate, the eradication was not achieved, which seems to be due to the short duration of intervention and control.…”

Impact of a health educational interventional program on reducing the head lice infestation among pupils in an elementary school of a sub-tropical region

“…While, after the intervention, the ratio has changed signi cantly. Our ndings are in line with studies of [28] and [35] that previously measured the level of parental learning in health education programs for pediculosis. Despite this signi cant decrease in the prevalence rate, the eradication was not achieved, which seems to be due to the short duration of intervention and control.…”

Assessing the link between head lice infestation and selected cognitive-behavioral factors in a sample of Iranian female adolescents

“…The high occurrence of unhealthy behaviors (e.g., not bathing, not combing) among head lice infested people was alarming, which had also been reported by Nejati et al [27] and Nezhadali et al [28] among female students. One study in Indonesia on pediculosis preventive behaviors among female students demonstrated many respondents with mild actions had practiced moderate prevention, whereas a small proportion of respondents with bad behavior groups these avoidance had been poorly done [29].…”