Pediculosis capitis and relevant factors in secondary school students of Hamadan, west of Iran.
BACKGROUND
Pediculosis capitis is a problem in children and has worldwide distribution. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of pediculosis degree and its relevant factors in the secondary schools in Hamadan west of Iran.


METHODS
The study was carried out in two phases. A cross-sectional procedure was used to determine the prevalence of pediculosis, and the case study was done to identify the relevant factors to the infestation. Totally, 10841 secondary students were chosen and classified in accordance with the clustering sample.


RESULTS
The prevalence of pediculosis was 1.05%. It was 1.27% among the urban student; whereas 0.05% among the rural students. About 2.3% belonged to female students, and 0.11% was pertained to the male students. The greatest amount of infestation prevalence was reported from the schools of urban areas particularly in the public schools of suburbia. Furthermore, the prevalence of infestation was more where some individuals had pediculosis previous history and suffered from head inching. It turned out to be a significant relationship between pediculosis, head itching (P<0.001) and previous history of pediculosis (P<0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of pediculosis in Hamadan is low, but is more in the areas which are deprived of the access to health facilities. Therefore, there is a need for educational campaigns about danger of infection and regular mass screening at school.
Research Center for Child & Maternity Care (RCCMC) and Department of Community Health Nursing, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran. afsar_omidi@yahoo.com.
Afsar
A
Omidi
Masoud
M
Khodaveisi
Abas
A
Moghimbeigi
Nahid
N
Mohammadi
Roya
R
Amini
D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D010373:Lice Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012536:Scalp Dermatoses / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000469:parasitology; D012572:School Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D013383:Suburban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
Iran; Pediculosis capitis; Prevalence; Secondary schools