Knowledge and attitude of scabies infection preventive practices among Islamic boarding school occupants

The study has aimed to investigate the knowledge and attitudes of scabies infection preventive practices among the occupants of Maahad Tahfiz At-Ta’xim Segamat, an Islamic boarding school. At present, the pervasive scabies prevalence in the school accounted for 60.7%. A number of factors have been found as the cause of the phenomenon among the surveyed population, including overcrowding, low humidity, and poor hygiene. To meet the objectives of the study, a cross sectional design was used, and 150 participants were surveyed using the stratified random sampling method. A structured questionnaire was developed and used as the tool for data collection, and SPSS software was used for data analysis, including the use of descriptive, correlation, and regression analyses. The results of the present study have shown that the subjects have a high level of knowledge regarding scabies symptoms and measures that can be taken to prevent the disease. While the mean was evaluated at 4.00, indicating a high level of knowledge, the mean of attitudes was 3.77. The correlation analysis has indicated that there is a high positive correlation between knowledge levels and the preventive practices, and the results were statistically significant. A similar correlation and significance were found when analyzing attitudes towards the scabies prevention. In addition, the results of the regression analysis show that both knowledge levels and attitudes can become predictors of the behavior. The implications of the study suggest that health education programs should be focused on this area to improve the knowledge of the students about the problem and the preventive measures that they could take, and the preventive practices should also be taught to change the attitudes of students towards this disease. Improving hygiene and sanitation and promoting a positive health culture and attitudes of students and staff should be the main target of health education programs. Regular screening and swift treatment should also help to address the problem. In future studies, it would be recommended to include a longitudinal study in the design and qualitative data collection methods.