The Effect of Individual Health Education on Preventing School Students from Intestinal Parasitic Infection in Gorgan

Introduction: Children due to their lower immunity level and higher exposure to soil and other contaminated materials are more prone to parasitological diseases than adult. This study aimed at determining the effect of individual health education on preventing re-infection with intestinal parasites in elementary school students. Methods: In this experimental study two elementary girl schools were selected based on cluster sampling from which 119 students were randomly selected. Three stool samples of the subjects were tested by direct flotation and formalin-ether methods. Out of the 119 persons 40 persons had parasite infection. The infected people were randomly assigned to two groups. In addition to treatment the experimental group received instruction about parasite transition ways and prevention ways from parasitic infections. The control group however received only treatment. After two months stool samples of the two groups were collected and analyzed through Chi-square and estimating the risk ratio. Results: Out of the 40 infected participants 24.3% had pathogenic parasites and 9.2% had non- pathogenic parasites. After instruction 35% of the cases and 75% of controls showed parasitic infection again. The experimental and control groups were significantly different in terms of infection with parasitic worms (P=0.02 RR= 2.1 0.95 CI: 1.0 – 4.7). Conclusion: The results showed that individual health education reduces the risk of infection with intestinal parasites.