Effect of education and health locus of control on safe use of pesticides: a cross sectional random study

A cross-sectional randomized approach was used to collect data from 335 farmers in Mahmoudiya region, Egypt using an interview questionnaire. Results were analyzed using Pearson Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, Student t-test and ANOVA.The average age of farmers was 34 years and 61% of them didn't receive school education. School education was related to higher levels of knowledge and behaviors. Farmers who received school education had more knowledge about the negative effects of pesticides on health and routes of contamination with pesticides. They also had higher scores on reading labels of pesticides containers and taking precautions after coming in contact with pesticides. Regarding health locus of control, higher internal beliefs were significantly related to higher knowledge and behaviors scores, while there was no significant relation between chance and powerful others beliefs with knowledge or behaviors.In the present study, higher level of education and lower level of internal beliefs were related to better knowledge and safer use of pesticides among Egyptian farmers. We recommend that strategies for raising internal beliefs must be included in health education programs that aim to ameliorate pesticides use among farmers.In Egypt, several pesticides including organophosphorus, carbamate, pyrethroid insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides are commonly used to increase agricultural productivity [1]. Pesticides have serious drawbacks on human health as they affect the immune system, the endocrine system and the nervous system [2]. Studies conducted in Egypt found that organophophorus and carbamate insecticides increase the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma in farmers having HCV and HBV infection [3]. Lack of following safety measures among Egyptian farmers has many reasons: illiteracy, unavailable protective devices, low awareness about the danger of pesticide contamination and the neglect of legislation regulating pesticide use [4,5].Farmers'