The Effect of peer education on Health Belief Model(HBM) about Pediculosis infestation in elementary girlstudents Gonabad, Iran

Background: Lice are a group of blood-sucking arthropods and external parasites. And the most common parasitic infestations worldwide are among the students.Head lice infestation in all parts of the world including Iran, especially in areas with high population density and abundance combined with poverty and lack of personal hygiene is observed. This study aimed to investigate the effect of peer education on Health Belief Model (HBM) about pediculosis infestation was performed in elementary girl students in Gonabad. Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, the statistical population was 179 fifth grade elementary students were selected through a multistage simple random sampling and were divided into two groups. The data collection tool was a questionnaire. Based on the results of the needs assessment conducted over three sessions and educational intervention technique slideshows, movies and Questions by peers trained in the group intervention. One month after the intervention, post-test questionnaire was completed. Data were entered into statistical software Spss then ANOVA test, t test and paired t-test and Pearson correlation analysis was used. Findings: Showed that pre-intervention mean knowledge, Health Belief Model constructs and behavior were not significantly different. After training, the mean scores of all the variables in the intervention group significantly increased. The correlation coefficient between the preventive behavior of pediculosis infestation and the bath and comb frequency significant relationship was observed. Conclusion: Accordingly, design of training programs based on Health Belief Model can effective on student's prevention behavior of pediculosis infestation. Key words: education, Pediculosis, Health Belief Model, student, Behavior