The Study of Frequency of Intestinal Protozoa and Related Demographic Factors among Mothers Visiting Health Care Centers of Hamadan city, during 2013-2014

Introduction & Nowadays، parasitic infections are a major health problem throughout the world، particularly in developing countries. Considering the crucial role of women in fam-ily health care، this study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated demographic fac-tors of intestinal parasitic infections in mothers visiting urban and rural health care centers of Hamadan city. This cross sectional study was conducted on 253 (128 rural and 125 ur-ban) mothers visiting urban and rural health care centers of Hamadan. After receiving in-formed consent and filling the questionnaire، stool samples were examined by formalin-ether concentration technique، trichrome and modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining methods. The results were analyzed using Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests. Of the 253 mothers studied، 52 (20. 55%) were infected with intestinal protozoa. The infection rate in urban and rural inhabitants was 14. 4% and 26. 56%، respectively (P=0. 02). Blastocystis hominis was the most frequently detected parasite with prevalence of 14. 62%، followed by Entamoeba coli with 5. 92%. Moreover، Giardia lamblia was found only in 0. 79% of mothers. There were significant relationships between parasitic infections and contact to animals، level of education، location، method of washing vegetables and occupation. The results of the present study showed a high prevalence of parasitic infections in mothers living in rural areas compared to urban inhabitants. Therefore، it is necessary to pro-mote the public health awareness of rural population to reduce the frequency of parasitic in-fections.