Effective health education program on reduction of tinea capitis;A quasi-experimental study on primary school-aged children

This study intends to evaluate the effect of health education program on healthy behavior and tinea capitis in Chabahar primary school-aged boys.Patients and For this quasi-experimental (case–control) study, two primary schools were randomly selected in Chabahar, south-eastern of Iran. Initial data of 115 students were gathered using a well-prepared questionnaire, by means of a check list and a thorough clinical examination. Meanwhile, scalp and hair samples (direct slide exam and culture) were assessed. Subjects of the experimental (case) group had received necessary educations for one month after which both groups were evaluated 2 months later. Totally, 20% and 18.3% of cases and controls were infected before conducting the educational program, respectively, however, following the education only 5.5% of cases were remained infected (p=0.008). Pre- and post-education infection rate did not differ significantly. Our results showed that health education program had a positive effect on reduction of tinea capitis among prepubescent boys.