Parental Factors Influencing the Prevalence of Skin Infections and Infestations Among Nigerian Primary School Pupils

摘要

Background: The various factors including parental which influence the prevalence of childhood skin infections and infestations (SII) in the developing countries have been subjected to very little research. Yet, the health and well-being of children is dependent on their parents.Objectives: To determine the prevalence and influence of parental factors of skin infections and infestations (SII) among primary school children in Ijesa-land, Nigeria and influence of parental factors.Methodology: A total of 1,120 pupils from 30 non-boarding public schools in 6 Local government areas of Ijesa-land, were recruited by a multi-staged random technique. Physical and laboratory examinations for SII were conducted and parental socio-demographic data documented.Results: The overall prevalence rate for SII was 40.4%. Impetigo (19.4%), Tinea (15.0%), Pityriasis versicolor (6.1%) and Scabies (4.3%) were the most prevalent. Hitherto, majority (88.9%) of affected pupils were unaware of their skin disease. Higher prevalence of SII was observed among children of unmarried parents (p = 0.034), poorly-educated mothers (p < 0.001), poorly-educated fathers (p = 0.002), low maternal (p < 0.001) and low paternal (p < 0.001) occupational groups and those with low parental socio-economic status (p < 0.001).Conclusions: SII are very common among Primary school pupils in Ijesa-land. Low parental occupational grouping, poor parental socio-economic, educational and marital status may be contributory.Recommendation: Enhanced parental, particularly female education, poverty alleviation and improved school health programme may mitigate the effects and prevalence of SII among school children in this community. Introduction Skin infections and infestations (SII) are common in childhood worldwide. They affect 49.2 - 80.4% of African primary school children. 1, 2 There is paucity of literature on SII among primary school pupils in Western Nigeria. 3 The few previous studies on this subject portray SII as an emerging scourge in Africa. 1,2,3 This is in spite of all the attempts made at reducing the burden of infections and infestations by different governmental and non-governmental agencies in the last few decades. Most of the previous studies 1,2,3 were undertaken outside this region and the parental factors affecting prevalence of SII were under-studied. However, it is desirable to know the parental factors associated with SII, because the identification of these factors may be the key to the control of these diseases. The study therefore aims to document the prevalence of SII among primary school pupils and to determine the various parental factors associated with SII among the affected pupils. The study was carried out in Ijesa-land which encompasses six Local Government Areas located in Western Nigeria. Methodology From February 2003 to July 2003, the cross-sectional survey was conducted among the 58, 424 pupils of the 166 registered non-boarding public primary schools in Ijesa-land. Informed parental consent through the various school head teachers and a formal consent from the 6 Local Government Educational Authorities were obtained. By multistage sampling technique stratifying for pupil age, sex and class and school location (urban/ rural), 1,120 pupils from 30 schools from 4 of the 6 Local Government Areas were recruited randomly.Socio-demographic data which included parental educational attainments, marital status and occupation were obtained via a semi-structured questionnaire. The pupils were allocated into social classes using a combined score derived from occupation and educational attainments of both parents as described by Oyedeji. 4 Parents with none or less than primary six completed formal education were classified as poorly-educated and the rest as better-educated. Parents with occupation belonging to the professional and semi professional cadres such as doctors lawyers bankers and senior public servants were grouped into the higher occupational gr