Knowledge and Treatment Behaviour of Acne Vulgaris among Female Students of University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Enugu State, Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Acne Vulgaris is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease, with a prevalence of about 80% among adolescents and adults. AIM: The study was designed to assess knowledge and treatment behavior of acne vulgaris among female students of the University of Nigeria, Enugu campus, Nigeria. METHOD: Descriptive survey design was adopted for this study. Three hundred and nineteen (319) female students of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus recruited through stratified random sampling were involved in the study. A questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.80 Cronchbach alpha was used for data collection. Ethical clearance was obtained from the University of Nigeria, Teaching Hospital. Ethical principles of Informed consent, confidentiality and anonymity were maintained in the study. Data were presented in tables and analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency, percentages, means and standard deviation; and Chi-square (P < 0.05) inferential statistics. FINDINGS: Majority (95.3% (304)) of the respondents have good knowledge of acne vulgaris. Consultation with a dermatologist was seen as very important for the management of acne vulgaris (M = 3.42 ± 0.62), removing acne by squeezing is not considered necessary (M = 2.04 ± 0.92) and the majority of the respondents (86.8%) use medically approved drugs and formulations like cleansers, exfoliants, sunscreen. No statistically significant relationship was found between the level of academic study and knowledge of acne vulgaris. CONCLUSION: Nurse educators must consolidate health campaigns on the evidence-based treatment options available for acne vulgaris. This is necessary to prevent complications arising from the use of untested dermatological products.