Assessing the link between head lice infestation and selected cognitive-behavioral factors in a sample of Iranian female adolescents

BACKGROUND: Head lice infestation is a serious health issue among adolescents in Iran. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the association of head lice infestation with cognitive-behavioral factors in female adolescents. METHODS: The study was cross-sectional, took place between September and October of 2017 in Sarab, East Azerbaijan province, Iran. Using a multi-stage sampling to recruit the study's 226 female adolescents, five of the Sarab's 13 schools were selected through simple random sampling. In the second step, the students were randomly selected using the systematic random sampling method. A survey questionnaire was used to collect the data. FINDINGS: The prevalence rate of head lice was calculated 20.4%, and the subjects with head lice infestation had lower levels of severity, benefits, self-efficacy, and preventive behaviors. Those without head lice infestation reported adhering to preventive behaviors. The perceived severity and self-efficacy were the statistically significant predictors of head lice infestation and use of preventive behaviors. CONCLUSION: Public health authorities, with feedback from the community, must design and implement prevention programs, focusing on mothers and their school-aged children, school principals, and managers of public places as potential change agents. In addition to, perceived severity and self-efficacy should be considered as the key categories when developing these prevention programs.