Abstract
Aim
This study aimed to assess toxoplasmosis-related knowledge, attitudes and preventive practices among female undergraduate students in Beni-Suef University, Egypt.
Subjects and methods
A cross-sectional design with a multi-stage random sample of female Beni-Suef university students were recruited in this survey over a period of 8 weeks’ duration using a self-administrated questionnaire.
Results
Among 1079 female students, only 35 (3.2%) had good knowledge. Female students of the Health Care faculty and students from rural areas had a significantly higher rate of good knowledge. The results also illustrated that most of the studied sample (63%) had a negative attitude. Nearly one-third of participants were convinced that toxoplasmosis shows symptoms and only (25.6%) agreed about the occurrence of toxoplasmosis infection during pregnancy. A significant positive correlation was found between the total knowledge score and the total attitude score of female students, indicating that students with better knowledge had more positive attitudes. Of the participants, 67.1% always ate fast food, while 70.7%, 72% and 78.2% of female students reported hand washing after gardening, cleaning areas where cats were and cooking with meat, respectively.
Conclusion
Knowledge regarding toxoplasmosis was deficient among female students attending Beni-Suef University, and they had a negative attitude regarding toxoplasmosis. There was also a positive correlation between students’ knowledge and their attitude toward toxoplasmosis infection. Many students avoided risk behaviors in the correct way, without realizing what they avoided. There is a critical need for efficient educational programs to raise the population’s awareness regarding toxoplasmosis.
Acknowledgments
The author is grateful to all the students who participated in this study.
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Funding: Funding was not received for this work.
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Competing interests: The author declares that she has no competing interest.
References
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© 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
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- Postural habits in adolescents: the influence of a school physiotherapy program on improving the knowledge of postures
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- Substance abuse in adolescents before admission to Peruvian juvenile detention centers: results from a national census in Peru, 2016
- The effect of positive thinking training on the quality of life of parents of adolescent with thalassemia
- The relationship of parents’ communication patterns and peer-group interaction with sexual risk behavior in adolescents
- Promoting drug abuse preventive behaviors in adolescent students based on the health belief model
- Strengthening health care worker engagement with early adolescence in low- and middle-income countries: an overdue area for action
- Determinants of e-cigarette use among a sample of high school students in Jakarta, Indonesia
- Pediatricians’ knowledge, attitudes and practices surrounding menstruation and feminine products
- Cross-sectional research on sleep hygiene and health complaints among Pakistani college students
- The effect of Islamic semanticism on self-reporting and lifestyles of mothers of adolescents with thalassemia
- Factors associated with premarital sexual behaviour of adolescents who lived in a former prostitution area
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- Study of epidemiological determinants of undernutrition among adolescent girls in urban slums of Berhampur, Odisha: a cross-sectional study
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Adverse effects of stimulant medications in children and adolescents: focus on sleep and growth disturbances
- Review
- Psychological pain and risk of suicide in adolescence
- Original Articles
- Practices, attitudes and barriers faced by internists and pediatricians in transitioning young adult patients to adult medicine
- Prevalence and personal predictors of risky sexual behaviour among in-school adolescents in the Ikenne Local Government Area, Ogun State, Nigeria
- The impact of obesity on self-esteem and academic achievement among university students
- Postural habits in adolescents: the influence of a school physiotherapy program on improving the knowledge of postures
- Peer victimization, depression, and sexual risk behaviors among high school youth in the United States: a gender-based approach
- Clinical profile and care pathways among unaccompanied minor asylum seekers in Vaud, Switzerland
- The effect of child-parent relationship therapy on social skills of Preschool Children: a semi-experimental study
- Behavioural and neuro-electrical correlates of cognitive performance in young mobile gamers of endless runner and match three genres
- Substance abuse in adolescents before admission to Peruvian juvenile detention centers: results from a national census in Peru, 2016
- The effect of positive thinking training on the quality of life of parents of adolescent with thalassemia
- The relationship of parents’ communication patterns and peer-group interaction with sexual risk behavior in adolescents
- Promoting drug abuse preventive behaviors in adolescent students based on the health belief model
- Strengthening health care worker engagement with early adolescence in low- and middle-income countries: an overdue area for action
- Determinants of e-cigarette use among a sample of high school students in Jakarta, Indonesia
- Pediatricians’ knowledge, attitudes and practices surrounding menstruation and feminine products
- Cross-sectional research on sleep hygiene and health complaints among Pakistani college students
- The effect of Islamic semanticism on self-reporting and lifestyles of mothers of adolescents with thalassemia
- Factors associated with premarital sexual behaviour of adolescents who lived in a former prostitution area
- Knowledge and attitudes about toxoplasmosis among female university students in Egypt
- Study of epidemiological determinants of undernutrition among adolescent girls in urban slums of Berhampur, Odisha: a cross-sectional study
- Knowledge and attitudes of adolescents to e-cigarettes: an international prospective study
- Determinants of substance use among young people attending an urban primary health center in Delhi
- Short Communication
- Skin cancer on Instagram: implications for adolescents and young adults