Abstract
This study aimed to concurrently determine the perceived knowledge, attitudes and perspectives of childcare professionals working in kindergartens towards pediculosis capitis, a common ectoparasitic disease also known as head lice, as well as gain insights into procedures and control measures that are implemented in an outbreak setting. We used a qualitative approach with a problem-centered, semi-structured and three-part interview technique conducted in selected kindergartens of Varaždin and Međimurje counties of the Republic of Croatia. Based on a purposive (deliberate) sampling method, the study included both childcare professionals and on-site health coordinators aged between 21 and 56 years of age. Five main themes were put forth as a result of the conducted thematic analysis: prevention and control measures for managing head lice, information and knowledge, social issues, psychological issues and disease perception. Each of these themes also had specific emerging categories based on participants’ responses. Even though all respondents confirmed that the disease is continuously monitored only a few of them mentioned that a scalp examination was an inherent part of disease surveillance within the kindergarten community. Moreover, we found that information on pediculosis capitis is available to both parents and childcare professionals, but with a questionable uptake. Additionally, the majority of the respondents reported that parents tend to hide the infestation in their children due to shame and/or to avoid social stigma, and thus often fail to inform kindergarten teachers and health coordinators about the problem. In conclusion, our findings have implications for further practice and the introduction of tailored public health measures for the most vulnerable populations, most notably kindergarten children.
Highlights
The disease epidemiology can vary in accordance with societal and cultural behavior, pediculosis capitis due to head lice is classified as one of the six epidermal parasitic skin diseases, which can be viewed as an informal subcategory of neglected tropical diseases [5]
The research participants were childcare professionals working in kindergartens in Varaždin and Medimurje counties, i.e., three respondents were from a kindergarten in Medimurje County and eleven respondents were from a kindergarten in Varaždin County
Respondents stated that in such situations parents expect too much from them, which only contributes to the negative attitude of the staff. This is the first study that has aimed to concurrently determine the perceived knowledge, attitudes and perspectives of childcare professionals working in kindergartens towards pediculosis capitis, i.e., head lice, the procedures and control measures implemented during an outbreak in addition to all the accompanying challenges that they are exposed to
Summary
The majority of studies on head lice focus on disease prevalence and treatment effectiveness [1,6]; the literature on the actions, experience and opinions of parents, health providers and preschool as well as schoolteachers is extremely scarce [6,7]. This is irrespective of the pervasive understanding that problems and difficulties in regard to Pediculus humanus var. This is irrespective of the pervasive understanding that problems and difficulties in regard to Pediculus humanus var. capitis are predominantly of a social and psychological rather than a medical nature [1,2,3,6,7,8]
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