Study on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Health Workers of East Azerbaijan, Ilam and Khorasan Razavi Provinces about Leishmaniasis During 2015 - 2016: A Comparative Study Before and After Intervention

Background: Leishmaniasis is a parasitic infection caused by the Leishmania spp. and transmitted via the bite of infected female Phlebotomine sand flies. Health education is one of the important approaches to increasing knowledge and awareness of the community about leishmaniasis health issues. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of health education on knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of health volunteers about leishmaniasis in some areas endemic for cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis. Methods: In this KAP study, 104 health workers (41 from East Azerbaijan, 41 from Khorasan Razavi and 21 from Ilam provinces) were participated in the study. For this purpose, a questionnaire containing 11 items on knowledge, 10 items on attitude and 13 items on practice was used before and after educational intervention. The results were analyzed by SPSS version 22 using Wilcoxon test, Kruskal-Wallis test, McNamar’s test, and Fisher’s exact test. Results: The results showed a significant difference between pre and post-educational intervention scores. These results were reported for each province and for total subjects. KAP among the studied population was at a moderate level before the intervention, and it increased to high levels after the intervention; this difference was statistically significant (P 0.01). After the intervention, there was a significant difference between the provinces. After the intervention, the level of knowledge in Ilam was significantly higher than Khorasan Razavi and Azerbaijan provinces (P 0.01). Attitude scores were significantly lower in Khorasan Razavi Province compared to Ilam and East Azerbaijan provinces (P 0.01), and practice had improved more significantly in Khorasan Razavi province compared to Ilam province (P 0.01). Conclusions: Health education can be considered as a simple and inexpensive approach to increasing KAP among health volunteers, and it can play an important role in the prevention of leishmaniasis.