Assessment on Prevalence of Tinea Capitis and Its Associated Factors among School Children in Addis Zemen, Northwest Ethiopia, 2016

Tinea capitis also known as "herpes tonsurans ringworm of the hair, ringworm of the scalp and tinea tonsurans is a cutaneous fungal infection (dermatophytosis) of the scalp. It is a common infection especially in poor socioeconomic settings. This study determines the high prevalence of Tinea capitis and its associated factors in school children in Addis Zemen, South Gondar, North west Ethiopia. The objective of this study is to assess Prevalence and associated factors of Tinea capitis among school children in Alabo elementary school, Addis zemen. A Cross sectional study was carried out among 405 school children in Addis zemen in 2016. The data were collected by interviewer administrated questionnaire and physical examination. The collected data was entered and analyzed by SPSS version 20, Binary logistic regression was done to assess the association between each independent and dependent variable. Hosmer-lemeshow goodness-of-fit was also done to assess the reliability of our data. P-value and odds ratio was done to assess the magnitude and strength of the correlation between covariates and dependent factor. Among 405 school children the prevalence of tinea capitis was 88 (21.7%) with 95%C.I=18.3-26.2; Of which it is significantly associated with age (AOR=5.92, 95%C.I= 1.51-23.21), family size (AOR=3.12, 95%C.I=1.25-7.81), occupational status of mother (AOR=0.193, 95%C.I=0.05-0.86), bed room sharing (AOR=5.62, 95%C.I=1.09-28.84), comb sharing (AOR=3.86, 95%C.I=1.68-8.87), and family member with same symptom (AOR=8.54, 95%C.I=3.26-22.35). in conclusion Tinea capitis is prevalent in Addis Zemen, Northwest Ethiopia, risking children to poor quality of life associated with different risk factors.Provision for prevention and control should be set in the community, schools and health facilities focusing on health education, sanitation and hygiene control programs.