Predicting the Preventive Behaviors of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in families with Children Under 10 Years, Applied the Precede Model

Background and Objec ti ve: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the endemic diseases in Iran and every year a large number of children under10years of age are infected with it. Therefore, the aim of this study was to inves ti gate the preven ti ve behavior of leishmaniasis based on the PRECEDE model in families with children under 10 years. Materials and Methods: The present study is a cross sec ti onal study that was performed on240Families with children under 10 years old in the Sankhast ward of North Khorasan province. The data collec ti on tool was a researcher ques ti onnaire that included demographic ques ti ons and structures of the ques ti onnaire model (knowledge, a tti tude, reinforcing factor, and enabling factor). Sampling was performed in several steps. Data was entered into SPSS16 so ft ware using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, one-way analysis of variance, independent t-test, correla ti on coe ffi cient, mul ti ple linear regressions. Results: The highest mean a score was obtained by the reinforcing factor (24.3 ± 22.80) and the lowest mean a score was obtained in the performance sec ti on (48.46 ± 15.66). The results of the regression model showed that knowledge (0.28), a tti tude (0.16), and enabling factors (0.14) had the highest predic ti ve power of mothers in controlling and preven ti ng disease, respec ti vely. Overall, the structures of the PRECEDE model predicted21%of the variance of the preven ti ve behavior of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Conclusion: The PRECEDE model is a good theore ti cal framework for the preven ti on of leishmaniasis. Designing and implemen ti ng an educa ti onal program based on the PRECEDE model in the popula ti on at risk will be an e ff ec ti ve step in controlling leishmaniasis. Because the prevalence of leishmaniasis is higher in rural areas, it is more important to consider the condi ti ons of the rural people in order to implement the educa ti onal program.