Hygienic aspects of scabies prevention: public awareness and new approaches to reducing the incidence.

AIMS: To analyze the awareness of various population groups about scabies and measures to prevent this disease.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted. An online questionnaire developed by the authors from Pirogov University was used. The time interval for conducting the study is 2024-2025. The total number of respondents was 517 people. The number of schoolchildren surveyed was 182, with an average age of 15; the number of non–medical university students surveyed was 113, with an average age of 19; the number of adults surveyed who do not work in the healthcare system was 222, with an average age of 40. The study was conducted on the basis of the Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (Pirogov University), the Federal State Budgetary Institution Federal Center for Brain and Neurotechnology, FMBA, GBUZ DGP №118 DZM Branch 4.

Standard statistical processing was performed using the computer program Statistica 10.0 (StatSoft, USA) and MS Excel 2016 analysis packages.

RESULTS: The majority of respondents are aware that itching is a symptom of scabies, but only 32.4% of schoolchildren, 37.2% of students, and 32% of the working population are informed about other symptoms of the disease: rashes and scabies. 20.0% of respondents are insufficiently informed about scabies prevention and skin care. Respondents (79.1% of schoolchildren, 82.3% of students, 82.9% of the working population) noted that the main source of health information for them is a doctor. The second most popular source of information is the Internet, as reported by 65.9% of schoolchildren, 58.4% of students and 61.3% of the working population.

CONCLUSIONS: The survey revealed a lack of awareness among various population groups about the clinical manifestations of scabies and measures to prevent this disease. Most respondents consider doctors and the Internet to be reliable sources of information about skin diseases.