UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

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COLLEGE OF NURSING

Perceived Causes and Risk Factors Associated with Pediculosis

capitits Among Children in a Rural Community in Plaridel, Bulacan

Diella Castro1, Bea Uaje1, Florenze Art T. Yabut1

1 College of Nursing, University of Santo Tomas, España Boulevard, Manila, Philippines 1015

STUDY RESEARCHABSTRACT
DETAILS

AIMS: This research study aims to determine the perceived leading cause
of Pediculosis capitis as well as the risk factors associated with it among
children in a rural community in Plaridel, Bulacan.
Date Completed:
May 11, 2019

METHODS: Research Design: The study followed a quantitative

Keywords:
Louse descriptive research design on which it gathered information about
Lice prevailing causes and risk factors associated with lice infestation among
Children
Rural Community children in a rural community. Subjects and Study Site:The focus of the
study are children. It was conducted in a rural community in Plaridel,
Bulacan where the researchers selected 25 participants that are children
though random sampling technique. Data Instrumentation: The study
utilized an interview where each of the participant’s parent or guardian
were asked personally about the cause and effect of getting Pediculosis
capitis, and the possible managements and prevention techniques towards
the mentioned problem. Each data collected were analyzed using
descriptive statistics.

RESULTS: P.capitis is more prevalent among female (80%) and children

aging 7 – 12 years old (88%). The leading perceived cause of having head
lice is sun exposure (96%) while the second most common is because of
not taking a bath properly (4%). All participants play outdoor and 80%
usually plays between 9 AM – 3PM . While 84% of the participants share
their combs, all of them share their beds with other family members.

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 Furthermore, 48% of the respondents change their bed linens at least 4 | 10
times a month. Lastly, 48% of the partipants use suyod to treat head lice
and the second most common intervention is manual removal of head lice
(24%).

CONCLUSIONS: This present study concludes that the majority of

children in the rural community are infested with lice or has Pediculosis
capitis. Most of them are school-aged and female. Majority of the
perceived cause of having lice is playing outside under the heat of the
sun. Most of them play at the peak heat of the day between 9AM-3PM
for 2 hours. They also share with the use of comb and are sleeping beside
their family members at night. Their main means of alleviating the
problem is by using suyod mostly on which they affirm is effective.

​
INTRODUCTION
Water is essential to the life of humans because it provides for a number of physical and chemical
processes in the humanbody (Kolega, Krecar, Kunac, 2014). Access to safe drinking- water is
fundamental to health and a basic humanright.

According to the World Health Organization, a powerful environmental determinant of health is the
quality of drinking-water. The importance of accessibility to a safe drinking- water can be seen at a
national, regional and local level. There have been some studies, which showed that investments in
the water supply and sanitation can yield an economic benefit and is an effective part of poverty
alleviation strategies.

In the Philippine culture, the sources of potable water come from either treated drinking
water or tap water. Particularly inthe

provincial areas, the main source of their drinking water is tap water. Ingestion of contaminated
drinking water results in diseases, which may become a major burden on human health. Infants,
young children, elderly and the people with debilitating illnesses have the highest risk (WHO,
2011).

Therefore this study aims to determine the sanitation practices for drinking water and the
awareness to the risks of drinking uncleansed tap water among families in a ruralcommunity.

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 METHODS

Research Design
A descriptive research design was utilized in this study to describe the practices

​
of drinking water of the families living in a rural community.

Setting
Data were collected on May 26, 2016 at Jubilee Homes in Bulacan. It is a shelter program
of the Diocese of Bulacan, which accommodates the victims of Typhoon Ondoy.

Participants
The participants were selected through a random sampling technique wherein six families
from each block were randomly chosen to participate. A total of 25 participants were gathered for
thestudy.

Data Collection Procedure

The researchers started gathering data from Block A to Block E. Then proceeded on to
randomly choosing houses to survey. Each participant was informed of the purpose of the survey
and consequently verbal consent was obtained. Data were gathered through a face to face interview
with the following questions: (1) Where do you get the water that you drink? (2) Why do you
choose this practice? Follow-up questions are asked to participants who drinks tap water: (1) Do
you practice any method to clean your water? (2) Are you aware of the potential risks of drinking
directly from thefaucet?

Data Analysis
Data on sources of drinking water, reasons for choosing that source (tap or mineral), method
of cleaning tap water, and awareness of the risks of tap water were summarized and presented in
percentages.

Ethical Considerations
As this study called for the participation of human respondents, specifically families of a
rural community, ethical issues were addressed with much attention. The respondents were duly
informed about the study before asking their consent to cooperate. Also, the respondents were
informed that they could withdraw at any time of the study if they feel at any way uncomfortable.
Participants were allowed to openly express their thoughts and reactions to the researchers. None
of them were forced to disclose personal information. Only significant details that helped fulfill
the research wereincluded.

RESULTS
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Table 1.0
Gender Frequency

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 Female 20 (80%)
Male 5 (20%)

Table 1.0 represents the frequency of P. capitis infestation according to gender. 80% of the
participants are female while 20% are male.

Table 2.0
Age Frequency
1–3 0 (0%)
4–6 2 (8%)
7 - 12 22(88%)
≥ 13 1 (4%)

Table 2.0 depicts the prevalence of P. capitis infestation according to age. Majority (88%) of the
P.capitis infested children are 7 – 12 years old. In addition, 8% of P. capitis infested children are
4 – 6 years old. Finally, only 4% of the participants has a child that is infested with P. capitis. ​

Table 3.0
Number of household
members Percentage
1–5 11 (44%)
6 – 10 13 (52%)
11 - 15 1 (4%)

Table 3.0 shows the number of household members of the participants. Results showed that majority
(52%) of the participants have 6 – 10 household members. Among the participants, 44% of them have 1
– 5 household members. Lastly, only 4% of the participants has household members of 11-15.

Table 4.0
Means on how the Frequen
guardians/parents cy
confirmed if their children
have lice infestation
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“His/Her head is itchy” 2 (8%)
“I inspect his hair regularly” 21 (84%)
“I saw lice on the pillow and /or 2 (8%)
on the bed”

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 84% of the participants are inspected regularly by their guardian / parents. 8% of the participants were
confirmed to have lice infestation because their head is itchy. Lice were also seen on the pillows and on
the bed by the 8% of the participants.

Table 5.0
Perceived cause of Percentage
having head lice
Not taking a bath properly 1 (4%)
Sun exposure 24 (96%)
Infected from playmates 0 (0%)
and neighbors who also
have head lice

Table 5.0 shows that most of the informants (guardian / parents) perceive that sun exposure is the main
cause of having head lice. Only 1 out of 25 informants think that not taking a bath properly is the cause
of head lice. Meanwhile, no informant perceives that head lice is due to their children being infected by
their playmates or neighbors.

Table 6.0
Frequency of taking a Frequency
bath per day
1 3 (12%)
2 19 (76%)
3 3 (12%)

Table 6.0 shows that there are equal percentage of participants (12%) who take a bath once a day and
take a bath thrice a day. On the other hand, majority of the participants (76%) take a bath twice daily.
Furthermore, Table 4.1 suggests that only 20% of the participants are assisted by their guardian / parents
when taking a bath while the remaining 80% take a bath by themselves.

Table 7.0
Playing environment Frequency
Indoor 0
Outdoor 25 (100%)
Time
6 am – 8 pm 2 (8%)
9 am – 3 pm 20 (80%)
3 pm – 6 pm 3 (12%)
Duration
< 30 minutes 0
30 minutes to 1 hour 0
1 hour – 2 hours 5 (20%)
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≥ 2 hours 20 (80%)
Table 7.0 shows that 100% of the participants plays outdoor. Majority (80%) of them plays between 9
AM – 3 PM. 12% of the participants also play between 3 PM – 6 PM. Lastly, only 8% of the
participants would play at 6 AM – 8 AM.

Table 8.0
Sharing of combs Frequency

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 Yes 21 (84%)
No 4 (16%)
The table above shows that 84% of the participants share combs at home and only 4% them do not.

Table 8.0
Sharing of beds Frequency
Yes 25 (100%)
No 0

Table 8.0 shows that 100% of the participants share their beds with other family members. No
participant sleep alone on their bed.

Table 9.0
Frequency of bed linen Frequency
change in a month
0 0
1 3 (12%)
2 9 (36%)
3 1 (4%)
4 or more 12 (48%)

Table 9.0 shows that 12 out of 25 participants change their bed linens 4 or more times a month while
36% of the participants change their bed linen twice a month. On the other hand, 3 participants change
their bed linens once a month and only 1 participant change their bed linens
thrice a month.

Table 10.0
Interventions to treat Frequency
head lice
Use of special shampoo 2 (8%)
Use of suyod 17 (68%)
Use of gas 0
Use of chalk 0
Haircut 0
Shaving of hair 0
Manual removal of lice 6 (24%)

The table above shows that majority (68%) of the participants use suyod to treat head lice. The second
most common intervention in treating head lice is its manual removal with 24% of the participants
using this method. Finally, only 8% of the participants use special shampoo to treat head lice.
Table 11.0

Effectivity of treatment Frequency

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 Yes 25 (100%)
No 0

Table 11 shows that all of the participants consider their interventions in treating head lice is effective.
Table 10.0
Interventions to treat Frequency
head lice
Use of special shampoo 2 (8%)
Use of suyod 17 (68%)
Use of gas 0
Use of chalk 0
Haircut 0
Shaving of hair 0
Manual removal of lice 6 (24%)

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 DISCUSSION
Based on our interview, the most of the female children in Jubilee
Homes, Bulacan are infested by lice. This is consistent with the
findings that were conducted by AL-Megrin in 2015 at a Primary
School Girls in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which stated that human head
lice among children are a worldwide public health alarm. In addition,
it was explicated that high rates was observed among students, who

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 had long hair, in a poor family.

​
country’s progress report in 2011, there is a probability of attaining 86.8% accessibility of safe
water for the population by 2015 (Tubianosa).
The study also shows that financial dilemma and being accustomed to drinking tap water
are at an equal stand with 5 (35.71%) families each. The consumer council for water in the United
Kingdom say that tap water is at least 500 times cheaper than the bottled variety. As for the
families being accustomed it is because one out of five Filipinos do not have access to an improved
water source which was gathered in 2007, it had a greater percentage in the year 1990 at 73%
(Rollo, 2009). For sustainable access to safe drinking water was not a target until the creation of the
millennium development goals.
For the households who make use of tapwatertheresultsofthestudyshowedthat
10 (71.43%) families do not perform any methods of decontamination or cleaning for the water that
they ingest. According to the world health organization in 2011, ingestion of contaminated drinking
water results in diseases, which may become a major burden on human health. Infants, young
children, elderly and the people with debilitating illnesses have the highest risk. This is also
congruent with Mphande in 2016 which states that there is a direct and indirect association with
infectious diseases and lack of potable drinking water. Developing countries have developed
methods to purify/decontaminate water for safe drinking and lessening the risks. However it can be
seen that there are at least 4 (28.57%) household families boil their water first. Boiling water before
drinkingkills

microorganisms that are in it. It is one of the easy methods of making water safe to drink and is
also a method that can be easily adopted by rural the rural population, (Mphande,2016).
The study also reveals that majority (71.43%) of the families interviewed were aware of
the risks of using uncleaned tap water.

Recommendations
For the nursing practice, the researchers recommend that the children and parents or
guardians particularly in the rural areas be provided with health education on ways to alleviate or
eradicate the problem of Pediculosis capitis. The nurses should emphasize the detrimental factors
of lice infestation and its benefits once relieved from it.
For future nursing research, the researchers recommend considering the family profile,
educational attainment of the parents or guardians and the economic status of the participating
families as these are factors which may influence their approach in solving lice infestation. We
recommend to perform experimental studies that may be conducted to identify which nursing
interventions are most effective to address the concern after this descriptive study.​

CONCLUSION

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 This current study aimed to determine the
perceived leading cause of Pediculosis capitis
as well as the risk factors associated with it
among children in a rural community in
Plaridel, Bulacan.

In the light of the results, the present study

concludes that the majority of children in the
rural community is infested with lice or has
Pediculosis capitis. Most of them are school-
aged and female. Majority of the perceived
cause of having lice is playing outside under
the heat of the sun. Most of them play at the
peak heat of the day between 9AM-3PM for 2
hours. They also share with the use of comb
and are sleeping beside their family members
at night. It was known that they change their
bed linens 4x a month. Their main means of
alleviating the problem is by using suyod
mostly on which they affirm is effective.​

REFERENCES

AL-Megrin, Wafa (2015), Assessment of the Prevalence of Pediculosis capitis among Primary School Girls in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Research Journal of Environmental Sciences, 9(4) p. 193-199

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