Knowledge and Practice of Primary School Students Regarding Intestinal Parasitic Infestations and Hygienic Measures in Beni-Suef City

Background: Parasitic diseases are a major cause of child morbidity and mortality in most parts of the world. Unhygienic and playing habits make the children particularly vulnerable to parasite infections. Parasite infections have high prevalence rates worldwide, and more than three billion people worldwide are believed to be infected with intestinal parasites Aim of the study: Assess knowledge and practice of primary school students regarding intestinal parasitic infestations and hygienic measures. Research Design: A descriptive research design was applied in this study. Sample: Multi-stage random sample was equal to 384 primary students in two primary school students at Beni- Suef city. Setting: primary school students at Beni- BeniSuef City, Egypt. Tools: One tool used to achieve the aim of this study: Interviewing questionnaire sheet which consisted of four parts to assess demographic characteristics of students, knowledge about intestinal parasitic infestations, reported practices of intestinal parasitic infestations, and reported practices questionnaires about child malnutrition symptom. Results: The study showed that 50.0 % of the studied students had a poor level of knowledge regarding intestinal parasitic infestations, and 40.0 % of the studied students had a satisfactory level of self-reported practice about intestinal parasitic infestations. Conclusion: There was a highly significant association between studied student knowledge and reported practice scores regarding intestinal parasitic infestations. Recommendations: further research about a health education program to increase awareness about avoiding intestinal parasitic infestations among primary students and to enable them to make the right decisions relating to health problems.