Abstract:

Objective: Today, diseases transmitted by insects and mites still remain an important public health problem. Therefore, the training received by health personnel and their experiences on this topic is important. This study was conducted to determine the knowledge and experiences of students, who were health personnel candidates, on insects and mites likely to be encountered in hospitals or on patients. Methods: This study is cross-sectional. No sample selection was made and 1st – and 4th-grade students in midwifery and nursing departments constituted the universe. Independent-samples t-tests compared knowledge to identify differences by students‘ experiences and education about insects and mites, χ2 tests compared frequency of correct knowledge answers according to experiences and education about insects and mites. Results: The participants stated that, in their daily lives, they mostly encountered cockroaches (77.9%) in their environment and lice (52.5%) on their bodies. In this study, the prominent finding was that both experiences and education were important in getting information on insects and mites. Students’ ratio of thinking that they had sufficient knowledge on insects and mites, the ratio of recognizing insects and mites given in images, the mean scores of correct answers given to the propositions on insects and mites, and the knowledge of struggling methods were low. Conclusion: Today’s changing environmental conditions have increased the risk of confronting epidemics related to insects and mites at any time. Therefore, it is highly important for health personnel, who are actively involved in epidemics and who consult the community, to receive effective training on insects and mites during the university period.

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