KNOWLEDGE ABOUT RABIES AND LEISHMANIASIS IN STUDENTS OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE MUNICIPALITIES OF APODI, FELIPE GUERRA AND SEVERIANO MELO IN RIO GRANDE DO NORTE, BRAZIL

• Main Authors: Faviano Ricelli da Costa e Moreira, Paula Vivianne Sousa Queiroz Moreira, Francisca Leandra de Morais Oliveira, Najara Raquel de Lima Morais, Jaqueline Cardoso de Souza, Jéssica Karla de Góis, Valnir Emerson de Holanda Gurgel, Lamoniele Mayara de Oliveira Costa, Gilberto de Barros Melo Júnior
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio Grande do Norte 2016-03-01
• Series: Holos
• Subjects: educação, escolas, extensão, saúde pública, zoonoses
• Online Access: http://www2.ifrn.edu.br/ojs/index.php/HOLOS/article/view/2244

This objective of this work was to assess the knowledge of students in public schools about rabies and leishmaniasis, through educational interventions. A total of 628 questionnaires were applied in public students from Apodi, Felipe Guerra and Severiano Melo. The questionnaires were administered before and after the educational interventions in the form of lectures. The data were discussed through a descriptive analysis. Before the presentation, 53.9% of students claimed to know the transmission mode of leishmaniasis and after, this percentage increased to 92.2%. However, before the lectures, only 6.0% of respondents associated the transmission to sandflies, and after, this percentage increased to 75.7%. For rabies, before the lectures, 63.7% of students reported knowing how rabies is transmitted and, after the lectures, 92.8% said how it was the transmission. Concerning the transmission, before the presentations, 68.3% reported that it was through bite or injury of animals and, after the lectures, the index increased to 80.4%. In conclusion, the student´s perception of public education on rabies and leishmaniasis was higher in all aspects addressed after educational intervention compared to the same questions about the knowledge of the disease before the intervention. It also concludes that the perception of students for rabies is greater than for leishmaniasis.