Commitment to Action: An Effective Construct on Increasing Effectiveness of an Educational Intervention to Control Pediculosis Capitis in Female High School Students

Aims: Pediculosis Capitis is one of the most common parasitic infections in female students with various complications. Commitment to action as an important determinant of behavior can reinforce interventions. This study evaluated the effect of commitment to action on increasing the effectiveness of education to control Pediculosis Capitis in students. Methods: This experimental study was conducted on ۱۵۰ female high school students in Firoozkooh in ۲۰۱۷. Participants were selected by multistage cluster sampling and randomly assigned to three groups of ۵۰ people. Two intervention groups, including education and education with a commitment to action and one control, participated. Data were collected by a valid and reliable questionnaire of knowledge, attitude, behavior, commitment to action, and examination at baseline and one month after education. Data were analyzed by SPSS ۲۱ using ANCOVA and logistic regression (p<۰.۰۵). Findings: an increase in knowledge, attitude, behavior, commitment to action, and a reduction in Pediculosis Capitis were observed (p<۰.۰۰۱) in the intervention groups. Also, there were significant differences in behavior, commitment to action, and Pediculosis Capitis (p<۰.۰۰۱) in the second intervention group than first. The effectiveness of the intervention was moderate to high (۰.۷۹ to ۰.۹۵). Factors influencing Pediculosis Capitis included the number of family members, number of people in the bedroom, history of infection, number of bedrooms, knowledge, attitude, behavior, and commitment to action (p<۰.۰۰۱). Conclusion: Applying commitment to action increases the effectiveness of the education on improving knowledge, attitude, behavior, and Pediculosis Capitis control in female high school students.