{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,9]],"date-time":"2026-04-09T18:05:56Z","timestamp":1775757956643,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,30]],"date-time":"2022-11-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1669766400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Objectives: Pediculosis, or head lice infestation, is a widespread health problem that can affect anyone, regardless of gender, age, or social background. The purpose of this study was to clarify the occurrence of pediculosis among Estonian preschool- and primary school-aged children according to their parents and the parent\u2019s awareness of pediculosis and related behaviors. Materials and Methods: An online questionnaire was completed by the parents of the preschool children (n = 1141) in 2019 and the parents of the elementary school children (n = 362) in 2021. For the descriptive data, t-test, Mann\u2013Whitney or \u03c72 test, linear regression, and logistic regression analyses were applied. Results: According to the parents, pediculosis had occurred in 34.7% of the children, and more than one-third of pediculosis patients had experienced it more than twice. Lice were mainly acquired from elementary school or preschool and less often from friends, relatives, or training environments. Parents\u2019 knowledge of head lice was rather good; the average score of the correct answers was 14.0 \u00b1 3.4 (max. 20). In the multivariate analysis, higher age (coefficient 0.07, p &lt; 0.001), healthcare education (coefficient 1.19, p &lt; 0.001), and a previous occurrence of pediculosis in a family (coefficient 1.95; p &lt; 0.001) were factors influencing better knowledge. In order to treat the infestation, antilice shampoo and combing were the most often used methods. Conclusion: Despite parents\u2019 awareness, pediculosis infestations continue to be common among our children.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina58121773","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,1]],"date-time":"2022-12-01T01:54:31Z","timestamp":1669859671000},"page":"1773","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Estonian Parents\u2019 Awareness of Pediculosis and Its Occurrence in Their Children"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"58","author":[{"given":"Ave","family":"Kutman","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiotherapy and Environmental Health, Tartu Health Care College, 50411 Tartu, Estonia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"\u00dclle","family":"Parm","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiotherapy and Environmental Health, Tartu Health Care College, 50411 Tartu, Estonia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Anna-Liisa","family":"Tamm","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiotherapy and Environmental Health, Tartu Health Care College, 50411 Tartu, Estonia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Birgit","family":"H\u00fcneva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiotherapy and Environmental Health, Tartu Health Care College, 50411 Tartu, Estonia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Diana","family":"Jesin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physiotherapy and Environmental Health, Tartu Health Care College, 50411 Tartu, Estonia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"260","DOI":"10.3923\/pjbs.2008.260.264","article-title":"Epidemiological aspects of pediculosis capitis and treatment evaluation in primary school children in Iran","volume":"11","author":"Aflatoonian","year":"2008","journal-title":"Pak. 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