Evaluation of Entomophobia rate and its related factors among the students of Medicine in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, 2018

Background: Entomophobia is a term used to express irrational fear of insects and other arthropods. Generally, the human race is afraid of animals such as snakes, lizards, crocodiles and dangerous animals, but entomophobia is considered a major health problem due to the small size of the insects, the color of their bodies, the toxic sting of some of them, as well as the smell of some of them.Objectives: The present study was carried out to determine Entomophobia rate and its related factors among the students of Medicine in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences in 2018.Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The population was the students of medicine in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. Using the sample size formula, the subjects in this study consisted of 385 medical students of different disciplines who were randomly selected and evaluated. The instrument used in this study was a standardized questionnaire including 20 questions was provided to medical students. After the necessary explanations, they were asked to answer the questions carefully. The collected data were entered into the computer and analyzed with SPSS 20.Results: 378 students responded to all questions. The mean age of the students was 22.98 ± 2.44 years. The youngest and oldest were 19 and 35 years old, respectively. One hundred and fifty-nine (51.6%) were men and the rest were women. Analysis of data using chi-square test showed that there is a significant difference between the gender of students and the amount of entomophobia (p<0.0001). Female students had higher levels of entomophobia. There was also a statistically significant difference between the level of entomophobia and father s literacy (p=0.03).Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that the rate of entomophobia among the studied students is above average. The highest rate of entomophobia was observed in the age group of 23-26 years. Training courses are recommended to teach proper and proper methods of insect control, as well as training and accurate identification of insects and their importance in the environment

کلیدواژه ها:

Entomophobia ، Insects ، Arthropods ، Phobia ، Students