Scabies prevalence and its associated factors among prisoners in southern Ethiopia: An institution-based analytical cross-sectional study

• Published in: PLoS neglected tropical diseases 2023-12, Vol.17 (12), p.e0011826-e0011826
• Main Authors: Bogino, Efa Ambaw, Woldegeorgis, Beshada Zerfu, Wondewosen, Lantesil, Dessu, Blen Kassahun, Obsa, Mohammed Suleiman, Hanfore, Lolemo Kelbiso, Galtore, Teketel Ermias, Kidane, Woldu, Kelbore, Abraham Getachew
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Analysis; Confidence intervals; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Distribution; Ethiopia - epidemiology; Female; Health aspects; History; Humans; Hygiene; Independent variables; Infestation; Male; Mathematical analysis; Medicine and Health Sciences; Middle Aged; Parasitic diseases; People and Places; Permethrin; Physical Sciences; Prevalence; Prison overcrowding; Prisoners; Prisons; Questionnaires; Random sampling; Regression analysis; Response rates; Risk factors; Sample size; Sanitation; Scabies; Scabies - diagnosis; Scabies - epidemiology; Skin; Soaps; Social aspects; Social Sciences; Sociodemographics; Statistical analysis; Statistical sampling; Statistics; Systematic review; Variables; Ventilation; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1935-2735; 1935-2727; 1935-2735
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011826

Scabies is an ectoparasitic infestation that can easily spread during close human contact and in overcrowded areas such as prisons and public places where sanitation is a problem. Globally, as many as 300 million people are infested with scabies each year. Within Ethiopia, its burden in institutions like prisons is not well-studied. As a consequence, we sought to estimate the prevalence of scabies and also identify factors associated with it among prison inmates in southern Ethiopia. An institution-based analytical cross-sectional study design was employed. We used, a simple random sampling technique to select 422 prisoners. A pretested-structured questionnaire was used to collect the necessary information. EpiData version 4.2.0.0 and Statistical Packages for Social Science version 25 software were used for data entry and analysis respectively. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were computed. The model fitness was checked using the Hosmer-Lemeshow and omnibus tests. The association between the independent and outcome variables was presented in the form of a table showing the crude odds ratio and adjusted odds ratio (AOR) along with their 95% confidence interval (CI). The level of statistical significance was declared at P.value ≤ 0.05. A total of 418 prisoners were interviewed, yielding a 99.1% response rate. The age of the participants ranged from 17 to 60 years. As many as 381 (91.1%) participants were male. The prevalence of scabies was found to be 8.9%. A history of sexual contact in the past two months, before imprisonment (AOR: 9.92 (95% CI 3.07, 32.02), P