EFEITOS DE UMA INTERVENÇÃO EDUCATIVA NA PREVENÇÃO E CONTROLE DE DOENÇAS PARASITÁRIAS EM CRIANÇAS ESCOLARES NO INTERIOR DO MARANHÃO: ESTUDO QUASE-EXPERIMENTAL

Abstract

Parasitic disease is a globally prevalent public health problem affecting the health of children in developing countries. It is associated with clinical morbidities that, in more severe cases, can affect child growth and development. Considering the effects of an intervention in the prevention and control of parasitic diseases in school-aged children, in this context, Primary Health Care, especially through the Family Health Strategy, is a strategic space for the development of educational actions for health promotion and prevention in the territory. The study has a quasi-experimental, self-controlled, beforeand-after, longitudinal research design with a quantitative approach. It was conducted in 2025 in an elementary school in the interior of Maranhão, with a sample of 26 children aged 7 to 8 years. Data collection occurred in three stages: 1. Pre-intervention, with the collection of social, demographic, economic information and knowledge about the topic; 2. Educational intervention; 3. Post-intervention, with a new survey of knowledge on the subject, 90 days after the end of the intervention, to evaluate its long-term effect. Data were collected after approval from the Ethics and Research Committee. Analyses were conducted using complete pairs available for each outcome, where categorical variables were compared between pre- and postintervention using McNemar's test. For statistical inference of the differences in scores between the pre- and post-intervention moments, the Wilcoxon test for paired samples was used. All analyses were processed using the open-source software JAMOVI version 1.6 and JASPER version 1.0, adopting a significance level of 5%. The results showed a majority of brown-skinned children living with their father or mother in a house with at least four people. With parents who were farmers, an income of up to half the minimum monthly wage, and approximately 6-9 years of schooling. Following the educational intervention, there was a statistically significant increase in knowledge about what parasites are (p<0.001), symptoms of intestinal parasitosis (p<0.001), and ways to prevent parasitosis (p<0.001), as well as in the domain of prevention habits (p=0.021). In percentage terms, the increase in knowledge ranged from 23.5% to 40.2%, and the effect size was considered high (rb=0.98) and significant. Considering the participants' sex, the percentage variation in the increase in correct answers was greater in females, ranging from 28.6% to 50% (girls) versus 21.4% to 42.9% (boys) (p=0.037). It is concluded that, after an educational intervention, there was an increase in knowledge regarding parasitosis, encompassing the identification of symptoms and means of prevention; there was also an increase in personal hygiene habits. It is expected that the proposed intervention in the territory of the family health strategy will contribute to the acquisition and maintenance of knowledge and healthy lifestyle habits in the children participating in the study, with the aim of preventing and controlling parasitic diseases.