Assesment of nurses knowledge towrard leishmaniasis at primary health care centers in Thi-Qar province

Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease that infects the skin, in which rashes and chronic ulcers appear, and it is classified within the group of zoonotic and anthroponic diseases. This means that it can be transmitted from animals to humans and between people. It is caused by parasite of the genus Leishmania, a single-celled, predatory organism that breeds in humid or aquatic environments. It is spread by a female bloodsucker , known as a sand fly, which forms its reservoir in vertebrate animals. Leishmaniasis is directly related to poverty and the determinants of health: sanitation, lifestyles and resource availability. However, social, environmental and climatic factors also directly affect the epidemiology of the disease. Climate change is one of the factors that should alert us to the way in which the humidity is increasing in Thi-Qar, and the high temperatures favor the proliferation of insects that transmit leishmaniasis.This study determines the assessment of nurses' knowledge of leishmaniasis in primary health care centers in Thi-Qar governorate, in 2020. It is a descriptive study, and a non-experimental design, with the nursing department 9 centers and 339 nurses in primary care centers. The sample was conducted using a non-probability intentional data type with 179 male and female nurses. The questionnaire was used on the topic of general information about cutaneous leishmaniasis, source of information about cutaneous leishmaniasis, awareness (knowledge) about the transmission of cutaneous leishmaniasis, awareness (knowledge) about the characters and places of reproduction of the disease-causing vector, and awareness (knowledge) of the clinical manifestations of cutaneous leishmaniasis. SPSS version 24 software was used to develop statistical database and tables. Related to knowledge about cutaneous leishmaniasis, from 179 nurses (92.73%) had heard or read about it and that more than half of the participants had regular knowledge of it. Whereas with regard to knowledge of infection (84.91%) of the sample had good knowledge of leishmaniasis infection and (15%) had poor knowledge of leishmaniasis. Thus, the nursing staff in Thi-Qar governorate have regular knowledge of cutaneous leishmaniasis and most of them apply good practices to prevent this disease. Key Words: Assesssment, Nurses, Leishmaniasis