BACKGROUND

In Saudi Arabia, the prevalence of toxoplasmosis is high. However, to date, few studies have evaluated the degree of knowledge on toxoplasmosis among females in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and preventive behavior regarding toxoplasmosis among female students at Jazan University, Jazan, southwest Saudi Arabia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted on a random sample of 440 female students at Jazan University using a semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire. Data with numerical/qualitative variables were expressed as frequency and percentage. Chi-square test was used to analyze categorical variables. < 0.05 was used to indicate statistical significance.

RESULTS

This study found that more than three-quarters (79.1%) of the students had insufficient knowledge about toxoplasmosis. Students from healthcare faculties had higher knowledge scores (28.5%) than students from arts and humanities (20.6%) and science (18.9%) faculties; however, the differences were not statistically significant ( = 0.77). The majority of the studied sample (92.3%) was found to eat fast food on a regular basis. About 42%, 54% and 4% of the respondents reported that they never, occasionally and always ate improperly washed vegetables, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

This study found that a substantial proportion of Jazan University's female students have insufficient knowledge on toxoplasmosis. Health educational programs are necessary to increase the awareness and knowledge about toxoplasmosis and its clinical manifestations.