Detection of Blastocystis hominis and Assessment of Personal Hygiene Practice in Elementary School Children in Kampa District, Kampar Regency, Riau, Indonesia

Background: Blastocystis is an opportunistic intestinal protozoan and the pathogenicity of the disease is still unclear. It can cause malnutrition and disrupt growth and development in children. This study aims to detect Blastocystis and determine characteristics and personal hygiene practices. Methodology: A cross-sectional study, with a sample of 104 students from 8 elementary schools in Kampa District. Detection of Blastocystis using stool culture with Jones Medium. Characteristics of subjects and risk factors using a questionnaire through guided interviews. Results: The prevalence of Blastocystis was 45.2% and all of them had no symptoms. Most of them had unclean nails (70.2%), did not wash their hands with soap after defecating (57.7%). All students had good behavior in defecating. Generally, students drink from refillable water purchased at drinking water depots, 53.8% of students keep and have contact with pets. There was no significant relationship between personal hygiene and Blastocystis (p>0.05). Conclusions: The prevalence of Blastocystis is quite high, although no significant relationship was found in this study, teachers and parents still need to pay attention to students' personal hygiene, such as keeping their nails clean and washing their hands with soap after defecating.