Factors influencing contact notification for scabies among students in the Netherlands

Abstract Background Recently, scabies has been increasing among young adults in the Netherlands and beyond. To control scabies outbreaks, notification of contacts is recommended. Research to what extent young adults, including students, perform the recommended measures for scabies correctly and what factors may influence this behaviour is lacking. In this paper, we present the results of a quantitative survey on socio-psychological factors influencing contact notification (CN) intentions among students with scabies experience in the Netherlands. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was distributed among higher educated students in the Netherlands. The survey was developed based on a review of the literature on determinants of CN as well as informed by theories of health behaviour. The survey included measures on background variables, scabies experience variables and socio-psychological determinants such as knowledge, perceived infectiousness, attitude, emotions, stigma, response-efficacy, self-efficacy and social norms. The final sample included N = 309 participants (64% female, M age = 21.7 years (SD = 1.8, range 18 - 27)). Results Findings from both univariate and multivariate analyses show that multiple variables are associated with CN intentions, with attitude, injunctive norm and past behaviour being the most important in determining the intention for CN. Smaller associations were found for positive and negative emotions involved with CN, response efficacy of CN, and descriptive norm. Stigma (both anticipated and personalized), negative self-image, self-efficacy, number of lifetime scabies episodes, having received a CN and the number of contacts to notify showed small to moderate associations in the univariate analyses only. Conclusions To motivate CN among students with scabies, interventions should target attitude and injunctive norm. In addition, implementing these interventions among new students during the start of the academic year seems most effective.