Scabies Awareness and Fear of Scabies Scale-10

In spite of a considerable burden of the disease, scabies is among the neglected diseases with no study on psychosocial effects of the disease. An exploratory survey of 196 college students enrolled in a regional southwestern university in US used a General Information Questionnaire including a question about the prior knowledge about scabies, a10-item Fear of Scabies Scale (FSS-10) and a Scabies Information Sheet (SIS) for educational purposes. It was concluded that the FSS-10 would be a valuable tool for assessing emotional reaction to contracting scabies. Women were found to be more afraid of contracting and living with scabies than men. Most of the participants did not have much knowledge about scabies and they stigmatized it. It was suggested that the SIS would be a useful educational tool about knowledge, management, and prevention of scabies in schools, colleges, and other institutions and resource-poor communities worldwide. Further, it was suggested that scabies control program should include educational and psychosocial support components.