The Effect of Hair Personal Hygiene Education Using Comic Media on the Incidence of Pediculosis Capitis Among Female Students in Islamic Boarding Schools

Pediculosis capitis is a common health problem among students in Islamic boarding schools due to close interpersonal contact and communal living conditions. Health education using engaging media may support preventive behavior and reduce the occurrence of head lice infestation. This study aimed to determine the effect of hair personal hygiene education using comic media on the occurrence of Pediculosis capitis among female students at Nurul Jadid Islamic Boarding School. This study used a pre-experimental design with a one-group pretest–posttest approach. The population consisted of 451 female students, with 212 respondents selected using simple random sampling. Hair personal hygiene education was delivered using comic media, while the occurrence of Pediculosis capitis was assessed through direct examination using a fine-toothed lice comb before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using the McNemar test with a significance level of 0.05. Before the intervention, 195 respondents (92.0%) were positive for Pediculosis capitis and 17 (8.0%) were negative. After the intervention, the number of positive respondents decreased to 132 (62.3%), while 80 (37.7%) were negative. The McNemar test showed a statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest results (p < 0.001). The findings indicate that hair personal hygiene education using comic media had a significant effect on reducing the occurrence of Pediculosis capitis. Comic-based health education can be used as a promotive and preventive approach to support the reduction of head lice infestation among female students in Islamic boarding school settings