Students Beliefs toward Illness Causation

Background and objectives: Students’ health beliefs can have a profound impact on health. They can impede preventive efforts, delay or complicate medical care and result in the use of folk remedies that can be beneficial or toxic. The aim of this study was to assess the college students' beliefs toward illness causation. Methods: Descriptive study was carried using random sample of 175 college students during the period 1st of May to 1st of September 2013. The prepared scale by the researchers was administered to the study participants to test their beliefs toward illness causation. Results: This study found that about one third of the participants believed that jinn induced, evil eyes, and black magic are illness causes. There were significant differences between the students' illness causation beliefs in respect to their school departments in two questions which were stress and undesirable social habits. Conclusions: Assessment of cultural beliefs and knowledge in this study helped for finding positive and negative beliefs toward illness. Illness causation involves the biological, environmental, social, and cultural aspects. Relating illness causes to cultural aspects such as jinn induce, evil eyes, and black magic by the participants of this study brought an important issue regarding reforming health education system aiming to prevent diseases and enhance health among the students who are the crucial age group in the community. It has been recommended that the subject on "Understanding Health and Illness" should be added in the educational program of college students excluding medical students.