الفهرس 
AcknowledgementOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Skin diseases constitute a public health problem, especially in developing countries where infective-parasitic skin diseases are widely prevalen to The decrease of skin infections in developed countries has been braught about by better socioeconomic conditions, housing, hygiene and health education programs. Health behaviour is the pattern of response relating to health when thereis no spe cific symptom. Behaviour modification is nessary both in treatment and in the prevention of disease. The present study was designed to assess knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of the skin disease patients. The study was carried out in three outpatient skin clinics in 300 skin disease patients were interviewed from Baens East Town Hospital outpatient clinic and Alexandria University Hospital outpatient clinic. The method used was questionnaire developed to obtain the fol lowing da ta : Socioeconomic characteristics, patient complaint, site of start of disease, season, patient past history and family history, patients knowledge and behaviour, attit\J,des and beliefs related to the disease. The results obtained in the present study could be summarized as follows: Types of skin diseases were scabies (46.67), Tinea (27.67/,), Skin infection (1070), Acne (5.3370), Allergy (5), Pedicu losis 0.6770) and Psoriasis (1.6670). - The mean age for the studied sample was 24.75 + 14.7 years and 59.677. of them were females. Most of the sample (73.33)) were of low socioeconomic class, while (24) and (2.67) were of middle and high socioeconomic class respectively. The majority of the sample (83.34) were of low education (illiterate, read and write and primary edu cations), while intermediate and high education represented (14.33) and (2.33) of the sample respectively. - More than half of the sample (56.33)) had the disease for less than on month (acute) and (16) had the disease for more than one year (chronic). - The majority (81.337.) of the sample complianed of itching. - Most of the sample (71. 677.) had the disease once, while (107.) had it three times or more. (63) of the sample had no history of the disease in the family, (377.) had family member with the same disease. - Most of the sample (597.) had their disease started in winter or recur in winter, while (217.) had it in summer. : - Only (3l7.) of the sample knew the functions of the skin, (397.) knew causes of skin diseases. ,Only (11.67) of the sample had satisfactory knowledge, while (76.33) and (12) had fair and poor level of knowledge respectively. - The social class and the level of education had no relation with the degree of knowledge about skin diseases.