03272nas a2200325   4500000000100000008004100001260003700042653003500079653002100114653001300135653002400148653002700172653001300199653001200212100001200224700001000236700000900246700000900255700001100264700001000275700000900285700001100294700001100305245015200316856009900468300000900567490000700576520234900583022001402932       2025                            d  bPublic Library of Science (PLoS)10aHealth education and awareness10aSchistosomiasis 10aTeachers10aPreventive Medicine10apsychological attitude10aChildren10aSchools1 aZhang J1 aLin D1 aHu F1 aLi D1 aChen J1 aXie H1 aLi Y1 aDing S1 aWang W00aResearch on health education and health promotion during the process of schistosomiasis elimination III new approaches for student health education  uhttps://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0013388&type=printable  a1-110 v193 a<jats:p>Schistosomiasis remains a critical public health challenge in endemic regions, particularly among school-aged children. Despite global efforts, conventional health education approaches show limited success in translating knowledge into sustained practices change. This study evaluates the efficacy of two innovative educational approaches—curriculum-integrated infiltration and stepwise progressive approaches—compared to traditional methods in enhancing schistosomiasis-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among students. A school-based intervention was conducted in Duchang County’s Zhouxi township, with is an area afferted by schistosomiasis in China. Sixth-grade students (n ≈ 300) were divided into three groups: a traditional intervention group receiving standard WHO-aligned lectures, an infiltration group with cross-disciplinary curriculum integration, and a stepwise group with modular, tiered content. KAP outcomes were assessed via validated questionnaires at baseline and post-intervention. Both intervention groups demonstrated significant knowledge gains compared to traditional intervention (post-intervention accuracy: infiltration 89.67%, stepwise 91.10%, traditional intervention 86.50%; <jats:italic><jats:italic>P</jats:italic></jats:italic> &lt; 0.001). Practices knowledge showed the most significant improvement (41.47% increase in the infiltration group vs. 22.38% in traditional intervention). The stepwise approaches achieved the highest overall accuracy (91.10%) but showed no statistically significant advantage over the infiltration approach (<jats:italic><jats:italic>P</jats:italic></jats:italic> &gt; 0.05). Attitudinal improvements were consistent across groups, with high baseline rates limiting further gains (post-intervention: 95.60–96.68%). Curriculum-integrated and stepwise approaches effectively address the knowledge-practices gap in schistosomiasis education. The infiltration strategy, requiring minimal resources, is ideal for practices reinforcement in low-resource settings, while the stepwise approach suits rapid knowledge dissemination in well-resourced areas. These findings advocate for context-adaptive, multisectoral frameworks to optimize school-based interventions, aligning with WHO goals for neglected tropical disease elimination.</jats:p>  a1935-2735