Healthcare, Vol. 10, Pages 2369: Knowledge and Attitude towards Obstructive Sleep Apnea among Primary Care Physicians in Northern Regions of Saudi Arabia: A Multicenter Study

Figure 1. Sampling strategy flowchart.

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Figure 2. Knowledge and Attitude Categories (n = 264).

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Table 1. Demographics and participants’ characteristics (n = 264).

Table 1. Demographics and participants’ characteristics (n = 264).

CharacteristicFrequencyPercentageGenderMale12748.1Female13751.9Age in years, mean (SD)33 (8.01) Regions Aljouf5922.3Tabuk8933.7Northern border11643.9Latest qualificationMBBS12647.7MD6926.1Board certified4215.9Others2710.2Current positionResidents15357.9Specialists/Registrars6323.9Consultants4818.2Practice duration in years, mean (SD)8 (6.6)Rate OSA Cases encountered Mean (SD)2.63 (2.22)

Table 2. Referral patterns of primary care physicians (n = 264).

Table 2. Referral patterns of primary care physicians (n = 264).

SpecialtyFrequencyPercentageENT10439.4Sleep clinic5721.0Respiratory4818.2Neurology134.9Pediatrics41.5Others259.5None134.9

Table 3. Proportion of correct answers given by the study participants for each knowledge section item.

Table 3. Proportion of correct answers given by the study participants for each knowledge section item.

Question NumberOSAKA QuestionsCorrect
Answer
n (%)1Females with OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) may have only fatigue149 (56.45)2Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty is a cure for most patients with OSA130 (50.8)3Adult OSA prevalence is estimated to be between 2 and 10%108 (40)4Snoring is present in most of the patients with OSA215 (81.4)5OSA has an association with hypertension175 (66.3)6The gold standard for the diagnosis of OSA is overnight sleep study206 (78)7CPAP therapy may lead to nasal congestion163 (61.7)8Laser-assisted uvuloplasty is an appropriate treatment for severe OSA134 (50.8)9OSA may be due to a loss of upper airway muscle tone during sleep184 (69.7)10In children, adenoids and large tonsils most commonly cause OSA216 (81.8)11A useful examination in suspected OSA is a craniofacial and oropharyngeal examination193 (73.1)12Alcohol at bedtime improves OSA81 (30.7)13Untreated OSA has an association with a higher incidence of car related accidents180 (68.2)14A collar size greater than 17 is associated with OSA in males108 (40.9)15Females suffer from OSA more than males141 (53.4)16CPAP is the first therapy for severe OSA92 (34.8)17In adults, it is normal to have five apneas or hypopneas in one hour95 (36)18There may be an association between untreated OSA and arrhythmias of the heart171 (64.8) Median (IQR) of the correct answer (%) in the knowledge category59.14 (33.3%)

Table 4. Relationship between knowledge and background characteristics of the PCPs (n = 264).

Table 4. Relationship between knowledge and background characteristics of the PCPs (n = 264).

KnowledgeTotal (264)Low/Average (214)
n (%)High (50)
n (%)p-ValueGender * Male127107 (84.3)20 (15.7)0.213Female137107 (78.1)30 (21.9) Age in years: Mean (SD) **33.40 (8.41)32.98 (8.11)0.744Regions * Aljouf5951 (86.4)8 (13.6)0.002 ***Tabuk8981 (91.0)8 (9.0) Northern border11681 (70.7)34 (29.3) Latest qualification* MBBS12697 (77.0)29 (23.0)0.056MD/MS6958 (84.1)11 (15.9) Saudi Board certified4233 (78.6)9 (21.4) Others (Fellowship, PhD)2726(96.3)1 (2.0) Current position * Residents153121 (79.1)32 (20.9)0.585Specialists/Registrars6352 (82.5)11 (17.5) Consultants4841 (85.4)7 (14.6) Practice duration in years, mean (SD) **7.99 (6.55)6.82 (5.68)0.267

Table 5. PCPs’ responses and associated factors in the attitude section (n = 264).

Table 5. PCPs’ responses and associated factors in the attitude section (n = 264).

ItemFrequencyProportionImportance of identifying OSA patients (data shown are either important or very importance)OSA is an important disease13450.8Diagnosis of people with OSA is very much essential13651.5Self-confidence (data shown are either agree or strongly agree)Confident in diagnosing patients with a high risk of developing OSA19573.9Confident in their capability to care for OSA patients15056.8Confident in their skills to manage OSA patients on CPAP treatment12547.3

Table 6. Correlation between knowledge and attitude scores, assessed by Spearman’s correlation test.

Table 6. Correlation between knowledge and attitude scores, assessed by Spearman’s correlation test.

Spearman’s Coefficient Value (Rho)p-ValueKnowledge–Attitude0.1510.017 *

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