Abstract
ABSTRACT:
BACK GROUND:
Osteoporosis (OP) is an important health, economic and social matter, which affects a major part of the population, therefore attentiveness among primary health care physicians is crucial for early detection and appropriate treatment.
OBJECTIVE:
The study was conducted to assess the knowledge of primary health care physicians in Baghdad regarding different aspects of Osteoporosis as well as to identify the impact of some socio demographic and qualification characteristic of the physicians upon their knowledge.
METHOD:
Cross sectional study was carried out in 30 primary health care centers in Baghdad for the period from 1st of February to end of May 2019.The study sample enclosed primary health care physicians working in the selected centers during the study period. Self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The questionnaire encompassed five domains to assess different aspect of OP, in addition the collected data covered some characteristics of physicians.
RESULTS:
The result showed that out of 180 physicians enrolled in the study giving an overall response rate of 81.8%., 97.8% of them had good overall knowledge on OP, and the mean score of the overall knowledge was 35.74±6.13 with range of (21-46). Highest rates (97.2%, 95%) of good knowledge were documented for domains two and one which recognized the knowledge on risk factors and general knowledge of physicians regarding OP respectively. While the least rate of good knowledge was reported in domain four that tested the knowledge of physicians regarding treatment options (76.7%). Better level of knowledge was accomplished by primary health care physicians belong to age group less than 45 years old as well as for those with less years of experience since graduation, the physician’s qualifications and specialties did not illustrate statistically significant influence on the level of knowledge.
CONCLUSION:
Despite very high-ranking level of knowledge of physicians in the present study. yet, there is still a need for continuous medical education and training of primary health care physicians to expand their knowledge as well as their skills in management of OP.
Keywords
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