ABSTRACT
Background: Celiac disease is a chronic immune-mediated enteropathy that affects the small intestine of genetically predisposed individuals and is precipitated by the ingestion of food containing gluten. Treatment consists of a glutenfree diet to control the signs and classic symptoms of the disease and prevent complications. Objective: To determine the awareness of the public about celiac disease in children in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional communitybased study conducted during the period from 1st May to 31st July 2019. A systematic random sampling technique was used. The study included 1619 participants. Data collected using a pre-designed online questionnaire distributed among parents of children and adolescents. The questionnaire includes about 18 items that guide us to the awareness of the public about celiac disease in children. Results: Half of participants (50.1%) think that Celiac diseases are a form of allergy to wheat products. Less than half (46.7%) of cases think that there is a correlation between the presence of celiac and disease and other immunological diseases and 33.7% don’t know. The majority of participants 59.9% think that family history has a role in the occurrence of celiac diseases and 62.4% think that it affects humans at any age. Only 28.8% of participants think that celiac disease is more prevalent in the Middle East than in any other region and the majority 49.8% don’t know. The majority (35.2%) of participants don’t know if there was a relation between cough and asthma with celiac disease. About third (31.6%) of the participants agreed that CD is linked to diabetes and 26.3% think that the CD associated with genetic diabetes than acquired diabetes. More than half of participants 51.5% think that psychological disorders are among the causes of celiac disease but, 39% of them don’t think that pregnancy and childbirth are among the causes of CD and 40.6% don’t know if surgical operations are among the causes or not. The majority of participants 59% think that CD is treatable disease, and 49.7% think that a patient with CD should have food that is completely free of wheat and its products. More than half (52.3%) participants think that colon cancer is one of the consequences of CD. Conclusion: The general population of Saudi Arabia, has reasonable knowledge about celiac diseases in children. We recommend health education sittings to raise the awareness of the public about the disease.
ABSTRACT
Background: The hospital Emergency department (ED) is one of the most important components of the health delivery system. Objectives: To investigate the public awareness of the ERs in KSA, what the public knows about the provided services, and if they know the difference between the outpatient clinic and ERs. Methods: It is a cross-sectional descriptive community-based study carried out on 977 male and female, young and adult participants from all age groups, in different areas of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, during the period from 1st January to 31st July 2019. Data was collected through filling the pre-designed online questionnaire which guided us to the needed data. We utilized the SPSS program version 16. The X2 test was used as a test of significance, and differences considered significant at p-value less than 0.05. Results: Most of the participants (87.5%) reported that they know the difference between the outpatient clinic and ER. The majority (68.1%) of subjects said that ERs is meaning rapid and unplanned medical care, 17.3% said any needed health care is available there, 12.2% said that it means insufficient medical care and only 2.5% said it means availability of physician at any time for any purpose. As regards evaluation to the provided services in ERs; 32.5% of cases said it was very good followed by 28.5% good, 19.8% excellent, 10.2% accepted and 10% reported it was bad services. There were significant relations between the awareness and age (p=0.03) and education level (p=0.003), but no relation was found with the gender of the participant (p>0.5). Conclusion: In our study, Most of the participants reported that they know the difference between the outpatient clinic and ERs. The majority of subjects said that ERs is meaning rapid and unplanned medical care and/or availability of physician at any time for any purpose. There were significant relations between the awareness and age and education level, but insignificant relation was found with the gender of the participant.