RESUMO
The objective of the study is to assess the level of public awareness on the causes of chest pain in Jordan. A total of 4194 adults [2086 males, 2108 females] from various regions of Jordan were interviewed during the period of July -September2004. The range of the age for the sample was 18- 86 years with a mean of 26.08 +/- 0.16 [SEM] years. Each individual was asked to answer a total of 16 specific questions on the causes of chest pain. Moreover, a brief comment was provided to each person on the disorders mentioned in the questionnaire. A score out of 16 was used to determine the level of awareness on this issue. Our results showed that the overall public awareness mean score was 5.05 +/- 0.09 which was poor according to the study scale. The highest level of awareness in individuals with health-related [9.35 +/- 1.29] and health-unrelated [3.69 +/- 0.51] jobs was detected in the age range of 50- 57 which represents only 3.5% of the sample. When compared with other ethnicities, Jordanians has the lowest percentage [5.2%] of "excellent" scores and almost the highest percentage [18%] of "extremely poor" scores. In all age ranges [except> 57 years], the scores on the level of awareness were significantly higher in individuals with health-related jobs than persons engaged in health-unrelated jobs. It is concluded that public awareness on chest pain in Jordan is poor. Therefore, community education campaigns should be initiated to increase public awareness on the clinical manifestations of chest pain