ABSTRACT
Primary care physicians (PCPs) are the first line of defense for the management of common dermatological conditions (DCs). This study aimed to assess how dermatological diseases are identified, managed, and referred to in primary healthcare centers (PHCs). This was a mixed methods study comprising a cross-sectional survey and semi-structured interviews recruited through PHCs across the Jouf region of Saudi Arabia. Sixty-one PCPs completed the data, and eight participants were interviewed. A survey based on a sample of 22 photographs of common DCs in the Kingdom was administered to the participants to answer questions about the correct diagnosis, appropriate management, referral strategy, and encounter rate. In our sampled population, the mean overall knowledge level on a scale of 10 was 7.08 (±1.3). Among participants that had good to acceptable scores, 51 (83.6%) were in the overall knowledge parameter, 46 (75.4%) in the diagnosis parameter, and 49 (80.3%) in the management parameter. PCPs with five years or more of experience were found to have significantly higher overall knowledge and management scores. Most of our PCPs demonstrated sufficient knowledge of common DCs and had good to acceptable scores in all parameters. However, educational and regulatory aspects of PCPs' clinical management were identified. Focused training, provision of workshops, and improving medical school curricula regarding common DCs are recommended.
ABSTRACT
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a serious and often underreported condition, despite its highly prevalent distribution. Primary care physicians (PCPs) play an integral role in screening and managing patients with a high risk of developing OSA. This northern Saudi Arabian cross-sectional survey assessed the knowledge and attitude towards OSA among 264 randomly selected PCPs using the OSA Knowledge and Attitude (OSAKA) questionnaire. Among the participating PCPs, 43.9% and 45.1% had low scores in the knowledge and attitude categories, respectively. More than three-fourths (78%) of them recognized that an overnight sleep study is the gold standard for diagnosing OSA. Regarding referral, 39.4% of the OSA patients encountered by the PCPs were referred to ENT specialists, while 21% were referred to sleep clinics, and 18.2% were referred to pulmonologists. Nearly half (50.8%) of the participants recognized OSA as an important clinical disease, and 56.8% were confident in caring for OSA patients. Spearman's correlation of the current study identified a positive correlation between knowledge scores and attitude scores (rho-0.151, p = 0.017). It is important to improve PCPs' knowledge regarding OSA and the necessity for referral through different training methods. Furthermore, the study findings emphasize the need to include appropriate OSA programs and continuing medical education for PCPs.
