ABSTRACT
Objectives Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common chronic degenerative joint disease linked to age, joint overuse abnormalities, and previous trauma. This research aims to assess the awareness levels, as well as the knowledge gap and misconceptions, about OA and its risk factors among the general population in Hail, Saudi Arabia. Methods The research adopted an observational cross-sectional method. Participants from Hail, Saudi Arabia, were recruited and then interviewed between 1 April and 15 July 2022. Adult males and females aged 18 or more were recruited via an online questionnaire using a Google Form link, inviting them to take part in a study concerning their knowledge of OA. The questionnaire was split into three sections. The first section covered demographic data, the second section contained general knowledge regarding OA, and the third section was made up of a 20-item quiz. The collected data was reviewed and then analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). The statistical methods employed were all two-tailed, with an alpha level of 0.05 considered significant if the P value was less than, or equal to, 0.05. Results Nine hundred six (906) eligible respondents completed the questionnaire. Participants ranged from 18 to 65 in age. More than 66% were female, while 77.5% had a university level of education or above. 13.6% had been diagnosed with OA. Overall, 40.9% of the study participants demonstrated a good knowledge level regarding OA, while 59.1% showed a poor knowledge level. Conclusion The study revealed that the awareness and knowledge levels of the general population in Hail about OA are unsatisfactory. Efforts are recommended to increase the awareness and knowledge of the population through public education, which in turn can lead to a reduction in risk factors and improved early detection of the disease.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Noise induced hearing loss is the one of the most preventable causes of hearing loss in all age groups. Occupational, environmental, infectious and genetic factors all play a role in determining the level of hearing loss. However, the use of headphones and personal listening devices is now very common, especially in younger generations. Healthy habits are needed to prevent them from developing hearing loss over time. We aim to assess the awareness level of hearing loss among residents of Hail region and its relation to personal listening devices. METHODOLOGY: This is a cross-sectional survey based study that was conducted in 2021 over a duration of four months. The survey purpose was to assess the level of awareness about the Relation of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss and Use of Headphones. The questionnaire had a total of 37 questions which were divided into 6 categories. All data was analyzed using SPSS 21, and a p-value of <0.05 was deemed significant. RESULTS: The study included a total of 1086 participants. Sampled population age ranged from 18 to 55 years with a mean age of 24.8 ± 12.6 years old. Meanwhile, 636 (58.6%) of the participants were females and 1074 (98.9%) were Saudi. Hearing problems were significantly higher among those who were exposed to noise at work setting than others (26% vs. 15.9%, respectively; P = .001). Duration of the listening session/per day for more than 5 h was significantly associated with higher rates of hearing problems among participants (33.9% vs. 16.5%, respectively = .001). Typical level of TV or radio volume of 90-100 was associated with hearing problems among 32% compared to 11.2% for 0-49% (P = .001). CONCLUSION: There is a low awareness level of hearing loss and its causes among the population with more than half of the respondent having unhealthy habits in listening to sounds through their personal devices. Factors related to develop hearing loss included age, volume level and duration of weekly sessions.
