ABSTRACT
Introduction: The purpose of this study is to identify the knowledge of the general population about knee osteoarthritis and its surgical interventions in the management of knee osteoarthritis. Knee osteoarthritis is a prevalent disease. A lack of knowledge about the nature of the disease may delay seeking medical advice until the advanced stage of the disease. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 486 participants (≥18 years) who were sampled randomly from an osteoarthritis awareness campaign located within a shopping facility located in Riyadh in 2020. Data were collected via a structured questionnaire, which included six domains; demographic information, causes, symptoms, treatment, complications, and general questions. Data for this study were analyzed by using the Statistical Package for Social Studies (SPSS 22; IBM Corp., New York, NY, USA). Continuous variables were expressed as mean ± standard deviation and categorical variables were expressed as percentages. The t-test and one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used for continuous variables. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to assess the associated factors with a low level of knowledge. A P value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Most of the participants in our study were males (56.8%) and Saudi nationals (89.7%). (83.74%). Consider that surgical intervention is the best treatment when non-surgical options do not work. The mean questionnaire score for the 486 participants was found to be 20.85 ± 5.29 out of 35 points. In comparing the male to female total scores, we found the mean female total score to be statistically significant and higher than that of the males with a P value of 0.036. Furthermore, we found that the non-Saudis had a total score higher than the Saudis with a P value of 0.016. On the other hand, the difference in the total scores between the city and rural area residents and different educational levels were statistically insignificant. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that the majority of the community has satisfactory awareness about the treatment options of knee osteoarthritis. It also demonstrates the domains that require more effort for increased public awareness of knee osteoarthritis.
