Knowledge, Attitude and practice towards Osteoporosis among General Practitioner doctors in primary health care centers in Jeddah, KSA

Background: Osteoporosis is considered one of the most common metabolic disease afflicting humans especially in temperate countries as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Knowledge, attitude and practice of primary care physicians is essential for proper detection and management and hence prevention of complications especially fractures. Aim: We aimed to assess knowledge, attitude and practices for osteoporosis among primary health care physicians in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and to identify the gaps to overcome it. Methods: this study was a cross-sectional one. Self-administered questionnaire was used to identify the levels of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice. Means, standard deviations and percentages along with the 95% Confidence Interval were calculated. Results: Out of 100 physicians; 37% were female and 67% were males. About three-quarters (78%) of the study cohort was resident physicians and thought that it is significant clinical problem. Nearly third (37 %) of GP had adequate knowledge while two thirds (67 %) had inadequate knowledge. About two- thirds (67%) was unaware of the presence of any clinical guidelines for osteoporosis. The majority of participants reported that physical activity and cessation of smoking are important protective behaviors. There were good levels of knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan as a diagnostic tool and bisphosphonate drug therapy. Conclusions: Treating and preventing osteoporosis is an important factor of reducing morbidity and mortality. Primary health care physicians should learn about all the aspect of this disease.