Abstract
Background Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) can involve an immature hip, acetabular dysplasia with or without subluxation, or dislocation of the femoral head. The prevalence of DDH in Saudi Arabia is 10.46 per 1000 live births, highlighting the importance of community knowledge of DDH risk factors and treatment to facilitate early diagnosis, treatment, and avoiding complications. Aim Our goal is to assess community awareness of DDH and the knowledge of its risk factors, treatment, and complications among the population in the Riyadh Region, Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross-sectional study on a sample of 412 participants of the general population in the region of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was conducted using the snowball sampling technique of sending invitations via social media. All statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS Statistics v.23 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results Our results revealed that out of the 412 participants almost half reported never hearing about DDH (45.6%). Breech presentation, family history, and female gender were unknown as risk factors to 63%, 58%, and 63.60% of participants respectively. Around 60% of the participant viewed age as the determining factor for DDH treatment. Additionally, 42.70% of participants reported no knowledge about DDH complications, and 72.8% had a low knowledge level regarding DDH. Significant higher knowledge scores were found in females participants (p = 0.026), participants with higher education level (p = 0.01), healthcare professionals (p < 0.001), parents of children who have been screened (p < 0.001), and participants having a first-degree relative with DDH (p < 0.001). Conclusion Our study revealed that residents of the Riyadh Region were unaware of DDH and their knowledge regarding its risk factors, treatment, and complications was poor. Therefore, it is important to implement DDH awareness campaigns to increase the community's knowledge of all aspects of DDH.