Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to determine the level of knowledge and awareness toward disc herniation in the population of Qassim, Saudi Arabia.
Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among the general population living in the Qassim region, Saudi Arabia. A pre-tested validated structured questionnaire was distributed among the targeted participants using an electronic questionnaire. The questionnaire was composed of three main parts that include socio-demographic data, knowledge, and awareness of disc prolapse (DP), and knowledge about risk factors of DP.
Results: A total of 355 surveys were received. The most frequent age group was 18 - 25 years old (43.4%) with males being dominant (72.4%). The prevalence of back pain associated with DP was 11%. The overall mean awareness score was 13.1 (SD 3.97). Low, moderate, and high awareness levels were detected among 25.9%, 45.9%, and 28.2%, respectively. Factors associated with increased awareness were age group of more than 40 years, those who have back pain associated with DP, those with a family history of DP, those who attended awareness activity, those who knew how DP is diagnosed, and those who knew the best imaging modality to diagnose DP.
Conclusion: The DP awareness of the general population in the Qassim region was adequate. Increased awareness levels are associated with increasing age. Further, those who had been affected by the DP who had a family history and were aware of how it is diagnosed had better awareness levels than the rest of the group.