The Level of Knowledge, Awareness, and Practice Regarding Osteoporosis among Female Adults in Hail city, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This is a cross-sectional study conducted on the adult female population of Hail city. Informed consent was obtained from the participants through the electronic survey. The sample size needed to enroll was 384, estimated from the total female population of Hail city 267,113 by Raosoft sample size calculator, with a 95% confidence interval and 5% margin of error (General Authority for statistics). All Saudi females in Hail city constituted the study population. However, all non-Saudi females and males, Saudi or otherwise, were excluded from the study population. We used the Osteoporosis Knowledge Assessment Tool (OKAT) which was pre-validated, translated to Arabic, and self-answered questionnaire. The OKAT survey is a valid measurement of knowledge of risk factors for osteoporosis, (Tania M Winzenberg et al, 2003). It consists of 20 statements; the first 12 assess the knowledge of osteoporosis, 4 questions assess the attitude towards osteoporosis and the last 4 questions assess the preventive factors of osteoporosis. Each statement has three choices, true, false, and I do not know. The OKAT survey was translated into Arabic language which is found to be reliable and acceptable according to Sayed-Hassan et al. The questionnaire was distributed randomly through social media platforms during the period from March to May 2020. Keywords: Knowledge, awareness, practice, osteoporosis, Saudi Arabia