Public's Knowledge about Allergic Rhinitis in a Saudi City
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- Category: Vol. 85, March 2017
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Public's Knowledge about Allergic Rhinitis in a Saudi City, AHMED Y. MUSHARI, BYAN Y. MUSHARI, AHMED A. AL-SHAMRANI, MAJED A. AL-SUBAIE, ABDUL-AZIZ K. AL-DOSARI, RANA A. THABET, FAKER EL-DIN M. OMER, RIYAD A.A. MOOSA, AHMED A.M. ALHARTHI, AL-HASSAN G. AL-GAZLAN, ABDUL-MALIK A.M. AL-QAHTANI and OSSAMA A. MOSTAFA
Abstract
Objective: To assess public's knowledge toward Allergic Rhinitis (AR) in Abha City, Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A cross sectional study using a semi-structured self-administered questionnaire which was distributed through interviews at the main malls in Abha City to assess knowledge of the public toward AR.
Results: A total of 1059 respondents were interviewed (553, 52.2% were males). More than one fourth of participants (29%) stated that they have AR, while 58.3% have a family history of AR. Knowledge regarding AR of almost two thirds of participants' (65%) was insufficient. House dust was stated by participants to be the main trigger for allergic rhinitis (29.7%). The main symptoms for AR were nose itching (96.4%), headache (92.7%), blocked nose (92.2%) and in-creased nose and eye secretions (87.8%). Most participants (87.7%) believed that early diagnosis of AR reduces disease severity while 78.5% believe that AR is preventable. More than half of participants (55.8%) obtained their information about AR from their relatives and friends, 14.4% from health care providers. Most participants (85.5%) expressed their interest to know more about AR.
Conclusions: Public's knowledge in Abha City about AR is insufficient. Their main sources for information about AR are friends and relatives. Health care providers should be encouraged to play their health education role with their clients to enable them to prevent exposure and properly manage AR.