Attitude and perceived practice of health promotion among primary health care physicians and nurses at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Introduction: Health promotion is a fundamental requirement for optimal prevention and control of health. Few studies conducted in developing countries have addressed the practice of health promotion and its relationship to a positive attitude towards health promotion practice and a better health care outcome. Objectives: To explore the perceived practice through the attitude, awareness, satisfaction and methods of health promotion utilized in the hospital. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among physicians and nurses across five different Primary Health Care Centres related to King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between 23 June and 8 July 2014. The sample included 206 participants (physicians n =65; nurses n =141), with a mean age of 42±0.65 years. The response rate was 89%. A self-administered questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale was randomly distributed among participants. The questionnaire included items adopted from previously validated questionnaires, while the content validity of the rest of the items was checked with a panel of experts (n =14). Results: Our results showed that 77% of participants rated themselves as updated with its activities. Seventy four per cent believed that they can rarely change the behaviour of patients with complications on the basis of their advice, and 64% of participants expressed agreement that language and cultural beliefs constitute obstacles in conducting effective health promotion. Overall, the most preferred methods were counselling and printed educational material (67%). However, the methods most used were printed educational materials (81%), followed by counselling (56%) and campaigns (34%) (P <0.01). Conclusions: The attitudes of physicians and nurses towards health promotion practice were positive. Nevertheless, the majority demanded mandatory health promotion related workshops and lectures.