Abstract
Background:-Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and the leading source of physical disability in elderly people. The Prevalence of OA is increasing and will continue to do so as the population gets older. The OA is predominantly managed in primary care centers by primary health care physicians and much can be done to alleviate symptoms from osteoarthritis by combinations of therapeutic options including pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments.
 Objectives of study :- To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of Iraqi PHCC physicians in Baghdad, AL-Rusafa, regarding the management of osteoarthritis patient, and it's association with sociodemographic data. 
 Methods:- A descriptive cross sectional study with some analytic elements has been conducted from the 1st of January to 1st of June 2017, in primary health care centers of six sectors selected randomly from Al Rusafa health directorate; in Baghdad. The data was collected by self-administered questionnaire regarding demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude, and practices of physicians regarding
 
 management of osteoarthritis. Data analysis was done by (frequency, percentage), Chi square test (Fisher exact test). P value less than 0.05 was considered significant .
 Results: The total study sample was 204 enrolled physicians, their age ranged from (25-58) years, The correct answers regarding etiology, diagnosis, imaging findings etc. ranged from 64.2-83.3% which reflect good knowledge of physicians regarding OA disease as well as that highly qualified physician showed good knowledge, about half of enrolled physicians showed good attitude and their practices regarding osteoarthritis and its management are good in general.
 Conclusion; -The knowledge, attitude and practice regarding osteoarthritis managent among primary health care physicians are good in general.
Highlights
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent form of arthritis worldwide.[1]. Its prevalence in many countries exceeds the prevalence of other common medical conditions such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, and tuberculosis.[2]. The disorder is one of the most common conditions encountered by both primary health-care (PHC) physicians and specialists.,(3) It is a degenerative disorder involving not just the articular cartilage but the entire joint organ, including the subchondral bone and synovium.[4], Despite many years of research, the condition still has an uncertain aetiology
The knowledge of primary health care centers (PHCC) physicians in this study was good regarding diagnosis of OA can almost always made by history and physical examination, radiographs may be required to confirm the diagnosis and correctly answered the question regarding primary and secondary osteoarthritis types differentiation, which goes in line with a study done in Saudi Arabia by Homoud AA .,2012,but, in response to other questions like,the results were higher than the referred study[7]
This study revealed that the knowledge of PHCC physicians regarding osteoarthritis was generally increased for specialist physicians (Board), which is consistent with results of AlRashdi et al [15] study in Oman which documented that PHC physicians with specialty degree had higher knowledge in osteoarthritis and its management than PHC physicians with diploma and/or general practitioners
Summary
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent form of arthritis worldwide.[1] Its prevalence in many countries exceeds the prevalence of other common medical conditions such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, and tuberculosis.[2] The disorder is one of the most common conditions encountered by both primary health-care (PHC) physicians and specialists.,(3) It is a degenerative disorder involving not just the articular cartilage but the entire joint organ, including the subchondral bone and synovium.[4], Despite many years of research, the condition still has an uncertain aetiology. PHC physicians are often the first and sometimes the only health-care providers for OA. Of all the cases treated by PHC physicians, only minority of OA may need referral..(7) it is essential for them to be familiar with the various treatment options to optimize care. Many studies in different countries have evaluated OA either in the hospitals or in PHC-settings.[8, 9, 10]
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