Non-medical Professionals Research Articles

Denial attitude toward COVID-19 among general population in Saudi Arabia

Background: During the current crisis of the new type of coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19), recent studies show evidence that it has a significant impact on public mental health and individuals’ behavior. The current study aimed to estimate the prevalence of high denial attitude towards the emerging pandemic of COVID-19 among the general population of Saudi Arabia. Methodology: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 1,817 participants, from April 3, 2020 to May 5, 2020. All participants were asked to complete an online questionnaire survey that included questions about socio-demography and other variables and Denial Attitude Questionnaire towards the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: A high denial attitude was prevalent among 728 (40.1%) participants. It was associated with old age, being married, having a low educational level, working in a non-medical profession, do not have a history of getting infected with any infectious diseases, spending less than 1 hour following COVID-19 news, satisfaction with the government procedures for COVID-19, and highly depressed and anxious respondents, where p-values were less than 0.05. Conclusion: The study showed that about two out of five participants had a high denial attitude. To our knowledge, the current study is the first study that tried to evaluate a high denial attitude during the initial COVID-19 outbreaks, especially in Saudi Arabia. However, further exploration in this field is needed. We suggest conducting such studies at the end of the current pandemic and second wave of the outbreak.

Old age mental health services in Southern Balkans: Features, geospatial distribution, current needs, and future perspectives.

Healthcare services are increasingly confronted with challenges related to old age mental disorders. The survey aimed to provide an overview of existing psychogeriatric services in Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, and North Macedonia. After identification of psychogeriatric units across the four countries, their head physicians were asked to provide data on their clinical, teaching, and research activity, as well as staff composition. Moreover, the attitudes of head physicians to current needs and future service development were explored. A total of 15 psychogeriatric units were identified (3 in Bulgaria, 8 in Greece, and 4 in North Macedonia). Results show wide variation regarding the location, team size and composition, service availability, numbers of patients attending, and inpatient treatment length. Most head physicians underscored the urgent need for breakthroughs in the graduate and postgraduate education in psychogeriatrics of medical and nonmedical professionals, as well as in the interconnection of their units with community primary healthcare services and long-term care facilities for seniors via telemedicine. They would welcome the development of national standards for psychogeriatric units, potentially embodying clear pointers for action. A number of head physicians advocated the development of nationwide old age mental health registries. Regional disparities in resources and services for seniors' mental health services were unveiled. These data may enrich the dialogue on optimizing psychogeriatric services through planning future cross-border collaborations mainly based on telemedicine services, especially in the era of the novel coronavirus pandemic, and training/education in psychogeriatrics of mental health professionals.

Capturing the Real Impact of Clinical Academics in Practice

The Clinical Academic Careers Framework proposes an over-arching structure to develop the clinical academic workforce whose activities have patient benefit within a clear UK programme. Traditionally this has centred on professionals from medicine and dentistry, but in the last ten years has developed into a more inclusive career framework for non-medical health professions which includes Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professionals (NMAHPs) and Healthcare Scientists (HCSs) that provide NHS services. As such, it is reported that clinical academic NMAHPs and HCSs can contribute to the generation and translation of new knowledge to help improve outcomes and experiences for patients. In this article, we explore key issues relating to the impact of clinical academic NMAHPs and HCSs on clinical practice in a UK context, as well as some measurements of impact, including the value and limitations of currently used metrics (such as Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs). We report that measuring the learning in practice of this novel role will need to include smart metrics alongside a person-centred approach. We share four national case studies, all of which are drawn from clinical academic researchers from different UK settings to show the real variety and differences in roles. We argue that this is the key both to learning in practice about this role, and to witnessing the real differences clinical academics make.

Improving the system of medical rehabilitation in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Improving the system of medical rehabilitation in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is carried out in accordance with the trends of civilian health care, with an emphasis on the specifics of military medicine. It is stated that medical rehabilitation should be carried out by specialists of the multidisciplinary team - a functional association of medical and non-medical professionals in the course of providing assistance in the field of medical rehabilitation. In the future, the activities of the multidisciplinary team will include the definition of a rehabilitation diagnosis using the international classification of functioning. Changing the nomenclature of specialties will require organizing the training (retraining) of specialists in the specialty «Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine» in educational institutions of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

What is clinician presence? A qualitative interview study comparing physician and non-physician insights about practices of human connection

ObjectiveWe sought to investigate the concept and practices of ‘clinician presence’, exploring how physicians and professionals create connection, engage in interpersonal interaction, and build trust with individuals across different circumstances...

Knowledge influences attitudes toward vaccination in Romania.

Despite proven effectiveness and safety of vaccinations, immunization rates are decreasing across Europe, most countries having suboptimal vaccination coverage, leading to an increase in the number of cases of preventable contagious diseases. In recent years, the number of parents who have refused to vaccinate their children in Romania has decreased substantially, while the number of fatal complications due to measles outbreak is one of the highest in Europe. Since healthcare professionals have been identified as the main advocates for immunization, knowledge and attitudes of medical students and nurses is of particular interest. A cross-sectional survey was carried out on 278 participants, divided into three groups: 183 medical students, 54 nurses and 41 non-medical professionals. The questionnaire included questions on demographics of participants, personal experience with vaccines, knowledge and attitude toward vaccination. The data was collected, centralized and analyzed using statistical methods. The survey was given to the medical students at the beginning of the Immunology course and again at the end, to test whether information received influenced their responses. The study revealed that a great majority of participants were themselves vaccinated [N=262 (94%)] and had/or would vaccinate their children [N=247 (95%)]. Satisfactory overall knowledge about effectiveness and safety concerns was observed, with 98% (N=270) considering vaccines as useful and over 96% (N=276) correctly identified their usefulness. When asked about adverse effects, concerning numbers [N=32, (19%)] of medical students answered incorrectly. After the Immunology course, however, there was significant improvement in knowledge on this topic (P<0.001), correlating with a positive shift in attitude towards current and future vaccines. We predict that better knowledge about vaccines, their efficacy and safety would help build the health provider's confidence in recommending vaccination and thus increased coverage rates.

Sparing the gut: COX-2 inhibitors herald a new era for treatment of horses with surgical colic.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used to manage a wide variety of conditions in horses, including management of colic. Flunixin meglumine is by far the most commonly used drug in the control of colic pain and inflammation and has become a go-to for not only veterinarians but also horse-owners and nonmedical equine professionals. NSAID use, however, has always been controversial in critical cases due to a high risk of adverse effects associated with their potent cyclo-oxygenase (COX) inhibition. There are two important COX isoenzymes: COX-1 is generally beneficial for normal renal and gastrointestinal functions and COX-2 is associated with the pain and inflammation of disease. Newer selective NSAIDs can target COX-2-driven pathology while sparing important COX-1-driven physiology, which is of critical importance in horses with severe gastrointestinal disease. Emerging research suggests that firocoxib, a COX-2-selective NSAID labelled for use in horses, may be preferable for use in colic cases in spite of the decades-long dogma that flunixin saves lives.

How much do people know about male sexual problems? A survey in a selected population sample.

Our purpose has been to investigate by an ad hoc questionnaire the knowledge of several aspects of male sexual dysfunction in a significant sample of men and women (largely not physicians) attending an International Health Care Exhibition, held in Italy. The survey took place during Exposanità, 2018 edition, aimed at medical and non-medical professionals. We devised as investigation tool an ad hoc anonymous questionnaire in two versions, one for each sex. Object of this report are questions addressing subject's knowledge of prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED), ED causes, ED as early sign of coronary heart disease/myocardial infarction, available ED treatments and attitudes towards penile prosthesis, and reimbursement of ED treatments. As many as 1094 Convention attendees (495 men, 599 women) participated to the survey (about 4% of total attendees). Mean sample age was 40.5 years in men and 39.9 years in women. Forty-three percent of the sample worked in healthrelated professions, 5.9% being physicians. Respondents globally over-estimated the prevalence of ED. Both responding men and women rated psychologic and lifestyle factors as the most frequent ED causes. The majority of responders did not regard ED as a possible predictor of cardiovascular events. Oral pills resulted the most known ED treatment by both men (77.2%) and women (79.1%). Psychotherapy ranked as the second most known treatment approach. Other effective ED treatments (intracavernosal injections, vacuum erection device, penile prostheses) were known by a minority of men (22.2-27.9%) and women (19.2-20.2%). Roughly half of the sample (50.7% of men and 48.4% of women) were willing to choose (men) or to support (women) the penile prosthesis option in cases of severe ED; majority of both sexes (71.3% of men and 76.3% of women) expressed no resistances to the perspective of penile prosthesis use. Vast majority of men (80.3%) and women (80.4%) considered that coverage for ED treatments should be provided by the National Health System. The outcomes of our survey show both an elevated prevalence of misconceptions on the role of organic factors in the etiology of ED, and ignorance of the implications of ED on cardiovascular health. Knowledge of available second level ED treatments resulted scanty. Nonetheless, when confronted with the most aggressive treatment, penile prosthesis, majority of both genders responders would undergo/support this surgery, should it be the only way to solve the erectile problem. In this perspective, population appears ready and overall keen to a treatment option that too often is not addressed by majority of the medical community when counseling men with severe ED not responsive to conservative approach.

1159 Tweeting the Meeting: Analysis of Twitter Use During the Digestive Disease Week DDW 2019

INTRODUCTION: The DDW is an international gathering of physicians around the globe in the fields of GI. Collectively sponsored by few of the largest GI societies. Nowadays, social media is widely used to deliver information and business marketing. Twitter is a social network site that rapidly gained worldwide popularity. With over 300 million users, and over 500 million Tweets sent daily, there is a great opportunity to spread ideas to a global audience. In this study, we are aiming to analyze the use of Twitter during DDW. METHODS: The Symplur Signals, a specialized healthcare social media analytics platform was used to analyse the hashtag #DDW19, the official hashtag of the DDW 2019 meeting. The analysis was conducted on tweets during the meeting days between May 18-21, 2019. The number of tweets, participants, impressions, average tweets per hour and average tweets per participant was determined. Advanced search on Twitter was also conducted using the hashtag #DDW19 with time frame between May 18-21. The resulted tweets were sorted by category “top tweets”. The top 50 tweets were categorized by content to scientific, social, administrative, industry promotion, or irrelevant. RESULTS: DDW 2019 had over 14,000 attendees from around the world. The number of people who participated in the hashtag #DDW was 3,924 (28% of the attendees) sending 15,350 tweets during the meeting days, with an average of 4 tweets per participant and 160 tweets/hour, leaving 71.594 million impression. The hashtag activity reached a peak of 4,815 tweets on the 2nd day of the meeting, May 19th. 60% of the top tweets were from physicians, 10% by medical journalist, and 30% by medical society/organizations. 42% of the top 50 tweets had social content such as group photos or appreciation of other presenters. Whereas 40% were scientific content. However administrative tweets were 10%. Only 8% of content was industrial promotions. There were no irrelevant tweets. CONCLUSION: Social Media has become the most effective medium to reach an enormous audience. With over 71 Million impressions produced during the recent DDW. Twitter has successfully promoted the event worldwide and disseminated medical information in a quick and cost-effective method. It has communicated to millions of individuals, including non-medical professionals, in a way that is difficult for traditional media sources to achieve. In order to create a more informative and influential post, it is encouraged that users tweet more on scientific and medical contents.

Describing the Development of a Health State Valuation Protocol to Obtain Community-Derived Disability Weights.

For the prioritization of the allocation of national resources, estimating the burden of disease studies play a critical role. Hence the first Global Burden of Disease study conducted in the 1990s was done for this particular estimation. By the means of introducing disability-adjusted life year (DALY) metric, the burden of various diseases was calculated using disability weights (DWs)—a component of DALY. DWs are values that capture individuals' perception regarding the severity of diseases that involve valuation tools and health state descriptions. Various studies have been conducted over the past few decades to evaluate health states and derive disease-specific disability weights using Person-Trade off, Time-trade off, etc. However, use of these complex and cognitively demanding methods has been carried out in developed countries where the bulk of the populace is more educated. Few attempts have been made in low- and middle-income countries such as India, where not only the majority is less educated but also the social construction of diseases and health conditions are diverse. Therefore, due to the absence of methodological protocols of health state valuations for application at the community-level in the developing world, we attempted to systematically describe the procedure that can be used universally and cross-culturally for various health states. We began with the tentative selection of health states and health states valuation methods by conducting a meticulous literature review, followed by community exploration and medical consultations. This led to developing vignettes (clinical description) and 6D5L pictorial narrations (functional status description). Two field tests for checking the usability and refinement of the tools was done. Final consultation by an expert panel comprising of medical and non-medical professionals was held/conducted to finalize the health state labels and functional status profiles of each health state. The methodical approach provides a robust and thorough procedure for guiding researchers to implement health state valuation studies at community level.

Bystander CPR training: is non-classroom based CPR training as effective as a classroom based approach? A systematic review of randomised controlled trials.

In Scotland, approximately 5% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients survive to hospital discharge. Improving bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), especially in rural areas, could have a significant effect on the numbers of lives saved. The objective of this study was to systematically review whether non-classroom-based bystander CPR training is as effective as classroom-based training.. A database search for randomised controlled trials that compared classroom-based to non-classroom-based training in bystanders (non-medical professionals) was performed in Medline and Embase with no date restrictions. Relevant studies were critically appraised. Differences in the efficacy of CPR training between the two study arms of non-classroom and classroom-based training were measured by outcomes of compression depth, compression rate and correct hand positioning. Eight studies in total met the inclusion criteria. Thirteen out of a total of 15 outcomes showed non-classroom-based CPR training to be as effective as or more effective than classroom-based training. A high risk of bias was identified in every study. From the available evidence, non-classroom-based training appears at least as effective as classroom-based training for CPR. This could have significant implications for delivery of CPR training nationally, especially in remote and rural areas. However, due to the variation in how outcomes were measured, and the high risk of the presence of bias in each of the studies, further research into CPR training strategies is strongly recommended.

Is your mind set? \u2013 how are intra- and interpersonal competences dealt with in medical education? A multi-professional qualitative study

BackgroundProfessional intrapersonal and interpersonal competences (IICs) form an important part of medical expertise but are given little attention during clinical training. In other professional fields such as psychotherapy, education and aviation, training in IICs is an integral part of education and practice. In medicine, IICs tend to actually decline during studies. To date it is unclear why IICs are given less attention in medicine, despite evidence for their importance in the treatment process.In view of this, the study examined the role of IICs in the treatment process, the current situation of IIC training in medicine and, most importantly, the reasons for the comparatively low focus on IICs in the clinical training of medical students.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were carried out with 21 experts from a variety of medical specialties and non-medical professions that provide a training with a stronger focus on IIC development. The interviews were evaluated using grounded theory.ResultsThe experts confirmed the idea that IICs are an equally important component in the treatment process, along with medical knowledge and technical skills. They also described large differences between the IICs possessed by physicians but noted a general developmental need. The key shortcoming was perceived to be a deep-seated defensiveness towards learning from mistakes and deficits e.g. through reflection and feedback. The interaction of different factors that seem to be reasons for this defensiveness and perpetuate it were identified: lack of support in dealing with insecurities in the face of responsibility; the notion of medicine as a science with the categories of right and wrong answers; and a range of pressures arising from the setting, such as hierarchical, economic and competition pressures.ConclusionOur study showed, that the defensive attitude towards learning from mistakes and deficits especially in the field of IICs appears to be a subtle but powerful obstacle for implementing IICs in medical training, in contrast to other professional fields. This obstacle is sustained by various underlying barrier factors. We therefore propose that changes should be made within a cultural transformation targeting this defensive mindset and culture and its presumed reasons.

The harmful practice of indicating ancillary tests among non-medical professionals.

The harmful practice of indicating ancillary tests among non-medical professionals.

Transition from abdominal aortic and junctional tourniquet to zone 3 resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta is feasible with hemodynamic support after porcine class IV hemorrhage.

Traumatic hemorrhage remains a major cause of death in rural civilian and combat environments. Potential interventions to control hemorrhage from the pelvis and lower junctional regions include the abdominal aortic and junctional tourniquet (AAJT) and resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA). The AAJT requires low technical skills and may thus be used by nonmedical professionals, but is associated with time-dependent ischemic complications. In combination with delayed patient evacuation, it may therefore be deleterious. Transition to zone 3 REBOA in higher levels of care may be a possibility to maintain hemostasis, mitigate adverse effects and enable surgery in patients resuscitated with the AAJT. It is possible that a transition between the interventions could lead to hemodynamic penalties. Therefore, we investigated the feasibility of replacing the AAJT with zone 3 REBOA in a porcine model of uncontrolled femoral hemorrhage. Domestic pigs (n = 12) averaging 57 kg were exposed to a class IV uncontrolled hemorrhage from the common femoral artery. The animals were randomized to 60-minute AAJT (n = 6) or 30-minute AAJT with transition to 30-minute zone 3 REBOA. Hemodynamic and metabolic parameters and ultrasonographic measurements of the common femoral artery were collected. Transition from AAJT to zone 3 REBOA caused a significant decrease in mean arterial pressure (25 mm Hg). Hemostasis was maintained. The common femoral artery diameter decreased by 1.8 mm (38%) after hemorrhage and further 0.7 mm (23%) after aortic occlusion. Transition from AAJT to zone 3 REBOA after a class IV bleeding is feasible with hemodynamic support. Vascular access to the femoral artery for REBOA insertion poses a technical challenge after hemorrhage and AAJT application. Laboratory animal study, level IV.

Adult Perception of a Child’s Sport Concussion Risk

PURPOSE: With increased media coverage on sport-related concussions (SRC), there has been a growing concern about the risks associated with contact sports. Previous literature reports a decrease in participation numbers stemming from increased perception of concussion risk in contact sports such as football. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of adult profession and perception of their child’s concussion risk while participating in contact sports. We hypothesized that adults with a medical background would be more educated about the consequences of SRC, and thus would be less inclined to choose high-contact sports participation for their own children compared to those without medical backgrounds. METHODS: Data were collected through an anonymous electronic Qualtrics survey administered to faculty and staff at a large midwest university and associated medical center between 2017 to 2018 (n=5849, age=39.519 ± 13.802 years). Respondents indicated their gender, age, highest degree awarded, whether or not they were a medical professional, and in what sports they would allow their children to participate. Sports were subdivided into four categories (high-contact, partial-contact, non-contact, and all of the above) and analyzed using chi-square tests, followed by a logistic regression to investigate any differences between professional categories and rate of selection of high-contact sports. RESULTS: Preliminary chi-square tests indicated no difference between medical (MP) and non-medical professionals (NMP) and the four sport subdivisions (x2=5.58, p=0.23). Between-group nominal logistic regression was non-significant (p=0.20) in examining the effect of profession and selection of sports. More specifically, there was insignificance between professions and likelihood of choosing high-contact sports (p=0.092). CONCLUSION: Initial analyses suggest no difference in the choice of sport participation among children with parents in medical and non-medical backgrounds despite an increased attention on concussion in recent years. Future analyses will investigate the specific sports chosen, as well as additional covariates such as parental sport participation and concussion history.

Collaboration in healthcare delivery interprofessional

Interprofessional relations in health care have been examined through the frame of “clinical democracy”. Yet, traditional interpretations of democracy have assumed a zero-sum, competitive interpretation of power, leading to unelaborated invocations for health professionals to “collaborate” more or do “teamwork” better. The aim of this study was to understand the priorities that health professionals from different occupations have for individual patient care, and the opportunities they have to express those priorities, as a foundation for a more expansive democratic theory.The case setting was a mixed-method, pre-post, participatory research (PR) study examining the dynamics and levels of satisfaction of interprofessional information-sharing and decision-making on an acute aged care unit.Stage 1, pre-intervention, revealed that non-medical health professionals – nursing and, in particular, allied health professionals – lacked opportunities for input into decision-making for patient care. Following deliberative, public feedback of the findings to managers and health professionals, an intervention was negotiated to re-structure the weekly case conference and referral processes. Stage 2, the post-interventional findings showed an increase in perceptions of information-sharing, and participation in case conferences, as well as recognition of power differentials in interprofessional relations.In the public negotiation of increased prominence of particular roles and aligning role clarity with the needs of particular patients, the findings show that the notion of deliberative democracy characterizes the qualitative-cumulative, rather than merely quantitative-redistributive power among health professionals in different occupational roles. As a case of conscientization, deliberation engages practical interprofessional improvement simultaneously as educational empowerment.

Supervision contracts for mental health professionals: a systematic review and exploration of the potential relevance to psychiatry training in Australia and New Zealand.

The use of formal supervision contracts has been strongly advocated across non-medical mental health professions. However, the use of such agreements is not a feature of the RANZCP Competency-Based Fellowship Program. This paper critically examines the evidence to support the use of formal supervision contracts. A systematic review of empirical studies relating to the outcomes of supervision contracts was completed. Included records were subject to quality appraisal. Two studies met the inclusion criteria; both were assessed to be of poor quality. One study found improved supervision effectiveness associated with the use of supervision contracts, and the other found no significant differences associated with formal contracting. Despite strong advocacy, limited empirical evidence was found to support the value of formal supervision contracts across mental health professions. PROSPERO registration - PROSPERO 2018 CRD42018104142.

General medical services by non-medical health professionals: a systematic quantitative review of economic evaluations in primary care.

Previous systematic reviews have found that nurses and pharmacists can provide equivalent, or higher, quality of care for some tasks performed by GPs in primary care. There is a lack of economic evidence for this substitution. To explore the costs and outcomes of role substitution between GPs and nurses, pharmacists, and allied health professionals in primary care. A systematic review of economic evaluations exploring role substitution of allied health professionals in primary care was conducted. Role substitution was defined as 'the substitution of work that was previously completed by a GP in the past and is now completed by a nurse or allied health professional'. The following databases were searched: Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination. The review followed guidance from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Six economic evaluations were identified. There was some limited evidence that nurse-led care for common minor health problems was cost-effective compared with GP care, and that nurse-led interventions for chronic fatigue syndrome and pharmacy-led services for the medicines management of coronary heart disease and chronic pain were not. In South Korea, community health practitioners delivered primary care services for half the cost of physicians. The review did not identify studies for other allied health professionals such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists. There is limited economic evidence for role substitution in primary care; more economic evaluations are needed.

Skill mix in Swiss primary care group practices - a nationwide online survey

BackgroundIncreasing chronic conditions and multimorbidity is placing growing service pressures on health care, especially primary care services. This comes at a time when GP workforce shortages are starting to be felt across Switzerland, placing a threat on the sustainability of good access to primary care. By establishing multiprofessional teams in primary care, service capacity is increased and the pressures on the GP workforce can be alleviated. The roles of non-medical health professions in primary care are not established so far in Switzerland and the personnel composition of primary care group practices is not known. Therefore this study aims to provide insights into the current composition, educational background and autonomy of the these new professional roles in primary care.MethodsFor this descriptive exploratory study a web-based online survey methodology was used. Group practices were defined as being a medical practice with any specialisation where at least three physicians work together in a team. Based on this restriction 240 eligible group practices were identified in Switzerland. The following four tertiary-level health professions were included in the study: nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and dietitians. Additionally medical practice assistants with couselling competencies were included.ResultsA total of 102 practices answered the questionnaire which is equivalent to an answer rate of 43%. The sample included data from 17 cantons. 46.1% of the practices employed non-physician health professionals. Among the tertiary-level health professions, physiotherapists were the most frequent profession with a total of 78 physiotherapists over all group practices, followed by nurses (43), dietitians (34) and occupational therapists (3). In practices which employ those professionals their average number per practice was 3.4. 25.5% of the practices had health professionals employed with advanced roles and competencies.ConclusionThe results from this study demonstrate that while nearly 50% of groups practices have established non-physician professionals, only 25% of practices integrate these professionals with advanced roles. Compared with other countries, there would appear to be significant scope to extent and broaden the uptake of non-physician professionals in primary care in Switzerland. Clear policy direction along with supporting regulation and financing arrangements are required.

Attitude, beliefs and awareness towards corneal donation in Saudi Arabia

PurposeCorneal donation has not received adequate attention in Saudi Arabia, and donors are lacking. This study explores the underlying knowledge of, attitude regarding, and practice of corneal donation in Saudi Arabia, which will possibly help in designing healthcare policies and creating a national eye bank. MethodsThis observational cross-sectional study used a self-administered questionnaire and was administered to the residents of Saudi Arabia from August to December 2017. We surveyed 1292 random subjects who agreed to fill out the self-administered questionnaire. The sample included Saudi and non-Saudi residents across adult age groups from medical and non-medical professions. ResultsOf the 1292 respondents, only 4.3% believed that they had sufficient knowledge about corneal donation; 66.3% of the sample had not decided whether to donate their corneas after death; 40.2% stated that they would be more willing to donate if they had sufficient knowledge about corneal donation; and 46.1% of the population did not know where to apply to donate their corneas. Those who believed that they had sufficient information about corneal donation were significantly more likely to donate (p < 0.001) than those who believed they did not have enough information. ConclusionIncreased awareness about corneal donation is required, as a higher level of awareness was associated with a higher willingness to donate corneas. Establishing healthcare policies and creating community campaigns is necessary to increase corneal donation awareness and willingness.