Abstract

KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE TOWARDS ACNE VULGARIS AMONG ACNE PATIENTS IN AL-HADA MILITARY HOSPITAL IN TAIF, SAUDI ARABIA; 2017

Sultan Sameer Alam, MBBS.*and Shatha Sameer Alam, MBBS

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the Knowledge, Attitude and practice towards acne vulgaris among acne patients in Al-Hada Military Hospital in Taif, Saudi Arabia. Subjects and methods: It is a Cross-sectional descriptive study among 500 acne patients attending the dermatology outpatient clinics of Al-Hada Military Hospital in Taif. A sample of 500 participants was included, 280 males (56%) and 220 females (44%). The tool of the study was a self-administered questionnaire, which consists of questions on socio-demographic data (i.e. age, gender, marital state and education level) and questions to asses knowledge, perception and practice toward acne. Result: The study included 500 participants. Slightly more than half of them (56%) were males and majority of them (46.6%) were in the age group 15-19 years. The majority of participants agreed that hormonal changes and diet (chocolate, spicy food, fatty food were the causes and exacerbating factors by (86.8%) and (71.6%) respectively. Regarding the source of information, Doctors and medical staff were the main source of information by (62.4%) of participants. The majority of participants (63.2%) would consult a doctor regarding their skin condition and about (38.6%) of them believed acne is curable disease. It is clear that (84.4%) of them were feel sad/depressed when get acne. Conclusion: Thought the general level of knowledge of participants about acne vulgaris was good, they had number of misconception about it.

Keywords: Knowledge, Attitude, acne vulgaris, Taif.