Background: Osteoporosis, the silent epidemic, is defined as a systemic skeletal disease characterized by low mineral bone mass and micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue. Osteoporosis is considered a burden to global economic, social, and health development. Osteoporosis exerts a substantial global influence, markedly influencing rates of illness and death on a broad scale. Clinical features of osteoporosis can include chronic back pain, loss of height, and a stooped posture, as well as an increased risk of fractures in the spine, hip, and wrist. Accurate identification and monitoring of these clinical features are essential for effective management and treatment of osteoporosis. This study aims to identify the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of adults (over 18 years) about osteoporosis and identify relations between knowledge, attitudes, and practices with demographic data. Furthermore, to assess the risk factors and preventive measures for osteoporosis.
Methodology: Data from 446 responders were collected using a Google Forms questionnaire, including questions to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practice levels among adults 18 years and above in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The collected data and statistical analysis were done through the IBM® SPSS® Statistics. Chi-Square was used in SPSS Statistics; the chi-square test was used for the relation between categorical variables, and P less than 0.05 was the cut-off level of significance.
Results: The research revealed that 41.9% of the participants had good knowledge, 38.8% had a positive attitude, and 45.3% had poor practices. The results also showed that there is a statistically significant correlation between gender and knowledge, attitudes, and practices.
Conclusion: Our research demonstrates that there's a statistically significant correlation between gender variables with knowledge, attitudes, and practices. These findings have important implications in assessing the correlation between variables in our research that could be used to prevent osteoporosis further, target the specific demographic group, and provide the required education. Overall, our research contributes to a better understanding of the knowledge, attitude, and practices towards Osteoporosis among adults in the UAE and underscores the importance of further awareness in this area.
Keywords: attitude; bone fracture; bone mass density; knowledge; osteoporosis; practice.
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