Knowledge and attitude of the general population regarding infant hearing loss in Saudi Arabia

Abdulhakeem N Almutairi; Abdullah M Altuaysi; Mohammed S Alwhaid; Muath A Alhasson; Meshari A Alharbi; Hawra'a A Alsalam; Hashim A Almazyadi; Abdulrahman Ahmed Almuqbil

doi:10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1399_21

Knowledge and attitude of the general population regarding infant hearing loss in Saudi Arabia

J Family Med Prim Care. 2022 Feb;11(2):644-652. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_1399_21. Epub 2022 Feb 16.

Authors

Abdulhakeem N Almutairi¹, Abdullah M Altuaysi², Mohammed S Alwhaid³, Muath A Alhasson³, Meshari A Alharbi³, Hawra'a A Alsalam⁴, Hashim A Almazyadi⁵, Abdulrahman Ahmed Almuqbil⁶

Affiliations

¹ Assistant Professor, Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Department, Qassim University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
² ENT Resident, Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery Department, King Saud Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
³ Medical Intern, Unaizah College of Medicine, Qassim University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Medical Interns, Dar Aluloom University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Medical Interns, Batterji Medical Collage, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Medical Intern, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Background: Ear health and hearing loss (HL) among infants has devastating outcomes. With most HL being deemed preventable, the assessment of one's knowledge and attitude regarding this impairment is important. In Saudi Arabia, the state of the general population's knowledge on infant HL remains unknown.

Objectives: To determine and further elucidate the general population's knowledge and attitude with regard to HL in Saudi Arabia.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional survey-based study conducted on the general population of Saudi Arabia. A predetermined questionnaire was translated into Arabic. This was distributed among the targeted participants in several provinces of Saudi Arabia (central, northern, eastern, western, and southern) by using an online survey via social media. The data were collected and analyzed via the SPSS program.

Results: The knowledge with moderate, poor, and good was determined among 60.9%, 29.6%, and 9.4% of the participants, respectively. The participants with positive and negative attitudes were detected among 92.6% and 7.4% of respondents, respectively. Increasing age was associated with better attitude, while increased knowledge was directly related to higher educational attainment. Those who have a child with HL had nearly twice as poor knowledge as those who do not have a child with HL (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Although most of the respondents possessed a positive attitude toward infant HL, their knowledge about it seems to be lacking. Thus, there is a need to address these knowledge gaps regarding infant HL.

Keywords: Cross-sectional studies; Saudi Arabia; hearing loss; infant; knowledge.