Measurement of Knowledge and Practice of Saudi Population Towards Hernias and Its Risk Factors.

Background: A hernia is an aponeurotic defect that allows an organ to protrude from its normal cavity. Despite advancements in hernia care, hernia patients' experiences with care, as well as recurrence and complication rates, are frequently suboptimal. Adequate knowledge of the risk factors of a hernia could lead to a significant reduction in the prevalence of hernia. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess the awareness of the risk factors of abdominal hernias among adults in Saudi Arabia.

Methodology: Our study is a cross-sectional analytic study to measure the level of knowledge, awareness, and practice of ventral and inguinal hernias in Saudi Arabia. The data was collected by using a valid pretested structured questionnaire taken from previous studies after getting writing approval.

Results: In this study, we were able to collect data from 2611 individuals in different regions of Saudi Arabia, where 68.5% of the participants were females and 60.1% were aged between 18-29 years old. The prevalence of hernia among individuals in the current study was 9.2%, associated with participants older than 40 years old (19.1%), participants of the northern region (16.6%), illiterate individuals (30.0%), married (13.2%), and overweight or obese individuals (10.9% and 12.6%). In general, 53.7 % of the participants had a moderate level of knowledge, while 23.8% had a high level and 22.5% had a low level of knowledge.

Conclusion: We found a moderate level of knowledge among adult individuals in Saudi Arabia about hernia. The prevalence of hernia was similar to those reported in previous studies; however, there is a higher incidence of risk factors in the current population.