Awareness of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus among Primary Health Care Patients in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

AIM: To measure the level of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus awareness among visitors in PHC at KAMC and to explores the factors which influence the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus awareness. METHODS: The study was a cross-sectional study conducted between February and September 2018 in four primary health care centers belong to King Abdulaziz Medical City. The study participants were male and female adult visitors to the centers` age from 18 to 60 years of age. The sample size was 400 participants. The participants were enrolled via a random convenience sampling method. Study data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Analytic statistics were done using the Chi-square (χ(2)) test for associations and/or the difference between two categorical variables. A P-value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The awareness about Systemic Lupus Erythematosus among male and female was not statistically significant as (P = 0.304), but there was a statistically significant difference according to education level. Visitors with high school education are aware of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus than those with a lower level of education (Primary & Middle school) who are not aware of the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus by (P = 0.023). CONCLUSION: The study shows that this survey is valuable and beneficial to the community as it helps people to assess their knowledge about Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and become aware of this disease, as well as awareness of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus should be promoted among the community.