Knowledge about and determinants for diagnosing hidradenitis suppurativa by ministry of health primary healthcare physicians in Jeddah city 2019: An analytical cross-sectional study

CONTEXT: Hidradenitis suppurativa is a noncontagious, inflammatory, chronic and recurrent disease. The prevalence of HS is estimated to be between less than 1 and 4%. It is more common in females than males at a 2:1 ratio. Many cases of HS are either misdiagnosed or remain undiagnosed. AIMS: To assess knowledge of diagnosing hidradenitis suppurativa by Ministry of Health primary health care physicians in Jeddah city, 2019 and to identify the determinants and knowledge of diagnosing hidradenitis suppurativa. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: An analytical cross-sectional study conducted in Jeddah city, 2019, among primary health care physicians of the MOH. METHODS AND MATERIAL: Estimated sample size was 114. The required primary health care centers were 38 centers. The centers were chosen by a simple random sampling technique. A reliable self-administered questionnaire was used. Ethical approval was obtained. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Descriptive statistics consisted of means, standard deviations, frequency tables, cross tabulation and charts). Categorical variables were compared using the chi–square test to determine significant relationships between variables. RESULTS: 65.4% (68) diagnosed the disease correctly. Most of their knowledge came from clinical practice (39.4%). There was a significant relationship with current job title and medical degree (P-value < 0.0005). CONCLUSION: The present study showed good knowledge about and ability to diagnose HS. A more advanced medical degree and more years of clinical experience was positively associated with the ability to diagnose HS.