Limited Public Knowledge of Chronic Kidney Disease in a Resource-Limited Setting: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: The general public’s awareness and knowledge of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and its risk factors remains low, which may contribute to the development of CKD and undiagnosed disease. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess public knowledge of CKD in the Ethiopian community using a validated tool. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. For administrative purposes, the city is divided into ten sub-cities; proportional numbers of study participants were drawn from each sub-city based on their total population size. This study’s target population was the general public, and health professionals were excluded. SPSS version 26 was used to analyze the data, and frequencies, tables, percentages, mean, and standard deviation were used to describe the responses of the participants. To identify factors associated with public knowledge of CKD, an independent T-test and one-way ANOVA statistics were used. RESULTS: A total of 350 people were approached, with 301 of them completing and returning the questionnaire, yielding an 86% response rate. The mean (S.D.) knowledge score of participants in this study was 11.12 (±4.21), with a minimum of 0 and a maximum of 22. In terms of the distribution of the CKD knowledge score, half of the respondents have a score of 11 or less. One-way ANOVA revealed that respondents with a degree educational background and family history of CKD had higher knowledge scores. An independent t-test was also performed, but it found no link between socio-demographic characteristics and knowledge score. CONCLUSION: The Ethiopian population has a low level of general knowledge about CKD and its risk factors. Non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, are currently a public health concern and one of the major risk factors for CKD.