Iranian future healthcare professionals' knowledge and opinions about rare diseases: cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Rare diseases are a new global health priority, requiring evidence-based estimates of the global prevalence of diseases to inform public policymakers and provide a serious challenge to the healthcare system that must not be ignored. The purpose of this study is to investigate Iranian future healthcare professionals' knowledge and opinions about rare diseases. RESULTS: A total of 6838 students responded to the questionnaire. Nursing and medical students had the highest participation. Almost 85% of participants rated their knowledge about rare diseases as poor or insufficient. While nearly 70 percent of participants took courses about rare diseases at university. Finally, 72.7% of future healthcare professionals did not feel ready to take care of a patient with a rare disease. CONCLUSION: The present study has indicated a gap in Iranian medical students’ knowledge of rare diseases. The researchers believe that health science policymakers should make a joint effort to improve knowledge about rare diseases. Including courses with regard to rare diseases would be of benefit to future healthcare professionals.