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ORIGINAL PAPER
Assessment of public knowledge and awareness regarding rheumatological diseases: a cross-sectional study
1
Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Basrah, Iraq
2
Department of Medicine, Al-Zahraa College of Medicine, University of Basrah, Iraq
These authors had equal contribution to this work
Submission date: 2025-04-11
Final revision date: 2025-07-05
Acceptance date: 2025-08-21
Publication date: 2026-02-27
Corresponding author
Raghda Saleem
Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Basrah, Mnawi St., postcode: 61002, Iraq
Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Basrah, Mnawi St., postcode: 61002, Iraq
Reumatologia 2026;64(1):28-35
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Objectives:
Rheumatology is a rapidly evolving medical specialty that focuses on autoimmune connective tissue diseases, inflammatory joint diseases, regional rheumatological conditions, some overuse injuries, and other inflammatory conditions. The study aimed to assess the knowledge of rheumatology and rheumatological diseases among the general population in Basrah City and to identify factors associated with this knowledge.
Material and methods:
In this cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study, participants were recruited from outpatient clinics and hospitals in Basrah City, excluding rheumatology clinics. Data collection took place from May 1, 2024 to September 1, 2024. A questionnaire was then developed for this study. The inclusion criteria were adults aged ≥ 18 years who were residents of Basrah City and showed a willingness to participate in the study. Participants were excluded if they had a known diagnosis of a rheumatological disease, were healthcare professionals, or were medical students.
Results:
A total of 400 participants participated in this study. Their ages ranged from 18 to 65 years. 56% of them were female. Seventy-one had attended secondary schools and colleges. More than half of the participants had unsatisfactory knowledge (62%), and only 38% had good knowledge about rheumatology as a medical branch and had a sufficient understanding of the main rheumatological illnesses. Of those with satisfactory knowledge, 52.3% were female and 47.0% had a college education. Analysis of this pattern demonstrated a significant association between knowledge and educational level (p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
The knowledge and awareness of rheumatological disorders in our locality are deficient and limited. This study revealed the weak role of media and mass education campaigns in expanding awareness about these growing and potentially detrimental disorders.
Rheumatology is a rapidly evolving medical specialty that focuses on autoimmune connective tissue diseases, inflammatory joint diseases, regional rheumatological conditions, some overuse injuries, and other inflammatory conditions. The study aimed to assess the knowledge of rheumatology and rheumatological diseases among the general population in Basrah City and to identify factors associated with this knowledge.
Material and methods:
In this cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study, participants were recruited from outpatient clinics and hospitals in Basrah City, excluding rheumatology clinics. Data collection took place from May 1, 2024 to September 1, 2024. A questionnaire was then developed for this study. The inclusion criteria were adults aged ≥ 18 years who were residents of Basrah City and showed a willingness to participate in the study. Participants were excluded if they had a known diagnosis of a rheumatological disease, were healthcare professionals, or were medical students.
Results:
A total of 400 participants participated in this study. Their ages ranged from 18 to 65 years. 56% of them were female. Seventy-one had attended secondary schools and colleges. More than half of the participants had unsatisfactory knowledge (62%), and only 38% had good knowledge about rheumatology as a medical branch and had a sufficient understanding of the main rheumatological illnesses. Of those with satisfactory knowledge, 52.3% were female and 47.0% had a college education. Analysis of this pattern demonstrated a significant association between knowledge and educational level (p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
The knowledge and awareness of rheumatological disorders in our locality are deficient and limited. This study revealed the weak role of media and mass education campaigns in expanding awareness about these growing and potentially detrimental disorders.
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Copyright: © Narodowy Instytut Geriatrii, Reumatologii i Rehabilitacji w Warszawie. This is an Open Access journal, all articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license.
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