Attitudes and knowledge about obstructive sleep apnea among Latin American primary care physicians

We aimed to evaluate Latin American primary care physicians' knowledge and attitudes about obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) using a Spanish-language version of the OSA Knowledge and Attitudes (OSAKA) questionnaire and to evaluate its psychometric properties.

We used a cross-sectional survey of general practice physicians in Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela who completed the Spanish-language version OSAKA questionnaire.

Of 684 primary care physicians surveyed, 367 (65%) responded (mean age, 45 years; range, 21-75 years). Mean total knowledge (proportion of 18 items correctly answered) was 60% (range, 0-100%). Less than half of physicians correctly answered the questions about the association between OSA and hypertension. We found no significant differences in overall knowledge in gender or time since graduation (< or =5 years vs. >5 years). Although 73.5% of the physicians felt confident in identifying patients at risk for OSA, only 35.4% felt confident in managing those patients and 22.1% felt confident in managing patients with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. The Spanish-language version of the OSAKA questionnaire had comparable psychometric properties to the English-language version.

This Spanish-language version of the OSAKA yielded considerable variance in Spanish-speaking physicians' knowledge about OSA and confidence in identifying and managing patients with OSA. Focused OSA education for Latin American general physicians is needed.