Awareness of Hernias and Their Risk Factors Among Adults in the Western Region of Saudi Arabia

Objective To assess the awareness of hernia and its risk factors among adults in the western region of Saudi Arabia. Our hypothesis was that the studied population was in need of education regarding this matter.  Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in the western region of Saudi Arabia from November to December 2022, using a Google form. The generated questionnaire consisting of two parts was distributed electronically through social media platforms. The targeted population included adults from the western region of Saudi Arabia. The data were obtained using Microsoft Excel and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) v. 26 software (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results A total of 1570 adults from the western region of Saudi Arabia were included in our study. We found that 13% of the participants had good overall knowledge about hernia, 31% had poor knowledge, and 56% had moderate knowledge. Alarmingly, 55% of the participants had a poor attitude, and 27% were evaluated as having poor practice. In addition, we found a significant association between people's level of knowledge and multiple factors, including age (p-value < 0.001), marital status (p-value< 0.001), and occupation (p-value< 0.001).  Conclusion Based on our research, more than half of our population had a moderate level of knowledge regarding hernias including their risk factors and complications, with alarming levels of poor attitudes toward the disease. Healthcare workers were our participants' leading source of medical information, which directs us towards fully equipping them with the knowledge to educate the public effectively.