Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards chronic kidney disease among patients attending medical clinic at teaching hospital Karapitiya, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) has become major health concern worldwide. The prevalence, morbidity and mortality associated with CKD is progressively increasing in Sri Lanka. Knowledge, attitudes and practices play an important role in CKD prevention. The aim of the present study was to examine the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards CKD among patients attending medical clinic at Teaching Hospital Karapitiya (THK). A quantitative cross sectional survey was conducted with convenience sample of 357 patients attending the medical clinic, THK. A self- administered questionnaire which consisted of four parts; sociodemographic data, knowledge, attitudes and practices about CKD was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics were used to identify the patterns within data and Pearson chi square test was used to examine the existing relationships. There were 54.3% male participants and 31.4% of participants belongs to age group 40- 49 years. Majority (53.4%) had average knowledge on CKD, 63.7% participants had poor attitude and 53.4% had good practices regarding CKD. Significant positive relationships exists between age and knowledge level (p<0.05) and knowledge, attitude and practice with level of education (p<0.05). Lack of knowledge and poor attitudes on CKD among patients in this study implied the need for improvement in the public awareness towards CKD.