Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Osteoporosis among a group of Iranian Adolescent Females (2007)

Back ground and Osteoporosis, a multifactor disease characterized by reduction of bone mass. It is a major cause of fractures especially femoral fractures leading to morbidity, mortality and decreased quality of life. Although there is no known cure, osteoporosis and related fractures are largely preventable. Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) are the important components of any effective preventive program.The purpose of this investigation was to determine the level of KAP of osteoporosis among a group of Iranian adolescent females. A descriptive study was conducted to determine the KAP level of osteoporosis on 626 randomly selected school girls aged 10-19 (13.9±1.4) years coming from rural and urban regions of Tehran and other provinces to student's camp in north of Tehran. A designed questionnaire with four parts containing questions regarding demographic information, knowledge, attitude and practice was used in this study. Questions were made based on YES/NO and Dont Know in knowledge and attitude (this third option allowed the respondent a choice without guessing) and just Yes /No related to the practice. Students were asked to read the guidelines and then to complete the questionnaire when they were in the camp. We descript +2 for correct responses, 0 for incorrect responses and +1 for dont know answers. The ethical committee of the Iran University of Medical Sciences & Health services approved the study. The SPSS version 11.5 statistical software was used for analysis. ANOVA, Pearson and student t-test were performed to compare mean values and significant P- value was considered at P<0.05. The total score of KAP was 2-65(43.3±13.8). In details a range between 14-30(23±2.9), 10-22(19.2±2.4) and 2-18(10.1±2.8) were seen in knowledge, attitude and practice respectively. There was a direct correlation between total score of KAP and parent's education. Student's Knowledge and attitude, and also attitude and practice had a positive correlation. There were no relationship between parent's occupation, family number and total score of KAP. Iranian adolescent females would have relevant knowledge about osteoporosis but attitude and practice of them were less than knowledge. We recommend to perform further training programs to increase practice of Iranian young women about osteoporosis.