The knowledge and attitudes of the primary care physicians on developmental dysplasia of the hip.
OBJECTIVE
For the prevention and early diagnosis of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH), a detailed clinical screening of the newborn performed by a primary care (PC) physician is recommended as a standard practice throughout the most western countries. We aimed to determine the knowledge and attitudes of the PC physicians towards DDH, and to develop further educational and training programs, according to the results obtained from the study.


METHODS
The study was a pre- and post- test with a cross-sectional design. In winter of 2005, the participants included 102 PC physicians from 20 primary health care centers in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. A structured questionnaire was prepared consisting of 28 statements on medical, practical, and traditional knowledge and attitudes concerning DDH.


RESULTS
There was a significant difference between the pre-test (71.47 +/- 9.92) and post-test scores (78.85 +/- 12.86) of participants (p=0.000). Of the participants, 83 (81.4%) before, and 93 (91.2%) after the lecture, thought that DDH is a preventable disease. Prior to the lecture, only 27.5% of the physicians were aware of the wrong traditional attitudes that are considered as risk factors for DDH.


CONCLUSIONS
The knowledge and attitudes of PC physicians on DDH needs to be improved by providing continuous education programmes.
Uzel
Murat
M
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Medical Faculty, Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, Kahramanmaras 46050, Turkey. drmuratuzel@hotmail.com
Ergun
Guney U
GU
Ekerbicer
Hasan C
HC
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D005260:Female; D006618:Hip Dislocation, Congenital / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000523:psychology*; D014421:Turkey