title: An Assessment of the Knowledge and Attitudes of Graduating Medical Students in Lagos, Nigeria, Regarding Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Symptom scores show that a significant proportion of Nigerians are at high risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea; however, the diagnosis is rarely made in this country. The knowledge of medical students regarding sleep apnea may provide insight into their future ability to recognize patients with sleep apnea and can also inform student education on this disease.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the knowledge and attitudes of graduating medical students in Nigeria regarding obstructive sleep apnea using a standard validated questionnaire.
  
  
  METHODS
  This descriptive, cross-sectional survey study was performed at the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos, Nigeria. The Obstructive Sleep Apnea Knowledge and Attitude (OSAKA) instrument was self-administered by the subjects. This validated questionnaire consists of 18 knowledge assessment questions and 5 attitude assessment questions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The response rate was 99%, and our final sample comprised 143 participants. The maximum achievable knowledge score was 18. Obtained scores ranged from 0 to 15; the mean ± SD score was 7.6 ± 3.2 (42.2%); and the median score was 8 (interquartile range, 6-10). Four participants (2.8%) had a score of 0, and 56 (39.2%) had a score corresponding to ≥50%. There was no significant difference in knowledge scores by sex or age. Regarding attitudes, over 80% considered obstructive sleep apnea an important disorder; 41% were confident in identifying patients with the condition; 16.1% were confident in managing the disease; and 16.8% expressed confidence in managing patients receiving continuous positive airway pressure therapy. The total attitude score ranged from 1 to 5 (mean, 2.9 ± 0.7). There was a significant correlation between the total attitude score and the total knowledge score (r = 0.22, P = 0.01) and the age of the participants (r = 0.18, P = 0.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The level of knowledge of obstructive sleep apnea among medical students at the Nigerian university in our study was not optimal. This study demonstrates a need to formally incorporate evaluation of sleep disorders into the undergraduate medical curriculum with the clear objective of enabling recognition of clinical features of common sleep disorders such as sleep apnea.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria; and.
authors.forename: Obianuju B
authors.initials: OB
authors.lastname: Ozoh
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria; and.
authors.forename: Sandra O
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Iwuala
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Olufemi O
authors.initials: OO
authors.lastname: Desalu
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria; and.
authors.forename: Oluwadamilola O
authors.initials: OO
authors.lastname: Ojo
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria; and.
authors.forename: Njideka U
authors.initials: NU
authors.lastname: Okubadejo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D045422:Continuous Positive Airway Pressure / Q000379:methods; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D013337:Students, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: attitude; medical education; polysomnography