Patients’ Knowledge and Attitude towards Anesthesia in Tikur Anbesa Specialized Hospital

Background: In Ethiopia, anesthesia as a discipline and anesthetist as a professional is not well recognized by the public. In studies done in around the world, the public knowledge of the anesthesia as a discipline and lower compared to other medical discipline. Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine patients' knowledge and attitude towards anesthesia in TikurAnbesa specialized Hospitals, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from March 30- June 11, 2015 G.C Method: The study was conducted in TikurAnbesa Specialized Hospital. An analytic cross-sectional study design was conducted from March 30- June 11, 2015 G.C. All adult elective patients in TikurAnbesa Specilaized Hospital during the study period were used as a sample. Results: Ninety two percent (92%) of the patients believed that anesthesia is necessary for surgery and 79% of patients responded that a surgeon decides if a patient is fit for anesthesia. Sixty eight percent (68.2%) had poor knowledge & attitude towards anesthesia with a mean score of 9.98. Conclusion: Despite surveys on the overall knowledge & attitude of patients overseas also shows poor results, in our study it is much more significant number of patients who had poor knowledge & attitude.