Assessing the level of DDH knowledge among parents in Riyadh city in Saudi Arabia

Background: Developmental dysplasia of hip (DDH) is a condition in which there is an abnormal relationship between the head of femur and acetabulum. Currently there is no single definition of the disease in the aspect of morphology, clinical, radiological studies. Objective: To know the level of knowledge, attitude and skills among parents with a DDH-diagnosed child, to compare the socio-demographic status between parents and how it affects the disease, to compare attitude between parents with previously diagnosed child with DDH against those who are not. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 340 across parents in city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Using the simple random technique with the help of a questionnaire, the data were processed using SPSS version 23 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA). Results: From a total of 340, only 234 (68.8%) of the participants had a previous knowledge about DDH, while 106 (32.2%) had no idea about DDH. From a total of 72, only 42 (58.3%) of the fathers do know about DDH, while 30 (41.7%) of them do not. From a total of 268, only 192 (71.6%) of the mothers do know about DDH, while 76 (28.4%) of them do not. There is a significant association between being a mother and knowing about DDH (p<0.05). Conclusion: As the DDH awareness level in Saudi Arabia is suboptimal, additional efforts need to be done to ensure the delivery of simple and reliable information regarding this condition through various media portals and campaigns.