Abstract

Background: Down’s syndrome is a common chromosomal disease that can result in a significant intellectual disability and growth retardations. However, this suffering can be significantly improved by increasing the general public’s awareness of the disease. This survey analysis aimed to evaluate the Saudi community’s attitude toward support provided to patients with Down’s syndrome.
Methodology: This cross-sectional qualitative study was conducted in Taif University, Saudi Arabia, from May to June 2020 through an online questionnaire to the general public. The survey included questions on respondents’ demographic data, kind of support provided to Down’s syndrome, and responders’ attitude toward Down’s syndrome patients and their involvement in the community.
Results: A total of 1,954 participants responded to this survey. Respondents aware of Down’s syndrome previously were 97%, whereas 25.4% had a relative with Down’s syndrome, and 68.5% responded that the society is not aware of how to deal with such patients. The average score for community awareness was 6.23 ± 1.27. The attitude showed a significant correlation with educational level with the best perception in individuals with a postgraduate degree (p-value = 0.02). Participants living in the Southern region showed a significantly better attitude compared to other areas (p-value < 0.001), and those who heard previously about Down’s syndrome had a significantly higher perception (p-value = 0.015).
Conclusion: The awareness of the Saudi community toward Down’s syndrome is considered to be satisfactory. The higher levels of education are related to better attitudes toward Down’s syndrome.

Key words: Attitude, psychosocial support, Down’s syndrome, Saudi Arabia.