Abstract

The aim of this study is assessing Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) knowledge on Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and inspecting their attitude regarding referral and perceptions towards statins use in non-dialysis CKD patients. A cross-sectional design was employed using a self-administered questionnaire that was constructed and validated before the study. The questionnaire was distributed to HCPs at two accredited hospitals. A total of 187 individuals including, 48.1% were pharmacists, 40.6% were physicians, and 11.2% were medical students. Female respondents slightly exceeded males, 56.7% vs. 43.3% respectively. Thirty-nine percent of study participants chose medical journals as their fundamental source for updated CKD information. More than 87% of respondents reported that the available CKD Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs are not sufficient. Almost 93% of participants appreciated the benefit of early referral of CKD patients to a nephrologist and 84.5% believed that non-dialysis CKD patients might benefit from using statins. The overall knowledge of participants was average with no significant differences in overall knowledge scores based on their age, gender, profession, experience or monthly salary. In conclusion, HCPs hold a positive attitude towards the early referral of CKD patients to nephrologists and appreciate the considerable value of statins use in improving CKD patients’ outcomes.

Key words: Chronic Kidney, Referral, Knowledge, Perceptions, Statins , Attitudes.