Abstract

Background: Hernia is a condition that occurs when an internal organ pushes through a weak point in the muscle or tissue. This study aimed to assess how well the individuals in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia understand the risk factors of abdominal hernias.
Methods: This qualitative, cross-sectional, community-based study included 385 participants (aged 18-45) between January and February 2021. The online electronic survey was posted on social media in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia. The data were retrieved, evaluated, coded, and processed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences program version 22.
Results: This study found 44.9% of the participants to have poor awareness regarding hernia, 35.3% had good, and 14% had very good, while 5.7% had excellent awareness regarding hernia. The present study enrolled 385 participants where 241 were female and 144 were male. Age groups were 18-25 (61%), 26-35 (14.5%), and 36-45 (24.4%). Most of the participants (79%) linked the cause of hernia to heavy weight lifting. Furthermore, 64.4% of the participants linked pregnancy as a risk factor for hernia. Over half of the participants in the study (52.5%) linked surgery as a risk factor of hernia. Other risk factors included constipation, prostatic enlargement, asthma, diabetes mellitus, and smoking, which showed an apparent lack of awareness in the participants with proportions of 39.7%, 30.6%, 20.5%, 14%, and 12.5%, respectively.
Conclusion: The study demonstrated a lack of awareness of the population of the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia about the causative factors of hernia among the participants.

Key words: Hernia, awareness, inguinal, risk factors, Eastern Region, Saudi Arabia