Primary health care physicians' management of obese patients and their attitude towards bariatric surgery in Eastern province Saudi Arabia

Ali AlMatrook; Zahra AlHamdan; Maryam AlShawi; Mohamed Ali M Alamin

Volume : VII, Issue : VII, July - 2018

Primary health care physicians' management of obese patients and their attitude towards bariatric surgery in Eastern province Saudi Arabia

Ali Almatrook, Zahra Alhamdan, Maryam Alshawi, Mohamed Ali M Alamin

Abstract :

Background: obesity and bariatric surgeryare increasing in Saudi Arabia. This study assess Primary health Care (PHC) Physicians‘ management of obese patients andmeasured their attitude toward referring patients for bariatric surgery.

Method:cross–sectional studyof all eligible Ministry of Health PHC physicians, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabiawere invited through online self–administered questionnairein January 2018

Result: total of 263 physicians responded. The majority (90.9%) reported measuring patients� weight each visit,91.3% used BMI as a second measurement;40.3% had referred patients for bariatric surgery in the previous 12 months. Only 15.6% believed benefits of bariatric surgery are not worth its risks and 37.6% reported discomfort in managing patients after surgery. The main barrier to referral was unawarenesswhere to refer patients.

Conclusion:Generally,physicians had a positive attitude regarding bariatric surgeries; in contrast, they need improvement in the area of referral and post–surgery follow–up.