Is the knowledge and attitude of physicians in Nigeria adequate for the diagnosis and management of obstructive sleep apnea?

PURPOSE: The knowledge and attitude of doctors in Nigeria towards obstructive sleep apnea is not known. We evaluated the level of knowledge and attitude regarding OSA among resident doctors in Internal Medicine and general practitioners in Nigeria.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey among doctors during continuing medical education programs was conducted. The Obstructive Sleep Apnea Knowledge and Attitude (OSAKA) questionnaire was used to obtain information.

RESULTS: Two hundred seventy-three doctors (235 resident doctors and 38 general practitioners) participated in the study. The mean knowledge score was 10.7 ± 2.6 (out of a maximum possible of 18) for all participants corresponding to 59 ± 14.4 % knowledge. There was no significant difference in the mean score of resident doctors (10.8 ± 2.5) compared to general practitioners (10.0 ± 2.8), (t = 2.6, p = 0.10). Over 70 % of the participants wrongly responded that uvuloplasty was an effective treatment and less than 40 % correctly answered that continuous positive airway pressure treatment was first line for severe obstructive sleep apnea. The mean score on the attitude segment was 3.4 ± 0.6 (maximum possible score of 5) for all participants and 3.4 ± 0.6 and 3.3 ± 0.5, respectively, for the residents and the general practitioners (p = 0.47). Increasing age was negatively associated with level of knowledge, while increasing number of years in medical practice and higher level of residency training was positively associated with higher knowledge scores.

CONCLUSION: The knowledge of obstructive sleep apnea among resident doctors and general practitioners in Nigeria is inadequate. There is need to improve training on sleep disorders in Nigeria both at continuing medical education programs and during residency training.