The assessment of public perception towards chronic kidney disease in Jordan: a cross-sectional study

Figures & data

Figure 1. Venn diagram representing the public source of knowledge about CKD Venn shape showed the different sources of knowledge about CKD. The numbers represent the participants who chose one or more source of knowledge. TV, Books, Social media and internet, and healthcare professionals. Among the 2181 participants, 1207 identified their source of knowledge.

Table 1. Baseline sociodemographic, health information and CKD knowledge score.

Sociodemographic information of the participants	Number (%) (total 2181)	Knowledge score^a Mean (SD)	ANOVA p Value Eta-squared Degree of freedom (df)
Age (years)
18–35	1520 (69.7)	21.7 (6.6)	0.187
36–49	344 (15.8)	21.6 (7.2)	0.002
50–64	300 (13.8)	22.4 (4.4)	3
65≤	17 (0.8)	19.8 (10.7)
Sex			0.097
Male	1631 (74.8)	21.6 (6.5)	0.091
Female	550 (25.2)	22.14 (6.6)	1
Employment status			<.001*
Employed	851 (39.0)	22.9 (6.5)	0.021
Unemployed	1330 (61.0)	21.0 (6.4)	1
Educational level			<.001*
High school or less	238 (10.9)	16.1 (7.8)	0.091
Undergraduate	1943 (89.1)	22.4 (6.0)	1
Educational field			<.001*
Relevant to health	303 (13.9)	26.0 (6.0)	0.067
Not related to health	1878 (86.1)	21.1 (6.4)	1
Social status
Married	674 (30.9)	22.5 (7.5)	<.001*
Not married (single, divorced, widowed)	1507 (69.1)	21.4 (6.0)	0.006
			1
Place of living			<.001*
Rural (villages)	266 (12.2)	23.6 (8.2)	0.012
Urban (cities)	1915 (87.8)	21.5 (6.2)	1
Income (USD)/month			<.001*
Less than 1500	1548 (71.0)	20.6 (6.6)	0.08
More than 1500	633 (29.0)	24.6 (5.4)	1
Smoking status			<.001*
Non-smoker	771 (35.4)	20.4 (7.9)	.022
Smoker	1410 (64.6)	22.5 (5.5)	1
Do you have a family member or spouse who works in the medical field?			<.001*
Yes	438 (20.1)	22.9 (8.1)	0.08
No	1743 (79.9)	21.5 (6.0)	1
Have you ever been diagnosed with any of the following medical conditions?
Kidney problems (stones, failure, infection, proteins or blood in the urine, etc.)
Yes	126 (5.8)	20.8 (6.7)	0.107
No	2055 (94.2)	21.8 (6.5)	0.001
			1
Hypertension
Yes	389 (17.8)	23.0 (4.6)	<.001*
No	1792 (82.2)	21.5 (6.9)	0.008
			1
Diabetes
Yes	352 (16.1)	23.0 (4.3)	<.001*
No	1828 (83.8)	21.5 (6.9)	0.006
			1
Heart problems (heart attack, arrhythmia, etc.)
Yes	191 (8.8)	26.0 (5.9)	<.001*
No	1989 (91.2)	21.3 (6.5)	0.04
			1
Do you have a family history of kidney problems (stones, failure, infection, proteins or blood in the urine, etc.)?
Yes	239 (11.0)	21.0 (7.2)	0.053
No	1942 (89.0)	21.8 (6.4)	0.002
			1

* Significant (p value <.05), the significance is for the higher level of knowledge.

a Knowledge score (out of 32).

Table 2. The public knowledge about kidney functions, chronic kidney diseases etiology, symptoms and treatments.

	Knowledge items				Knowledge score (%)^a	Knowledge description
	Total knowledge score	Answers (%)			21.7/32 (65.9)	Intermediate
No.	What are the main functions of the kidneys?	True^b	False	I do not know	2.7/5 (54.7)	Intermediate
1	The kidneys clean the blood from toxins and turn waste products into urine	92.8	1.6	5.6
2	Kidneys help in producing RBCs	19.4	33.9	46.7
3	The kidneys help maintain blood pressure	58.0	6.5	35.5
4	The kidneys help maintain the level of ions and salts in the blood	81.5	2.6	15.9
5	The kidneys help maintain healthy bones	21.6	16	62.31
	What are the risk factors for chronic kidney disease?				8.1/12 (67.6)	Intermediate
6	Diabetes	51.5	5.9	42.6
7	Hypertension	61.1	6.4	32.5
8	Heart problems such as heart failure or a heart attack	24.9	11.3	63.8
9	Excessive stress	42.8	10.3	47
10	Obesity	77.8	7	15.2
11	Eat unhealthy foods such as fast food	81.8	4.3	13.9
12	Aging	67.7	8.5	23.8
13	Over-the-counter medications such as Ibuprofen and pain relievers	84.0	3.4	12.6
14	Nutritional supplements	54.6	12.6	32.8
15	Prolonged urine retention	90.5	1.5	8
16	Repeated kidney infections	88.9	1.2	9.9
17	Inherited kidney disorders	85.4	2.8	11.9
	What signs and symptoms would a person experience if they had chronic kidney disease?				3.8/6 (49.3)	Poor
18	Swollen feet and ankles due to water retention (excess water in the body)	68.1	1.8	30.1
19	Blood in urine	81.9	3.9	14.2
20	Nausea and vomiting	43.1	9.7	47.2
21	Loss of appetite and weight loss	42.3	9.2	48.5
22	Increased feeling of fatigue and tiredness	55.2	2.4	42.4
23	Change in the amount and frequency of urination	85.3	1.7	13
	Which of the following statements applies to treating chronic kidney disease?				2.8/4 (68.7)	Intermediate
24	One healthy kidney is sufficient for a person to lead a normal life	89.8	3	7.2
25	Medicines that treat chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes contribute to reducing the progression of chronic kidney disease	53.9	9.2	36.9
26	Dialysis and transplantation are only needed when the kidneys lose at least 85% of their function	59.8	5.3	34.9
27	Proper diet and healthy life style may help slow the progression of kidney disease	71.1	1.6	27.1
	Which of the following will protect your kidneys from developing chronic kidney disease in the future?				4.3/5 (85.3)	Excellent
28	Adopting healthy lifestyle such as eating healthy and exercising	93	0.6	6.4
29	Drinking plenty of water to avoid dehydration	94.2	1.1	4.7
30	Limit the intake of caffeinated beverages	80	11.5	8.5
31	Treating risk factors such as diabetes and hypertension	77.2	11.2	11.7
32	Regular check on kidney functions	82.3	9.3	8.4

^a Knowledge score and level. Knowledge score classification: 0–50%: poor level of knowledge. 51–70%: intermediate level of knowledge. 71–100%: excellent level of knowledge.

^b True is the correct answer.

Table 3. The public source of knowledge about CKD.

What sources of knowledge do you have about kidneys?	Number (%) (total 2181)	Knowledge score^a Mean (SD)	ANOVA p Value Eta-squared Degree of freedom (df)
TV shows			<.001*
Yes	810 (37.1)	23.6 (5.9)	0.045
No	1367 (62.7)	20.7 (6.7)	1
Books and magazines			<.001*
Yes	475 (21.8)	25.3 (6.4)	0.082
No	1699 (77.9)	20.8 (6.2)	1
Internet and social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
Yes	825 (37.8)	22.0 (7.1)	0.207
No	1341 (61.5)	21.7 (6.1)	0.001
			1
Health related professionals (doctor, pharmacist, nurse, caregiver)
Yes	835 (38.3)	23.5 (5.7)	<.001*
No	1339 (61.4)	20.7 (6.8)	0.043
			1

* Significant (p value <.05), the significance is for the higher level of knowledge.

^a Knowledge score (out of 32).

Table 4. Multiple regression analysis of public knowledge score and the participants’ baseline characteristics.

Sociodemographic information of the participants	R^2 value	β coefficients (95% CI)	p Value* <.05
Age (years)
18–35^a	0	−0.119	<.001
50–64
Sex
Male^a	0.001	0.184	<.001
Female
Employment status
Unemployed^a	0.021	−0.076	.007
Employed
Educational level
High school or less^a	0.091	0.247	<.001
Undergraduate
Educational field
Relevant to health^a	0.067	−0.179	<.001
Not related to health
Total income (USD)/month
Less than 1500^a	0.08	0.121	<.001
More than 1500
Smoking status
Non-smoker^a	0.022	−0.201	<.001
Smoker
Do you have a family member or spouse who works in the medical field?
Yes^a	0.008	0.111	<.001
No
Hypertension
Yes^a	0.008	−0.077	.021
No
What sources of knowledge do you have about kidneys?
TV shows
Yes^a	0.045	−0.071	.013
No
Books and magazines	0.082	−0.168	<.001
Yes^a
No
Internet and social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
Yes^a	0.001	0.102	<.001
No
Health related professionals (doctor, pharmacist, nurse, caregiver)
Yes^a	0.043	−0.107	<.001
No

^a Reference, R for the model = 0.511.

* p value <.05: significant.

Data availability statement

The data are available by the corresponding author upon request.