Knowledge of and attitude toward venous thromboembolism among professional drivers in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Evidence suggests that professional drivers are at risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE), a life-threatening yet preventable disease. Awareness of VTE among this population has not been assessed in the Middle East. The study aimed to assess professional drivers’ awareness of VTE and attitudes toward VTE preventive measures. We used a validated VTE awareness questionnaire to interview 324 drivers in Saudi Arabia during February-March 2020. Knowledge about VTE was the lowest compared to other medical conditions. Less than a third (31.8%) of the drivers were aware of VTE. Only 15.7% of those with prior awareness correctly identified all four deep vein thrombosis symptoms, and only 7.4% correctly identified all five pulmonary embolism symptoms. A significant proportion believed in unrelated practices for VTE prevention. Health promotion campaigns are urgently needed to raise awareness and to promote healthy behaviors.

Keywords:

• Awareness
• deep vein thrombosis
• professional drivers
• pulmonary embolism
• venous thromboembolism

Acknowledgments

We wish to express our gratitude to all drivers who took the time to participate in the study, and to the managers and supervisors who gave us permission for data collection at their institutions (Aramex, SMSA, Naqel, Saudi Post, Al Munajem, and Al Watania Poultry). We are also appreciative of our collaborators, Dr. Hossam Sherif, Dr. Muhammed S. Shahid and Muneeb Q. AbdulQayuum for translating the questionnaires. We would like to thank our colleagues, Ali M. Ibrahim, Abdullah Al-Aghbari, Abdullah Jamal Uddin, Khalid Akram, Imran Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Ahmad Dildar, Tarique Anwar Khan, Osama A. Zitoun, Asaad Jamal Alarif, Hamid Shahid Alam, and Hassan Hameed Quadri, for their active participation in the data collection process and interviewing the professional drivers. Finally, the authors thank Ms. Erin Strotheide for English language editing.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest, and the work was not supported or funded by any drug company.

Ethical statement

The regional ethics committee at the Ministry of Health reviewed and approved the study protocol (reference number 1441–468012), which was written according to the principles of the Helsinki Declaration.

Funding

This work was supported by Sulaiman Al Rajhi University.

Data availability

Data will be made available upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.