Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Relating to Vertigo among Newly Diagnosed Patients: Findings of a Prospective, Observational Registry in India.

OBJECTIVE Vertigo is a common complaint in clinical practice, with multi-causative etiology, substantially impacting individual's overall lifestyle and behavior. However, so far no much data is available to understand the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) about vertigo in newly diagnosed Indian patients. Hence, the objective of this prospective, non-interventional, observational registry was to evaluate KAP towards vertigo and assessment of their awareness through a questionnaire-based survey. METHODS Newly diagnosed patients with vertigo (aged ≥18 years), visiting the physicians, were provided with a self-administered validated questionnaire with domains namely knowledge (18 questions), attitude (7 questions), and practices (8 questions). Primary objective was to analyze the percentage of patients with high, average and low level of knowledge; percentage of patients who were little, quiet and extremely concerned about vertigo and its treatment; percentage of patients taking high, moderate and poor level of precaution towards vertigo. All variables were subjected to statistical analysis. RESULTS Overall, 1167 (76.8%) patients completed the KAP questionnaire (women: 52.9%; men: 47.1%). A total of 17.3% patients had low level of knowledge, 73.9% had average and 8.74% patients had high level of knowledge regarding vertigo. Attitude domain revealed that majority of the patients (86.20%) had little concerned attitude towards vertigo; 9.85% patients were extremely concerned and 3.94% patients were not concerned regarding vertigo. Practice domain revealed that none of the patients took high level of precautions, 79.8% patients took moderate precautions and 20.2% took less precaution for disease prevention. CONCLUSIONS This study revealed that the knowledge, attitude and practice patterns amongst Indian vertigo patients are inadequate, highlighting the need for awareness and scientific education amongst these patients in India. Moreover, health care providers should be trained to provide counseling to these patients effectively.