Citation: Assiry, A.; Alshahrani, S.; Banji, D.; Banji, O.J.F.; Syed, N.K.; Alqahtani, S.S. Public Awareness of Chronic Kidney Disease in Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia—A Cross- Sectional Survey. Healthcare 2022, 10, 1377. https://doi.org/10.3390/ healthcare10081377 Academic Editor: Ioannis Ilias Received: 21 May 2022 Accepted: 21 July 2022 Published: 25 July 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). healthcare Article Public Awareness of Chronic Kidney Disease in Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia—A Cross-Sectional Survey Ali Assiry 1,2 , Saeed Alshahrani 1, * , David Banji 1 , Otilia J. F. Banji 3,4 , Nabeel Kashan Syed 3,4 and Saad S. Alqahtani 3,4 1 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Jazan University, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia; ali.shar999@gmail.com (A.A.); davidbanji@gmail.com (D.B.) 2 Mohayil Hospital, Health Affairs of Aseer, Abha 62523, Saudi Arabia 3 Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Jazan University, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia; otiliabanji@gmail.com (O.J.F.B.); nsyed@jazanu.edu.sa (N.K.S.); ssalqahtani@jazanu.edu.sa (S.S.A.) 4 Pharmacy Practice Research Unit, College of Pharmacy, Jazan University, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia * Correspondence: saalshahrani@jazanu.edu.sa Abstract: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a significant public health concern worldwide and many people continue to ignore their early warning symptoms. The present study assessed the level of knowledge about CKD the awareness of the risk factors and the awareness of the complications associated with CKD, among the general population of Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia. 440 residents of Jazan Province participated in an online cross-sectional survey during a seven-month period from November (2020) to July (2021). Data was collected using a validated 73-item self-report survey. More than half of the respondents were males (n = 286; 65%) with an age ranging from 18 to 59 years, and a mean age of 32.66 years (SD ± 10.83). A very low percentage of the sample (27.3%; 7.5%, 9.3%) demonstrated good knowledge, a high level of awareness of the risk factors, and a high level of awareness of the complications associated with CKD, respectively. Participants’ knowledge was significantly associated with being a student or being employed (Government/private employee) (χ 2 = 29.90; p < 0.001), having completed graduate studies (χ 2 = 63.86; p < 0.001), residing in urban areas (χ 2 = 138.62; p < 0.001), belonging to the age group (18–39 years), and having no co-morbidities (χ 2 = 24.55; p < 0.001). Positive and significant correlations were also noted between the knowledge score and the awareness of risk factor score (r = 0.42; p < 0.01), as well as the awareness of complications score (r = 0.25; p < 0.01). These findings warrant an urgent need for extensive CKD educational initiatives concentrating on improving the general knowledge and awareness of the public towards CKD. Keywords: chronic kidney disease; knowledge; awareness; risk factors; complications 1. Introduction Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a growing public health problem and a significant burden on the health care system. In 2017, the prevalence of CKD globally was estimated to be 9.1%, with 6975 million affected [1]. The Global Burden of Disease study emphasizes that CKD ranks 12th among the causes of death worldwide and in the top five causes of death in many countries [1], with an estimated prevalence of 15.8% [2–5]. The age-standardized prevalence of CKD in Saudi Arabia is relatively high, with an estimated 9892 per 100,000 affected [6,7]. A 2–4-fold higher prevalence of CKD was found in relatives of patients with CKD in Southwestern Saudi Arabia [6,7]. CKD can serve as a significant risk factor for stroke and ischemic heart disease [1]. According to Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO), CKD is defined as abnormalities that are related to the kidney structure or function, have been present for more than three months, and have implications for an individual’s health [8]. CKD is also defined as a state in which the estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 , Healthcare 2022, 10, 1377. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare10081377 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/healthcare