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General Public Lacks Basic Medical Knowledge, Study Finds

Date:
May 31, 2007
Source:
BioMed Central
Summary:
The general public are worryingly ignorant about the symptoms and risk factors that contribute to serious medical conditions such as stroke and HIV/AIDS, according to a new study. Surprisingly, those with university degrees, a medical background or personal experience of an illness are only slightly better informed.
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The general public are worryingly ignorant about the symptoms and risk factors that contribute to serious medical conditions such as stroke and HIV/AIDS, according to a study published in the online open access journal BMC Medicine. Surprisingly, those with university degrees, a medical background or personal experience of an illness are only slightly better informed.

Lucas M. Bachmann from the University of Zurich, Switzerland and colleagues devised a scale to measure people's minimal medical knowledge (MMK) of heart attack, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and HIV/AIDS. This included questions such as: "How can one protect oneself from HIV infection?" and "What are the symptoms of a heart attack?" It was tested on 185 adults.

The average score was just 32%, and no one scored 100%. The fact that having a university degree, a medical background or personal experience of an illness only slightly improved individual scores is a particular cause for concern, the authors say, and may occur because people prefer to take health-related advice from trustworthy figures in positions of authority, rather than actively seek it themselves.

It is essential that people know the symptoms and risk factors linked to serious clinical conditions since early detection can positively influence treatment outcome, say the authors. It can also cut related costs and reduce risk-taking behaviour.

Article:  Do citizens have minimal medical knowledge? - A survey. Lucas M. Bachmann, Florian S. Gutzwiller, Milo A. Puhan, Johann Steurer, Claudia Steurer-Stey and Gerd Gigerenzer, BMC Medicine (In press)


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BioMed Central. "General Public Lacks Basic Medical Knowledge, Study Finds." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 31 May 2007. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070530215501.htm>.
BioMed Central. (2007, May 31). General Public Lacks Basic Medical Knowledge, Study Finds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070530215501.htm
BioMed Central. "General Public Lacks Basic Medical Knowledge, Study Finds." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070530215501.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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