Medical Students’ Understanding of Down Syndrome in Prenatal Diagnosis: A Cross-sectional Study of Awareness and Knowledge

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the awareness level, attitudes and educational needs of medical students towards Down syndrome (DS) with a special focus on prenatal screening, diagnostic tests and related clinical implications. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 381 medical students studying in Majmaah University using a self-report questionnaire. The survey tool comprised four different sections: Demographic, knowledge, attitude towards prenatal testing and DS and education needs. Knowledge was scored based on the assessment of 18 objective items and attitude based on 10 Likert scale statements. Results: The highest age group amongst participants were above 23 years, making up 49.34% of the sample, while gender distribution and institutional representation were close to equal. Mean scores for knowledge had no statistically significant differences when divided by year of study ( P = 0.56), gender ( P = 0.50) or age group ( P = 0.15). Non-invasive screening and chromosomal etiologies questions had the highest percentage correct, and the lowest scores were for life expectancy and related gastrointestinal disorders questions. Attitude scores were significantly different for various years of study ( P = 0.001), with 3 rd -and 4 th -year students having higher median scores (22.0). Conclusion: While medical students had a moderate level of education regarding DS, significant deficits were found within certain areas, such as prognosis, comorbidities and applied screening education. Students all professed a marked need for expanded education, including ethics and counselling and spoke to systemic deficiencies in clinical experience and curriculum reinforcement.