Assessment of Family Physician’s Knowledge, Attitude and Barriers to the use of Oral Anticoagulation Therapy among Atrial Fibrillation Patients in Riyadh City

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia type. The prevalence of AF is associated with different factors such as age, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, genetic factors and lifestyle factors. AF is associated with an increased risk of stroke and embolic events. Treatment guidelines recommend the combination of anticoagulant and rate control with rhythm control for highly symptomatic patients. Aim: To evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and barriers of family physicians to use oral anticoagulation in arterial fibrillation. Methods: This study is a cross sectional study which was conducted in 4 hospitals and 8 primary care centers at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on family physicians. The study used pre-designed questionnaire which involved questions about demographics, knowledge, attitude and barriers. Results: There were 52 physicians had average awareness about practice guidelines, 27 had good awareness, 4 had excellent awareness, 17 and 14 had fair and poor awareness respectively. The overall knowledge was significantly associated with job position, where consultants had higher mean knowledge. The most common barriers were lack of follow-up system and lab investigations. Conclusion: There was positive attitude with moderate overall knowledge, it is recommended to increase knowledge by establishing educational program and it is necessary to provide follow-up system and facilitate performing of lab investigations to decrease parries and facilitate practice of use of anticoagulants.