Exploring Community Perspectives on Functional Paediatric Habitual Constipation

TL;DR

This study explores how parents in Saudi Arabia understand and manage childhood constipation, finding that knowledge varies by age and family size.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into community perspectives on childhood constipation in Saudi Arabia, highlighting demographic differences in parental knowledge.

Findings

Female participants had significantly higher knowledge scores than males.

Parents aged 20–29 had higher knowledge scores than those aged 30–39.

Parents with three or more children had higher knowledge scores than those with one child.

Abstract

(1) Background: Functional habitual constipation (FC) in children is a common gastrointestinal problem. This study aimed to explore the local community’s view on this problem, emphasising the challenges that parents face in managing the condition and its impact on the child’s quality of life. (2) Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional, community-based study was conducted between March and July 2023. The survey received 933 responses. The target population was adults over 18 years of age living in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. An electronically distributed questionnaire was designed in the Arabic language. (3) Results: The mean knowledge scores were significantly higher in females than males, with t (931) = −2.701 and p = 0.007. The Bonferroni post hoc test results indicated that participants between 20 and 29 years exhibited significantly higher levels of knowledge scores compared to those between 30 and 39 years. Furthermore, the results revealed that those with three or more children had significantly higher knowledge scores compared to those with only one child. (4) Conclusions: This study demonstrated that parents in the local community have a good perceived knowledge of FC, but it needs to be linked with practice. They tended to report high levels of perception and demonstrated better practices. These results emphasise the importance of exploring the local community’s view on constipation among children.

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