Public awareness, health care-seeking behaviors, and barriers to care for acute abdominal pain in Jordan: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: Acute abdominal pain (AAP) is a leading cause of visits to the emergency department (ED) and is often a condition requiring immediate attention and timely management to prevent potentially serious complications like sepsis. Despite the importance of this topic, public knowledge about AAP and when to seek care remains underexplored, particularly among non-medical populations. This study aimed to assess public knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding AAP, identify their sources of health information about the condition, and pinpoint barriers to seeking medical care in Jordan. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among Jordanian adults using a self-administered questionnaire that was developed after a thorough literature review, tested and validated in a pilot study. Convenience and snowball sampling methods were used to collect data, which were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including linear regression analysis to identify predictors of knowledge and attitudes. Results: A total of 1.566 Jordanians participated in the study, with a median age of 26 years (interquartile range: 23-41). The most commonly perceived cause of AAP was the digestive system (86%), with changes in bowel habits (57%) and bloating (51%) being the most recognized associated symptoms. The mean knowledge score was 6.9±3.0, with most participants having fair (53.8%) or good (35.3%) knowledge scores. The vast majority (91.8%) had a positive attitude regarding the importance of raising and awarding about AAP, with a mean score of 7.89±1.66 out of 10. Age, female gender, marital status, parenthood, and prior abdominal surgery were positively associated with both better knowledge and attitude scores (p-values <0.05). However, when experiencing AAP, 35.5% reported that they would take painkillers and wait, and 30% would rest at home, while only 19.7% would seek medical help. Moreover, 4% stated that they would not seek care even in the presence of red flag symptoms. The main barriers to seeking care included long waiting times (47%) and lack of confidence in healthcare providers (31%). Regarding the sources of information about AAP, doctors and health professionals were the primary source of AAP knowledge (61%), followed by personal experiences and advice from friends and family (41%). Conclusion: Most participants had fair to good knowledge and a positive attitude toward AAP, yet a significant proportion opted for self-management over seeking medical help. The main barriers to seeking care included long waiting times, and distrust in healthcare providers. Well-coordinated education campaigns and system-level interventions are advocated to overcome the existing barriers and improve outcome for AAP in Jordan.