EPV1024 - Knowledge of assessment about Tourette's Syndrome among Medical Students andGeneral Physicians in Jordan: A Cross-Sectional Study.

EPV1024

Knowledge of assessment about Tourette's Syndrome among Medical Students and

General Physicians in Jordan: A Cross-Sectional Study.

A. A. ALQUDAH ¹, A. E. K. EL-LABABNEH ¹, O. M. BANI AHMAD ¹, S. B. ALMASRI ^1,*, K. M. Al-Sawalmeh ¹

¹Faculty of Medicine , Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan

 

Introduction: Tourette's syndrome (TS), a chronic, usually disabling neuropsychiatric disorder

characterized by motor and vocal tics, patients are frequently misdiagnosed, or diagnosed

lately. Patients are also present with additional psychological disorders like anxiety,

depression, and ADHD. There is a large gap in research about Tourette's syndrome (TS) in

the Middle East as we noticed from our daily medical conversations in the medical field and

social media, that most of the students and General Physicians have less information about

what Tourette’s syndrome is and how to diagnose it.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the general practitioners' (GPs') and medical students' (Jordan's) knowledge and understanding of TS.

Methods: From December 2024 to May 2025, 387 participants—283 medical students and 104 general

practitioners—from six public Universities and healthcare facilities in Jordan participated in a

cross-sectional study. Knowledge in the areas of symptoms, causation, diagnosis, treatment,

and misconceptions was evaluated using a validated 36-item questionnaire. Descriptive

statistics, logistic regression chi-square, t-test, ANOVA, and correlation were used to

examine the data using the (SPSS v26),.

Results: Social media was the main source of knowledge for 53% of participants, and the majority

(82.9%) had heard of TS. The greatest percentage of people knew about symptoms (73.9%),

yet misconceptions about "mortality" (3.1%) remained. Every participant received a score of

less than 50%, which is considered "poor knowledge." The mean knowledge scores of

females were higher than those of males (15.95 vs. 13.11, p = 0.018). Knowledge and GPA

did not correlate (p = 0.414). Academic year and knowledge had a positive correlation (r =

0.357, p < 0.001). While gender and GPA were not significant predictors of awareness,

academic year (OR 24.6–60.8, p < 0.01) and university affiliation were, according to logistic

regression.

Conclusions: The current study's findings reveals that there is a significant lack of awareness and

knowledge among both medical students in all public universities and generalphysicians in

Jordan. Curricular reforms and training initiatives are needed.

 

Disclosure of Interest: None Declared