AWARENESS OF TOURETTE’S SYNDROME AMONG HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN KARACHI

Background It is a developmental disorder that develops in childhood and adolescence age to a variety of repeated movements and vocal sounds. These repeated and fast movements are called tics. Almost 90 percent of patients with Tourette’s syndrome may suffer from one other mental health issue and they face many disabilities and stress were seen in these patients. The prevalence ratio showed that around 1 percent was found in young people aged from 5 to 18 years old. Mostly boys are more prone to this disorder as compared to girls. Objective To determine the awareness of Tourette syndrome among healthcare workers in Karachi. Methodology A cross-sectional study was done from June to November 2024, the population of the study was healthcare workers from seven districts of Karachi and the sample size was 384, the non-probability purposive sampling technique was used. The validated questionnaire was used to evaluate the perception of healthcare workers regarding Tourette syndrome. The data was analyzed through SPSS version 23.0. Result There were 384 healthcare workers recruited from seven districts of Karachi. The knowledge of Tourette syndrome was found in 65.36%, the exposure of healthcare workers with the diseased person was found in 17.44%, the awareness of the cause of the disease was found in 68.48%, The question related to the role of physical therapy in Tourette syndrome 13.28% of healthcare workers replied yes. Conclusion Our study concluded the level of awareness regarding the Tourette syndrome was proved to be higher but the exposure of the disease was minimal among healthcare workers of our study.