Knowledge and attitude of parents towards traditional cauterization and its practice on their children in Jazan region, Saudi Arabia

Background: Al-Kai or cauterization is one of the most common practices in Saudi Arabia where parts of the skin are burnt as treatment. In developing countries, cauterization is used by 80 % of the population for prevention or treatment of disease. In this study, we aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the Jazan population regarding traditional cauterization in children. Methods: This study is an observational and analytical cross-sectional study that was conducted on a representative sample of Jazan population during the study period in Jazan. The sampling technique that used was convenient sampling technique and the total sample size was 440 participants. Data was collected via questionnaire that contains 37 questions in Arabic language. Results: The sample of this study consisted of 477 participants with mean age of 40.36 years old and 54.7 % of them were females. The most reliable source of the information of cauterization was from friends (68.9 %), doctors (25.7 %) and social media (24.5 %). More than half of the sample had high level of knowledge and 33.2 % of them reported using of cauterization for themselves and 21.6 % for their children. Only for 10 % of the participants, doctor in the primary care center was the first choice for treatment of their infant. Conclusion: There is a good level of knowledge considering traditional cauterization among populations in Jazan region, Saudi Arabia with moderate level of attitude toward cauterization among their children.