Assessment of the Knowledge Regarding Risk Factors and Preventive Measures of Chronic Diseases among Students of Southern Technical University in Basrah Maatook Majid A.1, Mahmoud Rajaa Ahmed2 1Health and Medical Technology College, Basrah, Iraq 2Directorate of Health, Basrah, Iraq Online published on 30 April, 2019. Abstract Chronic “non-communicable” disease is a term that describes any disturbance in the function of the body structure and metabolism that results in chronic change of the individual's usual life style. However, despite knowing the great importance of knowing the risk factors of chronic diseases, very little information is known about the awareness level of university students on this issue. The purpose of this study is to assess students’ knowledge about the risk factors and preventive measures of chronic diseases among students of Southern Technical University in Basrah. It's a cross-sectional study involved 350 college students from the Southern Technical University using a questionnaire approved Basrah Health Directorate/Research Unit/Training Department. Age and sex were the most identified risk factors by the students (94.3% and 89.1% respectively). While the level of education and over-consumption of alcohol were found by the study to be among the least identified factors (24.9% and 21.7% respectively). Furthermore, on studying the knowledge of the study sample on the preventive measures of chronic diseases at the individual level, maintaining healthy weight was most identified preventive measure followed by avoiding smoking and eating health food (66.3%, 64.3% and 60% respectively). For the overall knowledge of the Southern Technical University students regarding risk factors of chronic diseases, the study found that only one third of the students knows more than 50% of the total risk factors included in the study. A poor overall knowledge regarding the risk factors of chronic diseases was found among the students of Southern Technical University in Basrah. That's why a specified educational program is highly recommended by the present study targeting the students of Southern Technical University in Basrah. Top Keywords Chronic Diseases, Risk Factors, Basrah. Top |