AWARENESS OF HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS REGARDING SARCOPENIA IN THE OLDER ADULT POPULATION

Background Sarcopenia is an age-related muscle wasting which the occurrence of the loss of mass and strength of muscles in older adults. The rate of hospitalization may be increased by about 34% among more than and equal to 65 years of sarcopenia patients. This condition leads to physical disability, decreases the quality of life, and enhances the death rate in older people. Objective To determine the awareness of healthcare professionals regarding sarcopenia in the older adult population. Methodology This is a cross-sectional survey-based study that was conducted from May 2024 to October 2024, the study population was healthcare professionals from seven districts of Karachi and the sample size was 384, the sampling technique was non-probability purposive sampling. The validated questionnaire was used to evaluate the awareness of healthcare professionals regarding sarcopenia among older adults. The data was analyzed through SPSS version 23.0. Result There were 384 healthcare professionals selected from seven districts of Karachi. The level of awareness of the term sarcopenia and its explanation was highest at 11.97% and 14.58% in physical therapists among the research participants, The prevention and treatment of sarcopenia was thought to be more in physical therapists at 20.57%. And the importance of sarcopenia was thought to be more in physical therapists i.e.: 23.17%. Conclusion Our study concluded the level of awareness regarding sarcopenia was proved to be higher in physical therapists and lowest in nurses among all research participants.