Exploring community awareness and multidisciplinary rehabilitation impact on polyneuropathy post-bariatric surgeries in Kuwait

Obesity remains a significant health challenge in Kuwait, leading to widespread adoption of bariatric surgery and weight-loss medications. While these interventions result in substantial weight reduction and improved health outcomes, they are also associated with complications such as polyneuropathy, which can impair mobility and daily functioning. This study emphasized the importance of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach in restoring physical function, emotional well-being, social participation, and overall quality of life. This study aimed to assess public awareness regarding the role of multidisciplinary teams in managing polyneuropathy following bariatric surgery in Kuwait. A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed to evaluate knowledge levels among the general population. A total of 626 participants aged 18 year and older were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling via social media and personal networks. Ethical approval was obtained from Kuwait University. A bilingual (Arabic and English), anonymous, self-administrated online survey adapted from Gheewala (BMC Public Health 18:371, 2018) was used to assess knowledge, categorized as low, moderate, or high. Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 29.0), applying Chi-Square and Mann-Whitney U tests, with a significance level of p ≤ 0.05. Among the 626 respondents, most were female (87.9%) and aged 18–25 years (65.75%), with bachelor’s degrees (71.4%). No significant association was found between general bariatric knowledge and awareness of neurological complications (p = 0.192). A strong association was observed between knowledge of polyneuropathy and awareness of MDT services (χ² = 194.9, p < 0.001, Φ = 0.56), and a moderate association between polyneuropathy and bariatric surgery knowledge (χ² = 47.4, p < 0.001, Φ = 0.28). Participants with a medical background had significantly higher knowledge scores than those without (U = 37782.5, p < 0.001). Public awareness of post-bariatric polyneuropathy remains limited, particularly among non-medical individuals, highlighting the need for targeted educational initiatives and early rehabilitation intervention.