Relationship between dyslexia awareness and stigma among nursing students in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

Background: Dyslexia—a learning disorder characterized by difficulty in word-level reading
skills—can negatively impact nursing students’ practice, which can, in turn, affect patient
safety. Individuals with dyslexia are often stigmatized. There is a need to explore dyslexia
awareness among nursing students and its relationship with stigma in Saudi Arabia.
Objective: This study aimed to assess the dyslexia awareness levels among nursing students
and its relation to stigma.
Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted on 154 nursing students at King
Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected by asking the students to virtually
complete the Knowledge and Beliefs about Developmental Dyslexia Scale (KBDDS) and the
Consciousness Questionnaire-Learning Disabilities (SCQ-LD) from February to March 2021.
Data were analyzed using chi-square tests to test significance and Cramer’s V to determine
the strength of the relationships among the categorical variables.
Results: The overall dyslexia awareness level was moderate. Most participants believed that
people had negative assumptions about individuals with dyslexia and that they judged and
treated them differently. A moderately strong positive association was revealed between
knowledge of the stigma surrounding dyslexia and knowledge of dyslexia itself (p <0.001).
Conclusions: Increased dyslexia awareness is correlated with greater anticipation that
dyslexic individuals will be stigmatized. Therefore, dyslexia awareness should be raised
among nursing students. Students or nurses with dyslexia should also be encouraged to learn
appropriate coping strategies to ensure patient safety.