Knowledge, attitude and practices of indigenous people towards non-communicable disease in Bera, Malaysia: a community-based study
Introduction: With the current trend of increasing on communicable diseases (NCD), like hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidaemia worldwide and in Malaysia, a comprehensive study is essential to find the local population's knowledge, attitude and practice towards NCD. Little is known about t...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en en |
| Published: |
Malaysian Medical Association (MMA)
2024
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| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/114876/1/114876_Knowledge%2C%20attitude%20and%20practices.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/114876/7/114876_Knowledge%2C%20attitude%20and%20practices_SCOPUS.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/114876/ https://www.e-mjm.org/ |
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| Summary: | Introduction: With the current trend of increasing on communicable diseases (NCD), like hypertension, diabetes
and dyslipidaemia worldwide and in Malaysia, a
comprehensive study is essential to find the local
population's knowledge, attitude and practice towards NCD.
Little is known about the indigenous people of Orang Asli’s
health conditions and health-seeking behaviours towards
these chronic diseases. The study aimed to assess
knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) status towards
non-communicable disease and its association with
demographic background among Orang Asli adults of the
Semelai subgroup in central Pahang, Malaysia.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was
conducted among 251 adult Semelai people in Bera district,
Pahang. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews
to obtain socio-demographic data, KAP towards NCD.
Bivariate analysis was performed to test the association
between the socio-demographic factor and the KAP score.
Results: Among respondents, 57.4% were female, 82.5%
were married, and 46.2% completed primary school. The
majority were animism believers (83.3%), self-employed
(75.3%) and earning less than RM1000 (87.6%). The
respondents' ages ranged from 18 to 77, with a mean age of
41.1 (S.D ± 13.9). The prevalence of known type-2 diabetes
mellitus (T2DM), hypertension, and dyslipidaemia was 9.6%,
20.7%, and 8.8%, respectively. About 23.1% of respondents
have a family history of chronic disease. Regarding KAP
parameters, only 12.7% have good knowledge, and 35.5%
have good practice in prevention and treatment. However,
more than half (59.8%) have a positive attitude towards
chronic diseases. This study also showed that higher
household income and education levels were positively
associated with higher scores of KAP (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: This study presented a low-to-moderate
percentage of Orang Asli who have good KAP towards NCD.
KAP levels were significantly associated with education
levels and household income. Hence, improving education
and poverty in the Orang Asli community may successively
increase the knowledge level, impart a positive attitude
towards NCDs, and improve the practice level toward
treatment and prevention. |
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