A cross-sectional study on knowledge and attitude toward Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) among adults in selected regions of Malaysia

Author(s):  
Suresh Kumar ◽  
Kingston Rajiah ◽  
Sajesh Kalkandi Veettil ◽  
Ng Sze Wei

Abstract: The objectives of this study were to determine the knowledge and attitude of adult Malaysians about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), to understand the variation in the knowledge and attitude toward TCM among different demographic groups of adult Malaysian population and to determine the pattern of TCM use among adult Malaysians.: This study was a descriptive, cross-sectional survey using the convenience sampling method. A total of 400 adult Malaysians were recruited for this study. An interview-administered questionnaire was used. Descriptive statistics Mann-Whitney U Test and Kruskal–Wallis H test were used to analyze the data. The reliability of survey data in this study may affect since closed-ended questions are used.: The more commonly utilized therapy was herbal medicine (n=192, 82.1%), acupuncture (n=79, 33.8%) and oriental massage (n=58, 24.8%). The mean knowledge score and mean attitude score for the respondents were 5.00±1.71 and 7.17±2.10 respectively. There was a significant difference in the mean knowledge score between genders, among TCM users and non-TCM users, people of different education levels and ethnicity.: There were more TCM users than non-TCM users and the use of TCM was higher in females than males. The most popularly used TCM modalities were herbal medicines and acupuncture. Gender, education, ethnicity and use of TCM had a significant effect on adults’ knowledge toward TCM.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maha M. AlRasheed ◽  
Hatoon AlAli ◽  
Abdulrahman F. Alsuwaid ◽  
Suhail Khalaf ◽  
Sondus I. Ata ◽  
...  

This study aimed to assess healthcare professionals' knowledge, attitudes, and concerns toward gene therapy in Saudi Arabia. We conducted an online cross-sectional survey via convenience sampling during the period from December 2018 to March 2019. A total of 419 (358 pharmacists and 61 physicians) responded to our questionnaire. Three hundred and nine (73.7%) were male, and the mean (±SD) age of 32.0 ± 7.7 years. The mean knowledge scores of all participants, pharmacists, and physicians were 3.8 ± 1.9, 3.8 ± 1.9, and 3.7 ± 1.9, respectively (P = 0.73). Higher knowledge score was associated with younger age (Coefficient: −0.03; P = 0.02), male (Coefficient: 0.57; P = 0.01), master's degree (Coefficient: 0.93; P = 0.003) and Ph.D. holders (Coefficient: 1.10; P = 0.01), and participants graduated from Canada (Coefficient: 2.10; P = 0.01).Moreover, about half of the respondents (55%) were concerned about gene therapy, and genetics training at college was considered the best gene therapy education method by 69.4%. Attitude score was not significantly associated with the profession (P = 0.88) but positively correlated with the knowledge score (rho= 0.4; P < 0.001). In conclusion, pharmacists and physicians showed limited knowledge with a positive attitude toward gene therapy. Therefore, educational programs on gene therapy need to be considered, focusing primarily on the safety, and social acceptance of such new therapeutic management.


Author(s):  
M.K. Sreelakshmi ◽  
Suneesh Kuruvilla ◽  
Ramanarayanan Subramaniam ◽  
Pooja Latti ◽  
Ramanarayanan Venkitachalam

Abstract Background: Chengannur, a town in the south Indian state of Kerala, was 1 of the worst affected towns during the floods of 2018. Post-flood, Kerala state was under the threat of many infectious diseases including leptospirosis, but did not report any leptospirosis infections. Objectives: This study was conducted with the following objectives: (1) Assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding the prevention of leptospirosis among the flood affected population and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) of Chengannur; and (2) Analyze the factors responsible for and contributing to leptospirosis control in the area post flood. Methodology: A cross-sectional questionnaire based observational study was conducted among 2 groups: the flood affected population, and ASHA. The questionnaire was divided into 3 parts. Part A contained the socio-demographic information. Part B contained questions on assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding the prevention, and control of leptospirosis. Part C was only for the ASHA involved. Results: The final sample size was 331 (244 from the general population and 87 ASHAs). With respect to knowledge, attitude, and practice, the responses were dichotomized into correct and wrong responses. The mean knowledge score was 9.01 ± 1.08 (maximum score of 10), mean attitude score was of 3.61 ± 0.55 (maximum score of 4) and the mean practice score was 4.12 ± 1.05 (maximum score of 5). Conclusion: Knowledge and attitude scores did not significantly differ between the general population and ASHA, but the practice score showed a higher score among the ASHA, all of which could have probably contributed to the prevention of a leptospirosis outbreak in the region.


Author(s):  
Pratibha Srivastava

Today's Children will be tomorrow's responsible citizen of the country. Entertainment is an essential part of life, by this we feel tension free, relaxed, energetic and having a positive attitude towards life. Games plays an important role for the all round development of the children's personality especially outdoor games but Now a days children are adopting habits of playing indoor games and also entertaining themselves by using various electronic devices as we know one of them is television. There are various programmes such as various kids’ channels, cartoon shows, video games etc. being watched by the children. Directly or indirectly these programs affect behaviour of the children in positive and negative ways. That’s why it is needed that parents should have a look for types of programmes seen by children, how long a child is watching a program, how it is affecting child habits/ behaviour etc. Later on, these negative impacts will create health issues/behaviour problems such as obesity, aggressive behaviour, lack of concentration etc. Child who watch television for 10 hours or more per week are less skilled at reading and are less successful in school as compared to children who watch television for less than 10 hours per week. The American academy of paediatrics makes the following recommendations regarding television viewing should not exceed one to two hours of quality programming daily and children younger than two years old should not watch television.1 That is why researchers took this topic to highlight the attitude and knowledge of parents about the impact of television on their Children's behaviour. A co-relational study conducted to assess parental knowledge and attitude regarding the impact of television on children in selected area at Kanpur (U.P). A descriptive cross-sectional survey approach was used, sample size was 100 parents selected by convenient sampling for this study. Self-structured knowledge questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge of parents, and attitude of parents was assessed by Likert scale. The study shows that among 100 parents 8% of them had poor knowledge, 36% average knowledge, 50% good knowledge, 6% very good knowledge about impact of television on children. The study shown the positive attitude 84%, negative attitude 16% on impact of television on children. The correlation value shows that positive correlation between knowledge and attitude score of parents. There was no significant association between knowledge score with their demographic variables and significant association seen between attitude score with types of family, educational status of parents, income of parents and number of children. There was no significant association between attitude score with age of parents and religion. KEYWORDS: Impact, Television, Attitude, Parental Knowledge,


Author(s):  
Asma Munir Khan ◽  
Shazia Nawabi ◽  
Muhammad Qasim Javed

Abstract Background: Present study aimed to explore the knowledge and attitude of dental faculty at Qassim University, regarding novel COVID 19 disease. Methods: The cross-sectional survey was conducted on the faculty at undergraduate dental school. The self-designed e-survey was administered to 78 faculty members to assess their knowledge and attitudes towards the COVID-19 disease. Data analysis was conducted by using SPSS version 23. Descriptive statistics were reported as frequency and percentages. Chi-square test was utilized to identify the correlation between the independent and dependent variables. The inferential statistics (Kruskal-Wallis tests and Mann-Whitney U test) were utilized for assessing the significance between study variables. The association between knowledge and attitude was evaluated by using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Results: A total of 55 faculty members (70.5%) responded. Mean knowledge score was 10± 2.71. 37 (67.3%) respondents showed positive attitude towards COVID-19 while 18(32.7%) displayed negative attitude. The mean attitude score was 4.08±0.50. Significant difference was found in knowledge (p-value=0.04) and attitude (p-value=0.015) of dental faculty based on designation.Conclusions: Qassim University dentists were mindful of the COVID-19 symptoms, means of transmission, Cross-infection control and operative protocols practiced within dental clinics. However, dentists exhibited inadequate knowledge about the specific dental procedures that safeguard the dental staff and patients from COVID-19 in context of current outbreak.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-24
Author(s):  
Dilli Bahadur Pun ◽  
Bobby Thapa ◽  
Prashanna Shrestha ◽  
Sonam Chaudhary ◽  
Nashib Pandey ◽  
...  

Background and Objectives: Survival after cardiopulmonary arrest depends on early and effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Demand for courses of basic life support (BLS)/CPR is increasing worldwide. Till date, there have been little reports regarding CPR knowledge and attitude among the Nepalese dental health personnel. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude towards CPR among undergraduate dental students, interns and postgraduate residents studying at Kantipur Dental College and Teaching Hospital (KDCH), Kathmandu, Nepal. Material and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 243 dental students studying at KDCH. Data was collected through a self -administered semi-structured questionnaire. Collected data was organized, recorded, coded and then analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) version 16. Descriptive statistics was used to compute mean, percentile, standard deviation and one way ANOVA test was done to compare the mean knowledge score between different academic levels of the students at 95% level of significance. Results: The mean knowledge and attitude score towards CPR among the dental students was 8.05±2.85 and 4.63±0.51 respectively. Out of total students, only few (5.8%) had adequate knowledge whereas all (100%) had a positive attitude towards CPR. The mean score for the pre-clinical students (7.26 ±2.38) was significantly (p=0.001) lower than clinical students (8.44 ±3.23), interns and residents (8.85 ±2.54). Conclusion: The present study showed inadequate knowledge regarding CPR among dental students of different academic levels but they have a positive attitude towards it. The integration of CPR in the early year of the curriculum along with regular training of CPR in succeeding years will enhance their knowledge.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asma Munir Khan ◽  
Shazia Nawabi ◽  
Muhammad Qasim Javed

Abstract Background: Present study aimed to explore the knowledge and attitude of dental faculty at Qassim University, regarding novel COVID 19 disease. Methods: The cross-sectional survey was conducted on the faculty at undergraduate dental school. The self-designed e-survey was administered to 78 faculty members to assess their knowledge and attitudes towards the COVID-19 disease. Data analysis was conducted by using SPSS version 23. Descriptive statistics were reported as frequency and percentages. Chi-square test was utilized to identify the correlation between the independent and dependent variables. The inferential statistics (Kruskal-Wallis tests and Mann-Whitney U test) were utilized for assessing the significance between study variables. The association between knowledge and attitude was evaluated by using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Results: A total of 55 faculty members (70.5%) responded. Mean knowledge score was 10± 2.71. 37 (67.3%) respondents showed positive attitude towards COVID-19 while 18(32.7%) displayed negative attitude. The mean attitude score was 4.08±0.50. Significant difference was found in knowledge (p-value=0.04) and attitude (p-value=0.015) of dental faculty based on designation.Conclusions: Qassim University dentists were mindful of the COVID-19 symptoms, means of transmission, Cross-infection control and operative protocols practiced within dental clinics. However, dentists exhibited inadequate knowledge about the specific dental procedures that safeguard the dental staff and patients from COVID-19 in context of current outbreak.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1600
Author(s):  
Samantha Yun-Kai Poon ◽  
Jason C. Hsu ◽  
Yu Ko ◽  
Shao-Chin Chiang

Despite the first approval of biosimilars’ in 2010, biosimilar products usage has remained low in Taiwan. This cross-sectional survey study assessed healthcare professionals’ (HCPs)—hospital pharmacists, oncologists, and rheumatologists—knowledge, and attitudes toward biosimilars. More precisely, their knowledge and attitude towards biosimilars’ current usage and regulations in Taiwan were analyzed. The mean ± standard deviation knowledge score was 2.56 ± 0.86 out of 4 (n = 395), and a difference in knowledge score was determined according to the hospital types (p = 0.004). Rheumatologists possessed significantly higher confidence in their knowledge of biosimilars than other HCPs (p = 0.001). Pharmacists showed the highest acceptance—and rheumatologists the least—for switching patients from reference drugs to biosimilars (p = 0.02). Hospital type was associated with the respondent’s confidence in their knowledge (p = 0.04) and the preference for distinguishable naming of biosimilars (p = 0.007). Their knowledge scores were associated with their confidence in the efficacy and safety of biosimilars (p = 0.02). The study found that the current level of biosimilar knowledge of HCPs in Taiwan is low. The higher the knowledge score, the greater the confidence in biosimilars and the familiarity with relevant regulations.


2022 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-14
Author(s):  
Almas Khattak ◽  
Rabia Khattak ◽  
Maria Mufti ◽  
Haseeba Mukhtar

OBJECTIVES: To assess undergraduate medical students’ knowledge of and their attitudes towards primary healthcare and to compare the knowledge and attitudes of students in public and private medical colleges as well as between different demographic groups of students. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted in public and private medical colleges after an ethical approval was granted. Data was collected from 201 undergraduate medical students through a validated (by Chalmers et al. 1997) Primary Health Care Questionnaire (PHCQ) utilizing an online data collection platform of Google Forms. The link to Google Form was distributed via emails and social media links of participating colleges. Data was exported from Google Form into SPSS version 24 and analyzed. RESULTS: The total knowledge score of students ranged from 8 to 17 with the mean knowledge score of 12.62 (SD: 1.398). The total attitude score ranged from 59 to 82 for all the participants with the mean attitude score of 71.12 (SD=4.382). Comparison of knowledge scores showed higher scores in females than males (p=0.004), and significantly higher attitudes scores among private medical students than public (p=0.037). CONCLUSION: Medical students’ gender and setting of their medical studies showed significant influence on their knowledge of and attitudes towards primary healthcare.  


Author(s):  
Priyanka Chugh ◽  
Rahul Sharma ◽  
Jyoti Dahiya ◽  
Richa Rai ◽  
Charu Chopra

Background: The HIV epidemic poses significant challenges to the healthcare providers including Physiotherapists. The study aimed at investigating the extent to which Physiotherapy College students know about human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) transmission, infection and prevention, and the transfer of such knowledge to sexual behavior change & and to know whether knowledge has any influence on the attitude and willingness to treat HIV/AIDS patients.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out on 217 physiotherapy students studying at the Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Physiotherapy, Kalkaji, New Delhi, India. The students completed a predesigned self-administered questionnaire assessing the knowledge, attitude and willingness to treat HIV/AIDS patients. The data were analyzed using ANOVA test (all the results are calculated at 1% level of significance) and Pearson correlation test.Results: The total mean knowledge score was 73.23% (good knowledge). There was a significant difference in knowledge among the Fourth-year & first-year students, which was found to be statistically significant (P<0.001%). The study showed that the overall mean attitude score was 62.83% (negative attitude). There was no significant difference in the attitude of the students among the five groups (P>0.001%). Karl Pearson correlation test showed no significant correlation between the knowledge of HIV/AIDS and the attitude of students towards HIV/AIDS patients (P>0.01%).Conclusions: The findings suggest that although the students had adequate knowledge about HIV/AIDS, their attitude towards this group of people was negative. From the study, fear of HIV contagion was observed as a major reason for the negative attitude of students towards HIV/AIDS patients. 


Author(s):  
Muhammad Salman ◽  
Zia Ul Mustafa ◽  
Noman Asif ◽  
Naureen Shehzadi ◽  
Tahir Mehmood Khan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: COVIID-19 outbreak has been accompanied by a massive infodemic. However, many vulnerable individuals such as illiterate or low-literate, older adults, and rural populations have limited access to health information. In this context, these individuals are more likely to have poor knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices related to COVID-19. The current study was aimed to investigate COVID-19’s awareness of the illiterate population of Pakistanis. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among illiterate Pakistanis having age ≥ 18 years through a convenient sampling approach. The study participants were interviewed, face to face, by respecting the defined precautionary measures. All data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results: The mean age of the study participants’ (N = 394) was 37.2±9.60 years, with the majority of males (80.7%). All participants were aware of the COVID-19 outbreak and television news channels (75.1%) were the primary source of information. The mean knowledge score was 5.33±1.88. About 27% of participants had good knowledge score (score ≥ 7) followed by moderate (score 4-6) and poor (score ≤ 3) knowledge in 41.6%, and 31.5% respondents, respectively. The attitude score was 4.42±1.22 with good (score ≥ 6), average (score 4-5), and poor attitude (score ≤ 3) in 19%, 66%, and 15% participants, respectively. The average practices-related score was 12.80±3.34, with the majority of participants having inadequate practices. Conclusion: COVID-19 knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices of the illiterate population in Pakistan are unsatisfactory. This study highlights the gaps in specific aspects of knowledge and practice that should be addressed through awareness campaigns targeting this specific population.


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