Public knowledge, attitudes and self-practice towards diabetes mellitus in Kangar, Perlis
In Malaysia, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) was the second highest in Perlis. Prevention and management of DM are largely dependent on self-care in our daily lives. Nonetheless, we have little information concerning factors influencing public engagement in DM self-practice, which mig...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2021
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17444/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17444/1/13_ms0467_pdf_89660.pdf |
| Summary: | In Malaysia, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) was the second highest in
Perlis. Prevention and management of DM are largely dependent on self-care
in our daily lives. Nonetheless, we have little information concerning factors
influencing public engagement in DM self-practice, which might have contributed
to the high prevalence of DM in Perlis. This study was conducted to evaluate
knowledge, attitudes, and factors associated with self-practice towards DM
among the public in Kangar, Perlis. A cross-sectional study was conducted in
June 2018 for three months. Eligible participants were invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire in public areas in Kangar. Descriptive analyses on the
sociodemographic, medical backgrounds, knowledge, attitudes, and self-practice
towards DM were performed. Independent t-test and Spearman’s correlation were
performed to assess the association between sociodemographic characteristics,
medical history, knowledge, and attitudes with self-practice towards DM. Multiple
linear regression was used to adjust for potential confounding variables. A total of
319 respondents consented and participated in this study. Most of the respondents
were female (66.5%), Malay (94%), and had tertiary education (51.7%). Overall,
most participants had good scores on knowledge (80.3%), attitudes (98.4%), and
self-practice (97.2%) towards DM. A statistically significant positive association was
found between age, education level, and attitudes score with DM self-practice
(p<0.05). This study suggests a well-structured educational program on diabetes
self-care should start as early as in school to clarify public misconceptions on DM
management. |
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