Public knowledge, attitudes and self-practice towards diabetes mellitus in Kangar, Perlis

• Main Authors: Soo, Pei Pei, Dali N,, Shakar NS,
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2021
• Online Access: http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17444/1/13_ms0467_pdf_89660.pdf; http://journalarticle.ukm.my/17444/; https://www.medicineandhealthukm.com/toc/16/1

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.