Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Indigenous People Towards Non-Communicable Diseases In Bera, Malaysia: A Community Based Study

• Main Authors: Abdullah, Fa’iza, A. Rahman, Nor Azlina, Kumaran, Viknaswaran, Fazam, Nurnisya, Wong, Chai Eng
• Format: Article
• Language: English; English; English
• Published: Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia and Family Medicine Specialist Association of Malaysia 2023
• Subjects: R Medicine (General); RA Public aspects of medicine
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/105261/19/105261_Knowledge%2C%20Attitude%20and%20Practices%20of%20Indigenous%20People%20Towards%20Non-Communicable%20Diseases%20In%20Bera%2C%20Malaysia%20A%20Community%20Based%20Study.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/105261/1/19APPCRC%202023%20Knowledge%2C%20Attitude%20%26%20Practices.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/105261/3/P9%20APPCRC23%20KAP%20of%20Indigenous%20People%20Towards%20NCD.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/105261/; https://e-mfp.org/

Introduction: With the current trend of increasing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia worldwide and in Malaysia, a comprehensive study is essential to elucidate the local population's knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) toward NCDs. Objective: �e study investigated the KAP status towards NCDs and the association with sociodemographic background among Orang Asli adults of the Semelai subgroup in Central Pahang, Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 251 Semelai adults in the Bera district, Pahang. Socio-demographic and KAP data were collected through face-to-face interviews and analysed using SPSS version 22.0. Continuous data were expressed descriptively as mean, median, and standard deviation. Bivariate analysis was performed to test the association between respondents’ socio-demographic factors and the KAP score. Results: Most of the respondents were females (57.4%), married (82.5%), completed primary school (75.3%), animism believers (83.3%), self-employed (75.3%) and earning less than RM1000 (87.6%). �e age of the respondents ranged from 18 to 77 years old, with a mean (standard deviation) age of 41.1 (13.9). �e prevalence of known type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), hypertension and dyslipidemia were 9.6%, 20.7% and 8.8%, respectively. About 23.1% of respondents have a family history of chronic disease. Regarding KAP, only 12.7% demonstrated good knowledge while 35.5% depicted good practice in prevention and treatment. Nevertheless, more than half (59.8%) have a positive attitude towards chronic diseases. Higher household income and education levels were positively associated with higher KAP scores (p<0.001). Conclusion: Low-to-moderate percentage of Orang Asli in this study have good knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards NCD. Low levels of KAP are signi�cantly associated with poverty and poor education. Improving Orang Asli’s education and eradicating poverty may assist to improve their KAP towards healthiness, thereby enhancing their well-being and disease intervention.