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

  • Suresh Kumar EMAIL logo , Kingston Rajiah , Sajesh Kalkandi Veettil und Ng Sze Wei
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 4. August 2015

Abstract

Background: 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.

Methods: 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.

Results: 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.

Conclusions: 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.

Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.

Research funding: None declared.

Employment or leadership: None declared.

Honorarium: None declared.

Competing interests: The funding organization(s) played no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the report for publication.

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Received: 2013-12-15
Accepted: 2015-7-15
Published Online: 2015-8-4
Published in Print: 2015-12-1

©2015 by De Gruyter

Heruntergeladen am 1.12.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/jcim-2013-0068/html
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