Knowledge, attitude, and practice towards COVID-19; A community survey in North-Borneo (Sabah), Malaysia

Aims: The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the global economy as well as the healthcare delivery systems. Without effective treatment and vaccines in the earlier phase of the pandemic, the public needs to engage in precautionary behaviors and disease surveillance and response at the policy level. This study aimed to describe the knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 among the residents in Sabah, Malaysia. Instruments & Methods: An online cross-sectional study was conducted using convenience sampling from March to April 2020. The chi-square test and multiple logistic regression were used to examine the association factors of knowledge, attitude, and practice towards the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings: A total of 536 participants completed the questionnaire. The mean knowledge score was 10.1±1.2, and 84.2% had a correct rate of knowledge. The attitude towards the final success in controlling COVID-19 was significantly different in age groups, marital status, and occupation types (p<0.05). Those with higher knowledge scores were more likely to agree with the confidence of the final success in controlling COVID-19. 94.4% were confident that Malaysia will win the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. People in government sectors were 6.19 times more likely to wear masks than unemployed respondents. Conclusion: The level of knowledge of the residents in Sabah, Malaysia, about COVID-19 is quite satisfactory. Meanwhile, attitudes and practices towards COVID-19 differ according to the socio-demography of the population in Sabah.

Exploring the Knowledge on Herbal Medicine (HM) Usage in Disease Management Among People with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

It is estimated that diabetes affects approximately 415 million people worldwide and this is expected to increase to 642 million by 2040. There are several methods used in managing diabetes which include nutritional control, taking medications, insulin injection and/or consuming herbal medicine (HM). This study explored the knowledge of herbal medicine usage among people with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in regard to diabetes management. A qualitative study was conducted among 28 diabetic patients from government clinics in Negeri Sembilan. They were interviewed face-to-face and all information about their herbal medicine consumption were analysed thematically. Findings showed that the main source of information on herbal usage were from family members, friends and/or neighbours. This study discovered that knowledge on herbal medicine among T2DM patients was greatly influenced from such sources and it is also hereditary. In addressing herbal medicine safety issues, some patients were unaware of the proper channel while others chose to accept any arising consequences without informing the healthcare authorities. This study also revealed that most of the informants were aware on the types and ways of consuming herbal medicine. Besides, patients understood that diabetes can only be controlled and cannot be cured. However, knowledge on complementary intake with modern medicine should be enlightened. Therefore, it is suggested that the healthcare provider need to update their knowledge on herbal medicines and be able to give informative insights to their patients