Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Knowledge and perception of breast cancer and its treatment among Malaysian women: Role of religion

Noraida Mohamed Shah , Billy Lim Tzyy Nan, Nies Yong Hui, Farida Hanim Islahudin, Ernieda Mhd Hatah

Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;

For correspondence:- Noraida Shah Email: noraida_mshah@ukm.edu.my Tel:+60392898038

Received: 10 September 2016 Accepted: 8 March 2017 Published: 30 April 2017

Citation: Shah NM, Nan BL, Hui NY, Islahudin FH, Hatah EM. Knowledge and perception of breast cancer and its treatment among Malaysian women: Role of religion. Trop J Pharm Res 2017; 16(4):955-962 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v16i4.30

© 2017 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the association between religiosity, perceptions, and knowledge of breast cancer and its treatment among women in Malaysia.

Methods: Knowledge and perceptions of breast cancer and its treatment were determined via a questionnaire adapted from previous studies. The Duke Religion Index was used to measure participants’ religiosity. The questionnaires were distributed among women in public areas in Kuala Lumpur.

Results: A total of 384 women participated in this study. Non-organisational religious activity (NORA; r = -0.113, p < 0.05) and intrinsic religiosity (IR; r = -0.183, p < 0.01) were significantly negatively correlated with knowledge of breast cancer. NORA (r = 0.115, p < 0.05) and IR (r = 0.229, p < 0.01) were positively, significantly correlated with the perception that patients who underwent treatment for breast cancer can enjoy good quality of life. There was also a significant positive correlation between NORA (r = 0.175, p < 0.05) and IR (r = 0.249, p < 0.01) on the statement that spiritual support improves treatment for breast cancer. IR was the only subscale positively, significantly associated with the perception of choosing breast-conserving surgery as a primary treatment choice (r = -0.111, p < 0.05) and dietary therapies (r = 0.126, p < 0.05) or acupuncture (r = 0.120, p < 0.05) as alternative treatments for breast cancer.

Conclusion: Religiosity should be considered in improving women’s knowledge and perceptions of breast cancer and its treatment

Keywords: Breast cancer, Knowledge, Perceptions, Religiosity