Use of chinese herbal medicine and health-related quality of life among cancer patients in Johor Malaysia

Chong Kah Hui, . and Loke Mi Mi, . and Noor Salihah Zakaria, . and Hayati Mohd Yusof, . Use of chinese herbal medicine and health-related quality of life among cancer patients in Johor Malaysia. pp. 227-238. ISSN 1394-035X

Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) is becoming increasingly popular among cancer patients worldwide. While health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in relation to cancer outcomes has attracted global attention there are few studies on CHM use and HRQoL among cancer patients in Malaysia. This study attempted to determine the association between use of CHM including the types reasons and beliefs and HRQoL among Malaysian cancer patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 120 cancer patients (60 male and 60 female) recruited from government oncology clinics in Johor state. A purposive non-probability sampling was applied to recruit respondents. Results: Use of CHM was reported by about half of the patients (49.2). Common types of CHM used included Chinese herbal extracts (27.5) Sabah snake grass (12.2) and ginger (11.5). The median score for overall belief in CHM significantly differed between CHM users (71.7) and non-users (65.0) (p 0.001) with respect to sex with females scoring higher than males. No significant association was noted between CHM use and socio-demographic characteristics except for sex. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of self-prescription of CHM among the cancer patients studied. Nonetheless use of CHM did not show any significant difference in terms of quality of life among CHM users.

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Abstract

Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) is becoming increasingly popular among cancer patients worldwide. While health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in relation to cancer outcomes has attracted global attention there are few studies on CHM use and HRQoL among cancer patients in Malaysia. This study attempted to determine the association between use of CHM including the types reasons and beliefs and HRQoL among Malaysian cancer patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 120 cancer patients (60 male and 60 female) recruited from government oncology clinics in Johor state. A purposive non-probability sampling was applied to recruit respondents. Results: Use of CHM was reported by about half of the patients (49.2). Common types of CHM used included Chinese herbal extracts (27.5) Sabah snake grass (12.2) and ginger (11.5). The median score for overall belief in CHM significantly differed between CHM users (71.7) and non-users (65.0) (p 0.001) with respect to sex with females scoring higher than males. No significant association was noted between CHM use and socio-demographic characteristics except for sex. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of self-prescription of CHM among the cancer patients studied. Nonetheless use of CHM did not show any significant difference in terms of quality of life among CHM users.

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Item Type:	Article
AGROVOC Term:	Medicinal herbs
AGROVOC Term:	Medicinal plants
AGROVOC Term:	Human diseases
AGROVOC Term:	Neoplasms
AGROVOC Term:	Extracts
AGROVOC Term:	Random sampling
AGROVOC Term:	Questionnaires
AGROVOC Term:	Attitudes
AGROVOC Term:	Demography
AGROVOC Term:	Nutrition
Depositing User:	Mr. AFANDI ABDUL MALEK
Last Modified:	24 Apr 2025 00:53
URI:	http://webagris.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/7745

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