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Knowledge, attitude and practice of community-dwelling adults regarding advance care planning in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

Lim MK 1 , Lai PSM 2 , Lim PS 3 , Wong PS 4 , Othman S 3 , Mydin FHM 3

Affiliations 

  • 1 School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia
  • 2 Department of Primary Care Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia plai@ummc.edu.my
  • 3 Department of Primary Care Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
  • 4 School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia
BMJ Open, 2022 Feb 14;12(2):e048314.
PMID: 35165104 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-048314

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) among community-dwelling adults in Malaysia regarding advance care planning (ACP), and its associated factors.

DESIGN: This cross-sectional study was conducted from July-September 2018.

SETTING: This study was conducted at the University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

PARTICIPANTS: We recruited community-dwelling adults (ambulatory care patients or their accompanying persons) who were ≥21 years old and able to understand English or Malay. A 1:10 systematic sampling procedure was used. Excluded were community-dwelling adults with intellectual disabilities or non-Malaysian accompanying persons. A trained researcher administered the validated English or Malay Advance Care Planning Questionnaire at baseline and 2 weeks later.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the KAP regarding ACP. The secondary outcomes were factors associated with KAP.

RESULTS: A total of 385/393 community-dwelling adults agreed to participate (response rate 98%). Only 3.1% of the community-dwelling adults have heard about ACP and 85.7% of them felt that discussion on ACP was necessary after explanation of the term. The desire to maintain their decision-making ability when seriously ill (94.9%) and reducing family burden (91.6%) were the main motivating factors for ACP. In contrast, resorting to fate (86.5%) and perceived healthy condition (77.0%) were the main reasons against ACP. Overall, 84.4% would consider discussing ACP in the future. Community-dwelling adults who were employed were less likely to know about ACP (OR=0.167, 95% CI 0.050 to 0.559, p=0.004) whereas those with comorbidities were more likely to favour ACP (OR=2.460, 95% CI 1.161 to 5.213, p=0.019). No factor was found to be associated with the practice of ACP.

CONCLUSIONS: Despite the lack of awareness regarding ACP, majority of community-dwelling adults in Malaysia had a positive attitude towards ACP and were willing to engage in a discussion regarding ACP after the term 'ACP' has been explained to them.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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