Awareness and perception on stem cells treatment among medical professionals in Klang valley
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1
UCSI University, School of Healthy Aging, Medical Aesthetic and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Malaysia
Stem cells have an amazing potential in the treatment of various health-related condition due to their ability to self-renew and having high potency to differentiate into multiple cell lineages. Unfortunately, in Malaysia, stem cell research and treatments are relatively at early stage even among the healthcare personnel. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the awareness and perception on stem cell treatment among medical professionals in Klang Valley, since they are front liners who treat the patients and disseminate the correct information to general public.
The study was a cross-sectional pilot study utilizing a 14-item questionnaire to collect information about awareness and perception on stem cell treatment among medical professionals in Klang Valley. A total of 100 respondents have been recruited with professional ranged from students, doctors, specialist to consultant in medical field. Informed consent was sought from all who accepted to participate. Sampling locations including medical hospitals (University Malaya Medical Centre, Hospital Selayang, Hospital Kuala Lumpur, and Hospital Shah Alam) and Medical Schools (University Malaya, UCSI) in Klang Valley. The study was conducted from May to August 2015, over the period of four months. Data analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, distribution and means were used to evaluate social demographic data. T-test and ANOVA were used to compare means between different factors, while bivariate analysis was done to study the association relationship. Out of 100 respondents, 53% of them were medical doctors, 39% medical students and only 8% were medical specialists. Their age ranged from 20 to 57. In terms of religion, most of the respondents were either Muslim or Taoist/Buddhist (35% respectively), with the rest made up of Christians and Hindus (17% and 13% respectively). 99% of respondents claim that they have heard of stem cells, with more than half (54%) of them getting their information in regards to stem cells by attending courses/meeting/conferences and under half (46%) of them getting information on stem cells through the media. This showed that there were on-going efforts carried out by professional bodies in disseminating the latest information to the medical professionals. However, when they were asked to rate their level of knowledge, more than half (54%) of the respondents responded as Not Knowledgeable or Somewhat Knowledgeable (13% and 41% respectively), and only a minority of them self-perceived as Very Knowledgeable or Expert (9% and 6% respectively). The outcomes are coincide with other studies done in developed countries, such as Italy and United States, where both studies indicated that majority of the physicians are lack of knowledge in stem cells treatment and the numbers of untrained physicians is in an increasing trend. Obstetrics and Gynecology specialists showed significantly higher (P<0.05) self-perceived level of knowledge on stem cells (53.8%) as compared to their peers (34.5%). This could be due to their expert knowledge in the science of reproduction, which including the pluripotent stem cells. No significant association was found between perception on stem cells and respondents’ religious or cultural background. In fact, a substantial number of medical professionals in Malaysia do support stem cells research whether on embryonic stem cell or adults adult stem cells (37% and 59% respectively). There is a very high degree of awareness on stem cells among medical professionals in the Klang Valley, but the level of self-perceived knowledge is still inadequate as a medical practitioner.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by UCSI University.
Keywords:
Awareness,
Perception,
Medical professionals,
stem cells treatment
Conference:
6th Malaysian Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Scientific Meeting (6th MTERMS) 2016 and 2nd Malaysian Stem Cell Meeting, Seberang Jaya, Penang, Malaysia, 17 Nov - 18 Nov, 2016.
Presentation Type:
Oral
Topic:
Stem cells and Regenerative Medicine
Citation:
Keat
TC,
B
K,
SS
TE and
Thiagarajah
S
(2016). Awareness and perception on stem cells treatment among medical professionals in Klang valley.
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Conference Abstract:
6th Malaysian Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Scientific Meeting (6th MTERMS) 2016 and 2nd Malaysian Stem Cell Meeting.
doi: 10.3389/conf.FBIOE.2016.02.00026
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Received:
08 Dec 2016;
Published Online:
19 Dec 2016.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Tan C Keat, UCSI University, School of Healthy Aging, Medical Aesthetic and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Cheras, Selangor, 56000, Malaysia, cktan@ucsiuniversity.edu.my