Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Residents in Klang Valley, Malaysia towards seafood allerry

Abstract

Food allergy is an abnormal immune response to specific proteins found in certain foods and can have reactions that are minor, major, or even fatal. This research aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the residents in Klang Valley, Malaysia towards seafood allergy. The minimum target respondents for this study were 121 respondents and the total number of respondents that answered the questionnaire was 127 respondents. The questionnaire was spread through an online google form. The characteristic data of the respondents was analysed descriptively, while the correlation between knowledge, attitude and practice was analysed using Spearman’s rank correlation. Results of this study showed most of the respondents scored moderate (51,2%) scoring on their knowledge about seafood allergy. Respondents had a good score for attitude (81,1%) and a moderate score (51,2%) for practice towards seafood allergy. The correlation was found weak between knowledge and attitude, while no correlation was found between knowledge and practice of respondents towards seafood allergy. Furthermore, attitude and practice had a sufficient correlation. Residents of Klang Valley, Malaysia generally has high education and knowledge that is good towards seafood allergy, however without performing an allergy test, choosing to consume medicine to continue eating seafood.