Perception Towards Health Promotion Activities: Findings From A Community Survey In The State Of Penang, Malaysia

ABSTRACT

The study aimed to explore the perceptions towards health promotion activities among population of Penang Island, Malaysia. The study was designed as a questionnaire based cross sectional analysis. General public from the district of Jelutong, located in the state of Penang, Malaysia was conveniently approached for the study. Descriptive statistics were used to ascertain demographic characteristics where as inferential statistics were employed to measure the extent of association among study variables. Out of 480 respondents, a response rate of 82.7% was achieved. The study cohort was dominated by females (63.0%) and majority of the participants belonged to Malay ethnicity (88.1%). One hundred and seventy two (43.3%) never attended a health promotional campaign and mentioned lack of time and transport as potential barriers. Among those who attended such activities, one third was satisfied with the benefits of health campaigns. Approximately 90% of the participants demanded accessible locations, common language as mode of communication and complete medical checkups with professional advice at health promotional campaigns. General public can encouraged to participate in the health promotion activities by considering their priorities before designing a health promotion program. This will help in targeting and achieving the goal “health for all”.