Mohd Noor Siti Nor Aqilah, Roslim Nurul Afiedia, Jamshed Shazia, Long Chiau Ming, Idris Ibrahim Umar, Abdul Jamil Ahmad Kamal Ariffin, Ahmad Nurulumi, Jamil Aslinda, Lim Kheng Seang, Husin Mazlina, Ibrahim Khairul Azmi, Sidek Norsima Nazifah, Basiam Sulaila, Mohd Daud Saidatul Manera, Abdul Hamid Rose Izura, Lua Pei Lin
Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Kampus Besut, Besut, Malaysia.
Cawangan Taman Laut & Pengurusan Sumber Daerah Besut, Jabatan Perikanan Negeri Terengganu, Besut, Malaysia.
J Pharm Policy Pract. 2025 Aug 5;18(1):2540786. doi: 10.1080/20523211.2025.2540786. eCollection 2025.
Complementary and alternative therapies (CATs) are widely used among patients with epilepsy (PWE), yet their impact on adherence to antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) remains limited and unclear. This study aimed to (i) assess the usage, knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) related to CATs and (ii) evaluate their impact on AEDs adherence among PWE.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 193 PWE, recruited conveniently from three hospitals on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Participants' data were collected through face-to-face administration of paper-based questionnaires, including a KAP-CATs and the Malaysia Medication Adherence Scale (MALMAS). The SPSS version 26.0 was used to perform descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests.
Among the participants (mean age = 35.3 ± 12.6 years; female = 54.9%; Malay = 96.9%), 59.6% reported had used some types of CATs, with prayers (86.4%) and massage (78.8%) being the most common. Most participants demonstrated moderate knowledge (61.6%), neutral attitudes (78.6%) and a moderate engagement in CATs practices (47.6%). Common reasons for using CATs included greater availability (54.9%), belief in self-healing (45.6%) and the perception of a permanent cure (44.6%). Notably, only 28.5% of CATs users disclosed their use to a healthcare provider. The prevalence of non-adherence to AEDs was 22.8%, and no statistically significant association was found between usage, knowledge, attitude and practice regarding CATs and non-adherence to AEDs ( > 0.05).
The findings highlight widespread use of CATs among PWE, often driven by cultural beliefs and perceived benefits. Thus, further research is warranted to explore integrative care models that ensure safe, coordinated epilepsy management.
补充和替代疗法（CATs）在癫痫患者（PWE）中广泛使用，但其对抗癫痫药物（AEDs）依从性的影响仍然有限且不明确。本研究旨在（i）评估与CATs相关的使用情况、知识、态度和实践（KAP），以及（ii）评估其对PWE中AEDs依从性的影响。
对193名PWE进行了一项横断面研究，这些患者是从马来西亚半岛东海岸的三家医院方便地招募而来的。通过面对面发放纸质问卷收集参与者的数据，包括KAP-CATs问卷和马来西亚药物依从性量表（MALMAS）。使用SPSS 26.0版进行描述性统计和非参数检验。
在参与者中（平均年龄 = 35.3 ± 12.6岁；女性 = 54.9%；马来人 = 96.9%），59.6%报告使用过某些类型的CATs，其中祈祷（86.4%）和按摩（78.8%）最为常见。大多数参与者表现出中等知识水平（61.6%）、中立态度（78.6%）以及对CATs实践的中等参与度（47.6%）。使用CATs的常见原因包括更容易获得（54.9%）、相信自我治愈（45.6%）以及认为能永久治愈（44.6%）。值得注意的是，只有28.5%的CATs使用者向医疗服务提供者透露了他们的使用情况。AEDs不依从的患病率为22.8%，在CATs的使用、知识、态度和实践与AEDs不依从之间未发现统计学上的显著关联（P > 0.05）。
研究结果凸显了CATs在PWE中的广泛使用，这通常是由文化信仰和感知到的益处所驱动。因此，有必要进一步开展研究以探索确保安全、协调的癫痫管理的综合护理模式。
