THE EFFECTS OF CULTURE, RELIGION, AND SPIRITUALITY ON FOOD INTAKE AND NUTRITIONAL MANAGEMENT OF DIABETES MELLITUS AMONG TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS (T2DM) PATIENTS IN HOSPITAL USM: A QUALITATIVE STUDY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37268/mjphm/vol.24/no.3/art.2379Keywords:
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, T2DM, food intake, nutritional management, culture, religionAbstract
Culture, religion, and spirituality can influence a person's eating habits through their lifestyle practices, yet little is known about their impact on diabetic patients. This study aims to explore the impact of culture, religion, and spirituality on T2DM patients at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM). This qualitative study focuses on patients' food intake and their nutritional management patterns, as well as how these factors affect their health. A total of 20 participants were involved in the interview session and the data were analyzed thematically. The results of the study showed that culture, religion, and spirituality can have positive and negative effects on food intake and nutritional management of T2DM patients. There are 3 main themes that have been created which are awareness and nutritional self-care practices of diabetes, cultural practices of Kelantanese, and religion and spiritual influence as coping mechanism. Further studies can be conducted involving a larger sample of T2DM patients and different Malaysian demographic groups.
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