Graphical Plot and Correlation Analysis for Establishing an Acceptance of Future Intention of Exclusive Breastfeeding among Medical and Dental Students: A Study from Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia

Main Article Content

Noraini Mohamad
Wan Muhamad Amir W Ahmad
Mohamad Shafiq Mohd Ibrahim
Nor Azlida Aleng
Nurfadhlina Abdul Halim
Mohamad Nasarudin Adnan
Farah Muna Mohamad Ghazali

Abstract

The objective of this research was to identify and analyse the correlation between various factors that could impact the likelihood of medical and dental students at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (Hospital USM), Kelantan, Malaysia to intend to exclusively breastfeed in the future. The questionnaire was designed and validated. The validated questionnaire was distributed among medical dan dental students. The study involved 162 participants, comprising 25 (15.4%) students from the dental program and 137 (84.6%) from the medical program. There are 56 (34.6%) male and 106 (65.4%) female involved in this study. At first, the collected data were analysed using MINITAB software through the contour plot and surface plot. Second, the data were analysed using the Spearman correlation. The result from correlation analysis shows that, most of the studied factors related to general knowledge rather than other studied factors. The discovery indicates that one approach to promoting the acceptance of exclusive breastfeeding among medical and dental students is by improving their general knowledge about the topic. The correlation analysis, 3-D plot, and contour plot demonstrate that factors such as gender, marital status, and specific and general knowledge are associated with the intention to exclusively breastfeed in the future. This finding is very important especially for awareness education, and establishing the future exclusive breastfeeding practiced among future parents.

Article Details

How to Cite
Noraini Mohamad, Wan Muhamad Amir W Ahmad, Mohamad Shafiq Mohd Ibrahim, Nor Azlida Aleng, Nurfadhlina Abdul Halim, Mohamad Nasarudin Adnan, & Farah Muna Mohamad Ghazali. (2023). Graphical Plot and Correlation Analysis for Establishing an Acceptance of Future Intention of Exclusive Breastfeeding among Medical and Dental Students: A Study from Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia. Journal of Coastal Life Medicine, 11(1), 3084–3091. Retrieved from https://www.jclmm.com/index.php/journal/article/view/802
Section
Articles

References

American Academy of Pediatrics. Breastfeeding and the use of human milk. Pediatrics 2012;129:827-841.

Butte NF, Lopez-Alarcon MG, Garza C. Nutrient adequacy of exclusive breastfeeding for the term infant during the first six months of life. Geneva: World Health Organization;2002

Ebrahim B, Al-Enezi H, Al-Turki M, et al. Knowledge, misconceptions, and future intentions towards breastfeeding among female university students in Kuwait. J Hum Lact. 2011;27(4):358-366.

Fatimah S, Saadiah HN, Tahir A, Hussain Imam MI, Ahmad Faudzi Y. Breastfeeding in Malaysia: Results of the Third National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS III) 2006. Malays J Nutr. 2010;16(2):195-206.

Hamade H, Naja F, Keyrouz S, et al. Breastfeeding knowledge, attitude, perceived behavior, and intention among female undergraduate university students in the Middle East: the case of Lebanon and Syria. Food Nutr Bull. 2014;35(2):179-190.

Hamid SBA, Yahya N. Knowledge, Attitude, Prior Exposure and Intention to Breastfeed among Undergraduate University Students. Journal of clinical and health sciences. 2018;3 (2):26-35

Hatamleh R, Maghaydah SS, Abuhammad S, Rababah H. Knowledge, attitudes and future intentions towards breastfeeding among undergraduate students at a Jordanian public university. Evidence Based Midwifery. 2018;16(4):136-142.

Hyska J, Mersini E, Mone I, et al. Assessment of knowledge, attitudes and practices about public health nutrition among students of the University of Medicine in Tirana, Albania. South Eastern European Journal of Public Health (SEEJPH). 2015:1-8.

Institute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia. National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2016: Maternal and Child Health. Vol. II: Maternal and Child Health Findings. Kuala Lumpur: Institute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia;2016

Leclair E, Robert N, Sprague AE, Fleming N. Factors associated with breastfeeding initiation in adolescent pregnancies: a cohort study. Journal of pediatric and adolescent gynecology. 2015;28(6):516-521.

Lou Z, Zeng G, Orme JG, et al. Breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes, and intention in a sample of undergraduate students in mainland China. Journal of Human Lactation. 2014;30(3):331-339.

Padmanabhan R, Thulasingam M, Chinnakalai P. Female college students knowledge, attitude and future intention towards breastfeeding: implications for advocacy. Journal of clinical and diagnostic research: JCDR. 2016;10(11):11-14.

Permatasari TAE, Achadi EL, Purwono RU, Irawati A, Ocviyanti D, Martha E. Does breastfeeding intention among pregnant mothers associated with early initiation of breastfeeding? Indonesian Journal of Reproductive Health. 2016;7(3):169-184.

United Nations Children's Fund. From The First Hour Of Life. Making the case for improved infant and young child feeding everywhere. New York: UNICEF;2016.

World Health Organization,UNCEF. Global strategy for infant and young child feeding. 2003