Knowledge, Perceptions and Attitudes among Sharia Practitioners in Palestine Regarding Halal Pharmaceuticals: An Exploratory Study

• Published in: Journal of religion and health 2024-12, Vol.63 (6), p.4342-4353
• Main Authors: Eid, Ahmad M., Zaid, Abdel Naser, Kielani, Jamal Zaid
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aging; Attitudes; Clinical Psychology; Cross-sectional studies; Knowledge; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Paper; Perceptions; Pharmaceuticals; Public Health; Questionnaires; Religious Studies
• ISSN: 0022-4197; 1573-6571; 1573-6571
• DOI: 10.1007/s10943-022-01604-7

The purpose of this questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was to investigate the knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes regarding halal pharmaceuticals among sharia practitioners in Palestine. A total of 420 sharia practitioners with different educational levels were included. This was a cross-sectional study conducted between March and July 2021 with the use of a standardized, self-administered questionnaire. Volunteers were selected throughout Palestine using a systematic random selection approach. The data were summarized using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency, percentage, median, and interquartile range). The Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used to examine the relationship between demographic factors and the knowledge, attitude, and perception scores, respectively. The results revealed that sharia practitioners have relatively good and positive knowledge toward halal pharmaceuticals. The main knowledge of most halal pharmaceuticals was about 50.2%, yet there is still significant latitude in their knowledge of a few issues. The main attitude and perception score was about 96.4%. The results showed a positive and fair correlation between knowledge and attitude ( r  = 0.153, P