Table 2.
Descriptive and Bivariate Analysis of the Study Population (n = 630)
| Descriptive Analysis | Bivariate Analysis | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | CHE n (%) | No CHE n (%) | p-value | |
| Ethnicity | 0.015* | |||
| Malay | 439 (69.7) | 223 (50.8) | 216 (49.2) | |
| Chinese | 106 (16.8) | 66 (62.3) | 40 (37.7) | |
| Indian | 73 (11.6) | 49 (67.1) | 24 (32.9) | |
| Others | 12 (1.9) | 5 (41.7) | 7 (58.3) | |
| Education level | 0.001* | |||
| No education | 18 (2.9) | 11 (61.1) | 7 (38.9) | |
| Primary school | 109 (17.3) | 75 (68.8) | 34 (31.2) | |
| Secondary school | 320 (50.8) | 174 (54.4) | 146 (45.6) | |
| University/ college | 183 (29.0) | 83 (45.4) | 100 (54.6) | |
| Employment status | < 0.001* | |||
| Employed | 164 (26.0) | 73 (44.5) | 91 (55.5) | |
| Self-employed | 38 (6.0) | 21 (55.3) | 17 (44.7) | |
| Retiree/ pensioner | 106 (16.8) | 42 (39.6) | 64 (60.4) | |
| Unemployed | 322 (51.1) | 207 (64.3) | 115 (35.7) | |
| Income group | < 0.001* | |||
| B40 (lower) | 411 (65.2) | 276 (67.2) | 135 (32.8) | |
| M40 (middle) | 183 (29.0) | 61 (33.3) | 120 (66.3) | |
| T20 (higher) | 36 (5.7) | 6 (15.8) | 32 (84.2) | |
| Poverty income | ||||
| Yes | 203 (32.2) | 160 (78.8) | 43 (21.2) | |
| No | 427 (67.8) | 183 (42.9) | 244 (57.1) | |
| Home distance from hospital | ||||
| Within Klang Valley (near) | 396 (62.9) | 189 (47.7) | 207 (52.3) | |
| Outside Klang Valley (far) | 234 (37.1) | 154 (65.8) | 80 (34.2) | |
| Home area | ||||
| Rural | 108 (17.1) | 73 (67.6) | 35 (32.4) | |
| Urban | 522 (82.9) | 270 (51.7) | 252 (48.3) | |
| Household size | 0.029* | |||
| 1-2 (small) | 133 (21.1) | 86 (64.7) | 47 (35.3) | |
| 3-6 (medium) | 435 (69.0) | 225 (51.7) | 210 (48.3) | |
| > 6 (large) | 62 (9.8) | 32 (51.6) | 30 (48.4) | |
| Cancer duration | 0.030* | |||
| < 1 year (short) | 323 (51.3) | 182 (56.3) | 141 (43.7) | |
| 1-2 years (medium) | 123 (19.5) | 75 (61.0) | 48 (39.0) | |
| > 2 years (long) | 184 (29.2) | 86 (46.7) | 98 (53.3) | |
| Current cancer treatment | ||||
| Follow-up/ symptomatic | 186 (29.5) | 70 (37.6) | 116 (62.4) | |
| Chemotherapy | 281 (44.6) | 164 (58.4) | 117 (41.6) | |
| Radiotherapy | 127 (20.2) | 85 (66.9) | 42 (33.1) | |
| Chemo-radiotherapy | 36 (5.7) | 24 (66.7) | 12 (33.3) | |
| Frequency of treatment (per year) | ||||
| 1x - 3x (infrequent) | 61 (9.7) | 17 (27.9) | 44 (72.1) | |
| 4x - 11x (frequent) | 327 (51.9) | 172 (52.6) | 155 (47.4) | |
| ≥ 12x (very frequent) | 242 (38.4) | 154 (63.6) | 88 (36.4) | |
| Guarantee Letter (GL) | ||||
| Yes | 251 (39.8) | 89 (35.5) | 162 (64.5) | |
| No | 379 (60.2) | 254 (67.0) | 125 (33.0) | |
* significant results (p < 0.05)