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 < 0.001) and also between knowledge and perception (r = 0.341, P < 0.001). In
addition, there is a good correlation between attitude and perception (r = 0.681,
P < 0.001). The study concluded that better knowledge of halal pharmaceuticals is
associated with positive perceptions and behaviors. The government, pharmaceutical
manufacturers, religious scholars, and health care professionals should collaborate
to achieve the goal of using halal medications.

Title

J Relig Health

Publisher

Springer Nature

Publisher Country

Germany

Indexing

Thomson Reuters

Impact Factor

2.2

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

63

Year

2024

Pages

4342–4353