ABSTRACT
With increasing number of dengue cases in Malaysia, it’s of utmost importance that immediate action be taken to limit the epidemic. Since dengue control is a behavioral problem, the knowledge, attitude and practice in population needs to be studied in order to control the disease. Hence, the aim of this study is to assess knowledge, attitude and practice regarding dengue and its associated factors among adult residents of Felda Sungai Panching Timur (SPT), Kuantan, Pahang, 2014. Method: A cross sectional study was carried out involving 265 adult respondents. A face to face interview questionnaire which was divided into 2 parts (Part A: Sociodemoghraphic; Part B: Knowledge, Attitude and Practice) was used. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, simple and multiple logistic regression. Results: 53.2% of the respondents had good knowledge about dengue and it was found that the main source of information from mass media (76.6%). However, only 43.4% were found to have good attitude towards dengue. Multiple Logistic Regression analysis showed there was no association between sociodemographic characteristics with the level of knowledge and attitude towards dengue. There was also no association found between knowledge of dengue and the attitude of the respondents towards dengue. Descriptive analysis on the practice of dengue showed majority of the respondents who had possible breeding site for Aedes mosquitos (water container, drains/gutter roof/flower pots/tires) in their compound practiced good habit in preventing the Aedes mosquitoes from breed. Conclusion: Although knowledge and practice towards dengue is good, their attitude require improvement.
ABSTRACT
Peer assessment has been shown to complement both formative and summative evaluations in education and used in some medical programmes. The study was aimed to find correlation between group work peer assessment score and final examination mark among four batches of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) first year MBBS students. Method: A set of four questions was constructed and tested to assess students’ overall role in their group research project. The difference in distribution according to years was tested by using one-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis, depending on the data distribution. Pearson correlation coefficient test was done to test the linear association between peer score and final examination mark. Partial correlation test was used to adjust the correlation for four academic years. Results: From the analysed data of 502 students, there was moderate, significant positive correlation (0.366) between peer assessment score and the final examination mark (P < 0.001). Adjustment to the academic years resulted in correlation coefficient of 0.371. Conclusion: The results provide an important insight on the influence of peers’ perception in predicting the medical student academic performance.
ABSTRACT
Abdominal obesity (AO) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes mellitus in adults. There is a lack of data on the magnitude and socio-demographic profile of AO among Malaysian adults at the national level. In the Third National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS III) conducted in 2006, AO of adults aged 18 years and above was determined based on the waist circumference as part of the nutritional status assessment. This article reports the prevalence of AO in relation to socio-economic factors and demographic characteristics of adult subjects. Out of a total of 33,465 eligible individuals 18 years and above, waist circumference was measured in 32,900 (98.3%) individuals. The prevalence of AO was assessed using the cut-off points recommended by World Health Organization. The mean waist circumference in men and women was 84.0cm [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 83.8, 84.3] and 80.3cm (95% CI: 80.1, 80.6) respectively. The national prevalence of AO was 17.4% (95% CI: 16.9, 17.9). The identified risks of AO were women (OR: 4.2, 95% CI: 3.8, 4.6), aged 50-59 years (OR: 5.6, 95% CI: 4.0, 7.7), Indians (OR: 3.0, 95% CI:2.4, 3.8), housewives (OR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1, 1.7), subjects with primary education (OR: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1, 1.5) and ever married (OR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.2, 1.6). Being the largest population-based study on AO among Malaysians, these findings have important public health implications. There is an urgent need to revise public health policies and programmes aimed at prevention of abdominal obesity especially in the groups at risk.