ABSTRACT
@#Increased rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among young adults between the ages of 15 and 24 years old had been one of the major concerns of the world. For each of the 20 million new recorded STDs cases, people within those age group were responsible for more than 50% of them. This cross-sectional study was done to determine the knowledge, attitudes, risky behaviours and preventive practices related to sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) among undergraduate students in a public university in Malaysia. A total of 1327 university students aged between 19 and 27 years were surveyed by using a self-administered questionnaire. The majority (75.1%) had good knowledge on STDs, and a significant number of students (53.8%) had acceptable preventive practice. Marital status was associated not only to the students’ level of knowledge but also with their preventive practices. Despite having a good knowledge of STDs, students in Science and Technology academic cluster perceived unacceptable preventive practices. This study highlighted some misconceptions about STDs, preventive practices and risky behaviours, raising concerns about a likely future rise in STD incidence. Therefore, interventions to implement strengthened health education on STD-related issues were required to bring change in practices, along with knowledge and attitudes.
ABSTRACT
@#Pressure Ulcers (PUs) are a significant health problem for hospitalized patients associated with the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Each year, more than 2.5 million patients suffer from PUs, and about 60,000 people died due to complications of PUs globally. Although PUs brings devastating consequences, fortunately, it can be prevented. The prevention of PUs represents a marker of quality of care and safety of a health-care organization. PUs prevention indeed needs multidisciplinary collaboration management; however, nurses' role is more significant as they are the frontline in providing patient care. This study aimed to assess knowledge, practice, and perceived barriers of PUs prevention among nurses in a Public Hospital in Selangor. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was used to obtain the data. A purposive sample of 220 nurses had been recruited from ICU, CCU, medical, surgical, and orthopedic wards at Public Hospital in Selangor. Data were obtained from self-administered questionnaires. The result was analyzed using the IBM Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) Window Version 23. This study revealed that the respondents had adequate knowledge (95.0%) and good practice (96.8%) of PUs prevention. Heavy workload and inadequate staff were mostly cited as the barrier of PUs prevention. In overall, the respondents' knowledge and practice were good; however, deficits in a particular area of knowledge and practice of PUs prevention still exist. The hospital and nursing department should organize continuous education programs and in-house training in related field to optimized nurses’ knowledge and practice regarding pressure ulcer prevention and management.
ABSTRACT
Osteoporosis-related fractures have been recognized as a major health problem, particularly in the elderly with a high morbidity and mortality rate. The aims of the study were to identify knowledge and perception toward calcium intake among students at UiTM and to explore the differences between genders in dietary calcium intake. A cross sectional study was conducted through 336 students aged 18 to 34 years old. The participants were randomly chosen from the student’s enrolment list. A modified questionnaire was used to obtain the knowledge and perception of the participants. More than half of the participants have low knowledge regarding dietary calcium intake (58.6%), positive view towards the benefits of calcium intake and low perception towards the barrier of calcium intake. Chi square analysis showed a significant difference between male and female for knowledge (p=0.034) and barrier (p=0.002) for calcium intake. Intervention programs should be adopted to increase the knowledge among young adults to improve their health and prevent risk factors. So, health education specifically on calcium intake will be very useful to improve the knowledge and behavior of students.