Sociodemographic factors influencing the effectiveness of public health education - a comparison of two studies in Singapore

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>We aimed to evaluate if sociodemographic factors influenced the effectiveness of public education programmes in Singapore.</p><p><b>MATERIALS AND METHODS</b>Data were extracted from 2 independent cross-sectional studies that assessed the effectiveness of diabetes and HIV/ AIDS public health education programmes. The influence of sociodemographic factors including age, gender, ethnicity and years of education on diabetes and HIV/AIDS knowledge scores (surrogate marker for programme effectiveness) were assessed using separate univariable and multiple linear regression models for each outcome variable.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 1321 subjects [46% male, mean (SD) age: 33.9 (13.44) years] participated in the diabetes study while 400 subjects [44% male, mean (SD) age: 33.9 (13.44) years] participated in the HIV/AIDS study. In univariable analyses, age, years of education and ethnicity influenced both diabetes and HIV/ AIDS knowledge scores. However, in multiple linear regression analyses, only age and years of education influenced both diabetes and HIV/AIDS knowledge scores.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>We found that age and years of education influenced the effectiveness of public health education, suggesting that there is a need to tailor public health education programmes to meet the needs of younger subjects and those with fewer years of education. That knowledge scores were similar between male and female subjects was surprising but could potentially be explained by equal access to information, high availability of information technology and heightened awareness of HIV/AIDS in Singapore.</p>

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of Singapore Malay and Tamil versions of the EQ-5D

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>The aims of this study were to cross-culturally adapt and evaluate the validity of the Singaporean Malay and Tamil versions of the EQ-5D.</p><p><b>MATERIALS AND METHODS</b>The EQ- 5D was cross-culturally adapted and translated using an iterative process following standard guidelines. Consenting adult Malay- and Tamil-speaking subjects at a primary care facility in Singapore were interviewed using a questionnaire (including the EQ-5D, a single item assessing global health, the SF-8 and sociodemographic questions) in their respective language versions. Known-groups and convergent construct validity of the EQ-5D was investigated by testing 30 a priori hypotheses per language at attribute and overall levels.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Complete data were obtained for 94 Malay and 78 Indian patients (median age, 54 years and 51 years, respectively). At the attribute level, all 16 hypotheses were fulfilled with several reaching statistical significance (Malay: 4; Tamil: 5). At the overall level, 42 of 44 hypotheses related to the EQ-5D/ EQ-VAS were fulfilled (Malay: 22; Tamil: 20), with 21 reaching statistical significance (Malay: 9; Tamil: 12).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>In this study among primary care patients, the Singapore Malay and Tamil EQ-5D demonstrated satisfactory known-groups and convergent validity.</p>