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@#Introduction The new technological innovation can have a vast potential for interventions to help weight loss and combat obesity. The current meta-analysis aimed to compare the effectiveness of smartphone applications (apps) with other methods for promoting weight loss. Methods PubMed, Ovid and Science Direct were searched from 2014 all-inclusive up to May 2019 for relevant studies that assessed any smartphone/mobile phone app intervention with anthropometric measurement. Statistical analysis performed to examine mean difference (95% CI) of body weight, body mass index and waist circumference. Six articles were included for meta-analysis. Findings According to the results, compared with conventional or other interventions, smartphone app interventions showed statistically non-significant decreases in body weight, body mass index and waist circumference. Intervention through smartphone apps alone does not produce substantial evidence of weight loss, even though they might be useful for specific groups. Originality/value There remain prospects to explore regarding the use of smartphone apps in combination with other approaches to aid and promote weight loss, as smartphone use has been proven to influence health-related behavioural modification.
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@#Introduction Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic in the middle of March as the disease is highly contagious and spread very quickly throughout the world. Understanding the knowledge and practice among healthcare staff is also crucial, especially among the frontlines staff, as they need to protect themselves and facilitate in educating their patients and public regarding disease prevention measures. This study's objective is to assess knowledge, practice, and perception on the effectiveness of the preventive measures taken by Ministry of Health (MOH) staff to prevent transmission of the disease and measures they would take should they develop symptoms of the disease on COVID-19 disease. (TPB). Methods We conducted a cross-sectional online survey from 30th March 2020 to 6th April 2020 among the Ministry of Health staff. 1719 staff completed the survey. Results The overall correct rate of knowledge was 46.6%. Most participants held good perceptions (range from 77.8% to 98.4%) and good practices (range from 88.8% to 99.7%) towards COVID-19 preventive measure. Meanwhile, the preventive measures practices if they develop symptoms of COVID-19 range from 89.8% to 99.7% and for the perception, it ranges from 85.5% to 98.9%. Conclusions There are also still some lower percentages of perceptions and practices than expected. Additional education intervention and campaigns are required to provide the Ministry of health staff with adequate knowledge towards COVID19 main symptoms, general knowledge and transmission route of COVID-19, and increase some of the perceptions and practices on COVID-19 preventive measures. Keywords
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@#Introduction The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended iron supplementation to overcome anaemia in pregnancy. In Malaysia, half of pregnant women with anaemia do not comply to iron supplement. The purpose of this study is to develop, assess psychometric properties (via Exploratory Factor Analysis) and validation (via Confirmatory Factor Analysis) of a questionnaire that evaluates attitude towards adherence to iron supplement based on Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Methods Based on the guidelines for construction of the TPB based questionnaire, 18 items were created initially by using the findings from a semi-quantitative survey, literature reviews and experts’ opinion. From content validity by 3 experts, 15 items with content validity ratio (CVR) of ≥0.99 were retained. From a pilot test for exploratory factor analysis (EFA), total of 12 items were retained, and classified into 3 components and termed as “Attitude”, “Subjective Norms” and “Perceived Behaviour Control”. Results Cronbach Alpha for the 12 items was 0.814, and for each component were 0.844, 0.813 and 0.901 respectively, which indicates acceptable internal consistency. During the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), a final 10 items were retained. Conclusions The construct validity was good where the Fitness Index have achieved the threshold (p-value >0.05, RMSEA <0.08, CFI >0.90 and the ChiSq/df ratio <3.00). The convergent validity and composite reliability were good i.e. Average Variance Extracted (AVE) ≥0.50, and Composite Reliability (CR) ≥0.60 respectively. As a conclusion, this newly developed questionnaire was validated and potentially reliable in assessing attitude and predicting adherence to iron supplement among pregnant women specifically in Malaysia.
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@#Introduction The information of prevalence and associated factor(s) with smoking cessation among the elderly will assist in formulating the suitable policies and reducing the mortality among Malaysian elderly due to smoking-related diseases. This paper aims to describe the prevalence and factors associated with smoking cessation among Malaysian elderly. Methods We carried out the population-based study using the cross-sectional study design and a sample size of 2,674 respondents obtained via a multistage sampling method. Validated questionnaire and face-to-face interviews approach were the methodologies employed to collect data from the selected respondents. The interview was conducted by trained enumerator using a standardized and validated questionnaire. Descriptive and multiple logistic regression were used in data analysis. Results The present findings demonstrated that almost 1 out of 10 of Malaysian elderly are current smokers. The prevalence of smoking was significantly higher among men (28.1%) compared to women (2.9%). Multivariable analysis showed that females (AOR 2.33, 95 CI 1.66-4.55) and those with advancing age were more likely to stop smoking compared to the younger-aged elderly (70-74 year, AOR 2.38(95 CI 1.24-4.53), 75 year and above, AOR 2.82, (95CI, 1.57-5.05. 60-64 years as reference), whiles other ethnicities (AOR 0.11, 95 CI 0.02-0.61) were less likely to cease smoking compared to elderly from Chinese descent. Based on multivariate analysis, diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were not significant factors associated with smoking cessation. Conclusions The study has shown a low proportion of Malaysian elderly is ex- smoker. Suitable measures and programmes should be formulated and implemented to focus on the elderly groups identified in this study, to increase the quit smoking rate among them and subsequently to increase the quality of life by reducing the burden of smoking-related disease among the Malaysian elderly. Keywords Malaysian elderly - smoking cessation - chronic diseases.
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@#Introduction Burkholderia pseudomallei are the causative agent for melioidosis, a disease which affects both humans and animals. This study investigated the occurrence of Burkholderia pseudomallei in the final effluent of some hospitals in Akoko metropolis, Ondo State, Nigeria. Methods Culture based approach using the Inositol Brilliant Green Bile agar for isolation Burkholderia Pseudomallei was employed. A preliminary oxidase strip test was carried out on all the isolates and they were found to be oxidase positive. Presumptive isolates were purified and confirmed using Microbact™ 24E Identification kit. Antibiotics susceptibility of the confirmed isolates was also determined using the CLSI recommended first line antibiotics for Burkholderia Pseudomallei. Results A total number of 155 presumptive Burkholderia species were recovered from thirty six different samples over a period of three months from effluent of three selected hospitals. Moreover, 67% of the recovered isolates were confirmed to be Burkholderia pseudomallei. Most isolates were susceptible to cefotaxime and ofloxacin but exhibited resistance against tetracycline and meropenem. Conclusions The persistence of Burkholderia pseudomallei in the hospital environment throughout the sampling regime requires intervention strategies to eradicate the prevalence of this notable pathogen in all possible reservoirs within the hospital environment. Besides, the emergence of resistance particularly to tetracycline and carbapenems points at potential public health implications. Furthermore, surveillance of Burkholderia species with its antibiogram profiles in clinical environments and adequate treatment of hospital effluents before disposal is very important to avert potential outbreak of melioidosis because the main reservoir for B. pseudomallei is contaminated environments. Keywords
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@#Introduction Insured Patient is a term used by SOCSO for workers who suffer workplace accidents. Compensation only does not guarantee the quality of life (QoL) of patient if disabilities permanently and not get social support. This study aims to determine the QoL of Insured Patient who participated in the Return To Work (RTW) Programme and the social support from individual whom are close to them. Methods This cross-sectional study involved 117 respondents whom participated in the RTW Program at SOCSO Sabah. Results The result showed there were significant differences between level of education with physical domain in QoL (t=-2.422, p=0.017), social relationship domain (t=-2.088, p=0.039), and total QoL (t=-2.865, P=0.005). There are significant differences between the structural support from social support domain with total score QoL (F=4.093, P=0.019), patients with structural support more than 10 have a good QoL. Patients with high education level have better QoL. Conclusions In conclusion, the QoL of the respondents is at a moderate level. Educational factors, structural support and social support affect the QoL of patients and should be emphasized to ensure that the QoL of patients can be improved.
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@#Introduction Lead (Pb) is one of the pollutants that can cause adverse effects on human health. Exposure to Pb has received much attention in the past decades due to its nearly persistent properties in the environment. Blood Pb measurement is the most convenient as well as most feasible to indicate toxicity exceeded the standard limit of 10 μg/dL. This study aimed to assess the association between blood Pb and myocardial infarction. Methods This was a case-control study conducted at a tertiary hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This study enrolled about 109 respondents; 71 cases of myocardial infarction and 38 non-cases of myocardial infarction. Study instruments include questionnaires on demographic factors (age, gender, and ethnicity), socioeconomic factors (education, household income, occupation), and venous blood lead level. The blood Pb was measured using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results The median (IQR) of blood Pb among the case group was higher compared to the control groups, 3.72 (0.04 – 96.09) μg/dL and 2.81 (0.73 – 6.23) μg/dL respectively. No difference between high (> 10 μg/dL) and normal (<10 μg/dL) blood Pb with CVD. However, there was a significant association between high normal blood Pb concentration (≥ 5.00 µg/dL) and myocardial infarction (χ2 = 4.397; p = 0.036). Conclusions There is a relationship between lower blood Pb level and the occurrence of myocardial infarction. No difference was found between the blood Pb limit of 10 μg/dL and CVD. The findings of this study are very important and provide new information regarding the lower cut off point for blood Pb and outcome of CVD especially myocardial infarction..
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@#Introduction Perimenopausal and postmenopausal women are at high risk to develop cardiovascular diseases, yet most of women in this group have inaccurate perception regarding their risk of getting the cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study is to determine accuracy of self-perception on cardiovascular risk and its associated factor among perimenopausal and postmenopausal women attending primary care clinic. Methods This study is a cross sectional study involving 292 peri and post- menopausal women who attended outpatient clinic in Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital from May to August 2015. A Bahasa Malaysia version of Perception of Risk of Heart Disease Scale was used to assess participants’ perception on their cardiovascular risk. The risk perception was assessed based on sociodemographic factor, clinical characteristics and actual cardiovascular risk based on the Framingham Risk Score 2008. Results A total of 265 patients responded. Mean age of the participants were 57.4 ± 7. 87. Five percent perceived themselves in moderate cardiovascular risk group, 81.9% inaccurately perceived their cardiovascular risk and 48.7% underestimate their risk. Diabetes mellitus (AOR 447.535, 95% CI 116.35,1721.40, p < 0.001), age (AOR 1.122 , 95% CI 1.05, 1.20, p= 0.001) and systolic blood pressure (AOR 1.043, 95% CI 1.01, 1.07, p < 0.004) were associated with underestimation of cardiovascular risk. (AOR 0.96, 95% CI 0.94, 0.99, p = 0.002). Conclusions A significant proportion of participants inaccurately perceived their cardiovascular risk and almost half underestimated their risk. More health education need to be done among this group of patients.
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@#Introduction This study aimed to evaluate the quality of life among flood victims exposed at three worst districts in Pahang, Malaysia Methods Semi-guided questionnaires were distributed randomly to a total of 602 flood victims. Quality of life (QOL) was measured using WHO Quality of LifeBREF (WHOQOL-BREF), which was assessed based on four domains, i.e. physical activity, psychological, social relationships and environment. Results Victims of the flood had a poorer quality of life in all the domains especially physical (59.0%) and psychological (53.3%) domain. The impact of the flood on QOL was higher among women, those who reside in the urban area, the elderlies and persons with high education and income. Conclusions Flood event has reduced the QOL of victims. The impact of flood has been found to be mitigated over the time and relief efforts. Interventions aimed to reduce these concerns in acute post-flood areas are essential to minimize poor QOL among the affected victims.
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@#Introduction Pediatric epilepsy is one of the common illness in children. Pediatric epilepsy has significant impact not only to the patient, but also to the care takers. Furthermore, the disease could potentially cause strain in the limited resources of the healthcare system which is preventable. Methods A search was conducted to review relevant published studies on factors affecting seizure control using PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar and also Science Direct searching engines databases using keywords: paediatric seizure, seizure control, side effects, antiepileptic, adherence and quality of life. Results In this review, we found that many factors contribute to the pediatric epilepsy, namely; compliance, genetic, age, socioeconomic factors, parental health literacy and numbers and side effects of the medications. Furthermore, there is certain factors that need to be explored in the future, such as unaddressed parental concern on treatment/medication, denial of disease and drug-drug interactions. Conclusions Factors that had been identified can be used in the prevention and control programs, while factors which is less studied should be further studied in the future.
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@#Introduction In 2015, almost half of low birth weight babies in the world were born in Southern Asia. It is contributed by multiple factors including maternal exposure to the elements in the environment during the antenatal period. Particulate matter (PM10) pollution in Southeast Asian region have been extensively studied with known attributions and sources. It is also known that PM10 is able to restrict foetal growth at molecular level. This review intends to investigate if the unborn in Asia are affected by air pollutants indirectly through their mothers. Methods Publications from Scopus and Science Direct digital databases in Asian region from 2015 onwards were reviewed. Details collected were the year of publication and study location, the study design, investigated air pollutants, exposure estimation methods used, the timing of exposure in relation to pregnancy, pregnancy outcome measured and the relative risk or odds of effect. Results A total of eight full text articles were included. Most of the studies were of cohort and quasi experimental designs, involving local air monitoring measurements to assign exposure. Conclusions There were more studies considered multiple air pollutants as contributing risk rather than a single pollutant. The exposure was measured according to stages of pregnancy and the trimester stratification is the most often method used. Modalities used in representing birth outcomes were not confined to birth weight alone but also included the length of gestation. Exposure to PM10 have been found to be associated with reduction in birth weight and increased risk for preterm birth in Asia.
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@#Medical and health insurance provides financial protection against the consequences of the occurrences of health risks. Different perceptions have led to resistance to change, as well as the acceptance level from Malaysians. It is fundamental to study the reception and acceptance of all types of insurance schemes by Malaysians and to identify the knowledge and information pertaining to reception by Malaysians. Methods A systematic search was performed from six major search engines from 2013– 2018 in searches of published articles on factors that influence the demand or willingness to pay for health insurance among Malaysians. There were nine articles included, in which personal factor was found to influence the most when demanding for health insurance. Results Higher education level, younger age group, and good knowledge were associated with higher demand for health insurance. Higher household monthly income and the cost to pay were among the positively significant economic determinant factors to demand for medical insurance. Conclusions Education and promotion are important to understand why such policies were introduced and how they intend to serve the public before implementing major policies. These elements capture the essence of ‘health promotion’, which is about enabling people to take control over their health and thereby, improving their health. .
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@#Achieving better health is everyone’s wish and irrespective of various health practice systems, all attempt to end in good health only. To keep us vigil from ill effects around us, we all seek information which will help us to protect us from dangers of diseases. In the modern world, the medium to get all information is in our hands itself and we exchange oceans of information of different nature. But is these information are genuine to adhere and do we owe the responsibility to protect our fellow being before forwarding a health related information. Methods The author has attempted to find out the attitude and practice of exchanging health related information through social media and attempted to analyze its impact on health seeking behavior. A simple random study was chosen in which 300 respondents were chosen. Results A self-structured interview schedule was administered for collecting the data and through scientific data analysis it was found that majority of the respondents exchange health related information through different social medias. It was also found that majority of the respondents forward health related information irrespective of the genuineness of the content. Although only a one third of the respondents follow various health tips being shared, it is also an alarming signal for health care providers to look into. Conclusions Sensitizing the public about the organized forms of medical practice is very much needed on one side and controlling the false health related information is a huge challenge on the other side. Owing to individual’s responsibility may save the lives, but using the same medium with appropriate contents will definitely promote the well-being of the nation.
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@#Dengue fever is an arthropod-borne viral disease that has become endemic in most tropical countries. In 2014, Malaysia reported 108 698 cases of dengue fever with 215 deaths which increased tremendously compared to 49 335 cases with 112 deaths in 2008 and 30 110 cases with 69 deaths in 2009. This study aimed to identify the best method in determining dengue outbreak threshold for Negeri Sembilan as it can help to send uniform messages to inform the general public and make the outbreak analysis comparable within and between countries. Methods Using retrospective Negeri Sembilan country dataset from 1st epid week of 2011 till the 52nd epid week of 2016. The data were split into two periods: 1) a 3-year historic period (2011–2013), used to calibrate and parameterise the model, and a 1-year evaluation period (2014); 2) a 2-year historic period (2014–2016), used to calibrate and parameterise the model, and a 1-year evaluation period (2016), used to test the model. E-dengue is a registration system for confirmed dengue cases dengue by Ministry of Health. Data included were details of cases, district locality, records on the outbreak and epidemiological week (Sunday to Saturday) captured using the Excel spreadsheet. Analysis method included endemic channel method, moving average or deviation bar chart and recent mean. Results Seremban as big district and facing with heavy dengue cases, all three methods (endemic curve, current mean and moving mean) showed promising results. Meanwhile comparing with small district of Port Dickson and Tampin with fewer dengue cases and outbreak recorded, the suitable method is by using endemic channel for epidemic threshold. Conclusions Simpler methods such as the endemic channel, recent mean and moving mean may be more appropriate in urban district. Whereas in rural or district with minimal dengue cases, Endemic Channel would be the most suitable method for epidemic threshold. However, both methods require a consistent updated graph threshold as time progress.
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@#There is limited knowledge in the context of Africa on how work history associates with hypertension at old age. Therefore, this paper analyses such an association using Ghana as a case study. Methods Data from the World Health Organisation Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health Wave 2 was used to explore the relationship between work history and diagnosed hypertension at old age. In the Wave2 study, a multistage cluster sampling was used to select participants at the household level across rural/urban areas in all administrative regions. A multifactor logit regression analysis was performed. The paper also estimated diagnosed hypertension prevalence across subgroups. Results The mean age of the total of 3564 participants examined was 64 years (SD = ±10years). The overall prevalence of hypertension was 10.3% [95% CI = 9.4– 11.1]. The highest predicted rate was 41.1% [95% CI=38.0 – 49.2] among those who stopped working before the statutory retirement age 60 years, whereas it was only 4% [95% CI = 3.7 – 5.2] for those who retired from active work at age 60 years. Those who retired at age <60years recorded the highest risk of hypertension diagnosis [OR = 14.1; 95% CI=10.5-19.5]. There was also a significant association between diagnosed hypertension and a history of working <5 days per week [OR=1.6; 95% CI=1.1-2.3]. It emerged that those with a history of informal sector employment were at significant risk of hypertension at old age, if they worked <5days per week [OR=1.5; 95% CI=1.0-2.3]. Conclusions Overall, retirement age emerged as a significant risk factor for diagnosed hypertension at old age, followed by a history of less than five working days per week. .
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@#The prevalence rate of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in Jakarta reaches 0.6%. It is ranked the second largest after West Java (0.7%). To deal the illness, tuberculosis patients need their family support. The general aim of this study is to measure the family support in adult pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Central Jakarta. Methods The research is an analytical research and cross sectional design. The study population are the treatment supporter of adult pulmonary tuberculosis in Central Jakarta area. The subject of the study are the treatment supporter recorded in the YARSI TB care database. The number of samples are determined by quota sampling. The data collected is quantitative data. Results The respondents involved are 51 people, aged between 17-71 years old. Male respondents are 20 people (39.2%) and female respondents are 31 people (60.3%). The majority of the respondents’ education level is senior high school (70,6%) graduates. The treatment supporters living with the patients are about 45,1%. Family support is good, about 54,9%. Bivariate analysis showed p value=0,033 (correlation between behavior intention and family support). Conclusions Behavior intention is significantly correlated with the behavior of family support in adult pulmonary tuberculosis patients Motivation and persuasive action are required to maximize the support for pulmonary tuberculosis patients.
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@#Community-based health promotion programme has been recognised to reduce modifiable lifestyle risk behaviours for non-communicable diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the proportion of the awareness, knowledge and acceptance of a community-based intervention programme, “Komuniti Sihat, Pembina Negara“ (KOSPEN) (Healthy Community, Developed Nation). Methods This cross-sectional study employed a two-stage proportionate sampling method to select a representative sample of communities in the Southern states of Peninsular Malaysia, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, and Johor. Face-to-face interviews by trained research assistants using pre-validated questionnaires was the study tool applied. Results The study revealed that approximately two thirds of respondents were aware of the KOSPEN programme (65.5%) and almost half (45.4%) of them were involved in the health promotion activities, namely health screenings (84.8%), health talks (66.4%), and providing plain water in formal occasion (52.9%). About two thirds and one-quarter of them have a very good (73.4%) and good (24.1%) general view on this programme. Four out of ten respondents faced difficulties joining the activities. Lack of time (83.0%) was reported as the main barrier. Conclusions The KOSPEN programme in overall was moderately accepted by the community. However, the need for future improvement has to be highlighted in order to enhance the involvement and participation of the communities.
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@#Emergency work with regular exposure to traumatic events may cause a large burden of mental health consequences. Among the first responders, firefighters are generally said to have a larger risk for PTSD as they involve directly and indirectly with critical incidents and traumatic events as part of their duties. This systematic review will determine the prevalence of PTSD and identify factors which associated to the PTSD among firefighters. Methods Systematic search was performed for published articles from year 2007 till 2017 from five electronic literature databases and the PRISMA checklist was used for the workflow for article selection. A total of 12 articles were selected for final examination from a total of 188 articles screened. Results The prevalence of PTSD among firefighters are ranged from 6.4% to 57 %. Predictors are include demographic factor (age, educational level and marital status), job factors (years of service, rank, numbers of traumatic events, job stress, organization stress and burnout, occupational effort, internal locus control, resource availability, debriefing attendance), social support, post traumatic growth, comorbidity (anxiety, depression, work related injuries, chronic musculoskeletal disorder), coping style, resilience, personality, biological factor (adiponectin level) and physical factor (waist circumference, body mass index). Conclusions Various factors identified in different dimensions in order to promote the opportunities for firefighters to grow for a better outcome psychologically. Therefore, it is vital to recognize modifiable factors which are associated with PTSD and research need to focus more on these factors or predictors.
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@#This study determines the association between osteoporosis knowledge, health belief and calcium intake behaviour among students in a medical sciences university. Methods This study was conducted using cross sectional design. Malaysian students, aged 18 to 40 were selected using stratified randomisation method. The osteoporosis knowledge, health belief and calcium intake behaviour of participants were obtained through a validated questionnaire. Results The response rate of the study was 93.0% (n=333). More than 80% of participants had been exposed to information related to osteoporosis knowledge and calcium-rich foods. The mean score of osteoporosis knowledge test (OKT)= 50.4±6.48, perceived susceptibility= 14.2±4.02, perceived seriousness= 20.4±4.67, perceived benefits of calcium= 23.1±3.94, perceived barriers to calcium= 14.4±3.99 and health motivation= 21.6±3.79. Only 37.8% of participants consumed adequate dairy products. There were significant correlations between OKT and perceived benefits of calcium (r=0.127, p=0.020), perceived barriers to calcium (r=-0.208, p<0.001) and health motivation (r=0.173, p=0.002). Perceived seriousness to osteoporosis, health motivation and OKT significantly predicted intake of dairy products (p<0.001). Conclusions The osteoporosis knowledge was moderate, health belief was moderate and consumption of dairy products was low. The osteoporosis knowledge and health belief were correlated but not the behaviour of dairy products consumption. Young adults had moderate osteoporosis knowledge and consumption of dairy products was low. Future educational programme should focus on osteoporosis knowledge, health belief as well as determining factors that influence behaviour of consumption of dairy products.