The Pattern of Non-Covid-19 Paediatric Admissions in Malaysia Teaching Hospitals: Before and during the Covid-19 Pandemic with Movement Control Order

To study the characteristics of paediatric patients admitted to two non-COVID-19 teaching hospitals before and during the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia. The retrospective study was performed in two phases (before MCO between February to March 2020, and during MCO lockdown between March to April 2020) in two teaching hospitals on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Hospitalized children <18 years were included and those coming for elective procedures or oncology treatment were excluded. The clinical data were retrieved from both hospitals' admission records. There was a total of 496 and 191 admissions to two teaching hospitals on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, respectively. A significant reduction in the number of non-COVID-19 hospital admissions was seen in both hospitals. For Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, the daily hospital admissions were reduced with a mean of 10 (before MCO) to 7 (during MCO) admissions/day (95% CI 1.54,7.54, p=0.001). In Sultan Ahmad Shah Medical Centre, a reduction in hospital admission was seen from 5 (before MCO) to 3 (during MCO) admissions/day (95% CI 0.61, 3.15, p=0.005). Our study observed a general drop in non-COVID-related respiratory illnesses and infectious disease cases during the MCO period. There were significant differences in neurological (p=0.029) and accident (p = 0.001) cases admissions observed between the two periods. Copyright © 2022, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. All rights reserved.

BURNOUT AMONG ACADEMICIANS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN MALAYSIA

Academicians are facing new challenges as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic and socioeconomic changes. They are exposed to occupational health risks such as stress and burnout. This study aims to examine burnout among academicians in Malaysia's public and private higher educational institutions. A survey of 328 respondents from all States of Malaysia was undertaken. The study was also conducted online, through a Google form and a Maslach Burnout Inventory form. The study showed that higher education institution academicians experienced 48% occupational exhaustion, 51% depersonalization and 46% low-level achievement. Academicians in public higher education institutions suffered 44 % moderate burnout, whereas private academics experienced 5%. Academicians from public higher education institutions suffered moderate depersonalization in 50% of cases, compared to 54% of private academicians. Furthermore, academicians from public higher education institutions had moderate personal achievement in 45 percent of cases, compared to 50% of private academicians. The result showed that Private higher educational institution academicians had experienced the highest emotional exhaustion compared to respondents from public higher educational institution at p<0.002. These findings are useful for preventive strategies or intervention initiatives to achieve social sustainability among Malaysian academics.

Air Quality Status During Pandemic Covid19 in Urban and Sub-Urban Area in Malaysia

This paper discussed the API status in the urban and sub-urban cities in Malaysia before, during and after Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented in year the 2020. The lockdown implemented worldwide including Malaysia has come as a respite to the environment, especially in air pollutant levels. 2 cities have been chosen in this study that is Kangar (suburban) and Cheras (urban). The Air Pollutant Index (API) data recorded on an hourly basis throughout different series of national lockdown phases was obtained from the Malaysian Air Pollutant Index website. The findings show that the API status quality in sub-urban does not change much compare to the urban area. But it can be seen that the API reduces during MCO implementation in the sub-urban and urban areas. This is because, during the MCO, there are several restrictions on mass movement and gatherings, and the closure of educational institutions, government and private agencies (except for essential services). This MCO restriction reduced the traffic density, industrial activities, and other social activities.

Implications of COVID-19 pandemic for energy-use and energy saving household electrical appliances consumption behaviour in Malaysia

This study examined the impact of movement control order (MCO) due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Household Electrical Appliance Consumption Levels [HEACL] across Malaysia before, during and after the MCO, and the likelihood of the pandemic quickening household conduct towards use of energy saving appliances based on a self-reported household survey. The consumption patterns were evaluated based on hours and frequency of use of 29 household electrical appliances. Energy consumption behaviour and energy efficient star label [EESL] appliances questions were also included in the survey to provide insights into energy-efficient behaviour. The survey attracted 1482 responses from 1500 households approached across geographic regions in Malaysia. The findings show significant changes in HEACL across the three periods, viz., (i) before MCO, (ii) during MCO, and (iii) after MCO. There was a significant increase in HEACL during and after the MCO. Also, the low-income group showed the highest shift in appreciating EESL devices over the MCO, while changes in their appreciation was not significant among the medium- and high-income groups. The results imply that energy-wasting habits proved hard to shift across middle- and high-income households. The findings presented herein are unique, which focused on Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide insights for Malaysian policymakers when developing future action plans to stimulate a fall in energy consumption and a shift from conventional to EESL devices over the long-term. © 2021 The Authors