International Journal of Public Health Research

Balancing Population Growth and Governance: Policy Perspective from Malaysia

Mon, 02 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction:

This essay explored Malaysia’s population growth strategies, emphasizing the crucial role of governance. The focus was on the evolution of Malaysia’s population policies, from addressing post-war ‘baby boom’ concerns to adopting more voluntary and balanced approaches.

Methodology:

In contrast to strict population control measures, Malaysian policies emphasized contraception use and family planning services, reflecting its multicultural and diverse population.

Results:

The review examines the integration of population policies within economic development frameworks, as exemplified by the ambitious “70 Million Population Policy” adopted in 1984 to boost the labour force. Furthermore, it examined how economic development policies affect population dynamics, focusing on initiatives such as flexible working hours, paid parental leave, and childcare at work to maintain a balanced demographic landscape. In addition, a comparison was also made between Malaysia's reliance on immigrant workers and Japan's immigration reform laws to examine the impact of immigration policies on population growth.

Conclusion:

This essay comprehensively analyzed Malaysia’s action to strengthen national policies and initiatives in response to population growth trends. It highlighted the complex interactions among migration, economic development, and population policy, emphasising the pivotal role of governance in shaping the nation’s demographic trajectory. In a world with many countries facing difficulties related to population growth, Malaysia’s experience offers a useful case study with wider ramifications for nations looking to optimise and manage their demographic landscapes.

Environmental Determinants of Leptospirosis in Urban Setting: A Systematic Review

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction:

Leptospirosis is among the neglected infectious diseases with high infection rates and mortality. This disease is largely underreported and underdiagnosed, often difficult to extinguish from other diseases with similar presentation such as Dengue. It is high time for the shift in strategy towards prevention and control particularly with its high prevalence in impoverished urban communities. Thus we aim to systematically review existing literature on the environmental indicators contributing to the risk of getting Leptospirosis in urban settings which is paramount for effective prevention and control

Method:

A literature search was conducted in December 2021 using Web of Sciences, PubMed, Ovid, and Scopus online databases. Open-access articles produced between 2011 and 2021 were analysed, emphasizing the environmental indicators for Leptospirosis infection in urban settings.

Result:

Eight articles met the inclusion benchmarks. The majority of the studies in this review were done specifically in urban slum communities while two studies in Columbia and Puerto Rico consist of the overall urban community. Only three studies assessed environmental indicators as a risk for leptospirosis by using a checklist adapted from published and validated guidelines by the Centre of Disease Control. Adaptation was done to assimilate the characteristics of the area of study. Geography Information System (GIS) was used in four studies to measure and map out the related environmental indicators. One study employ known and verified guidelines to measure environmental risk and produce a prediction score for severe leptospirosis and its discriminative capacity by employing c-statistics derived from the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, sensitivity, and false positivity rates.

Conclusion:

Adapting to existing validated and published guidelines in future studies with predictive scoring together with GIS could produce standardized and solid results which then can be replicated in other countries, involving more types of premises other than households such as food premises. Thus, enhanced and focused preventative and control strategies for environmental factors can be undertaken, allowing policymakers to deploy scarce healthcare resources more effectively.

Effect of Educational Intervention on The Knowledge of Health Workers Regarding Exposures to Blood borne Pathogens

Garba Jamiu Olalekan Ishola, Nahla Abduljaleel Alsaidi — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction:

Healthcare workers (HCWs) face a multitude of occupational hazards, including the risk of blood borne infections resulting from sharp instrument injuries and exposure of skin and mucous membranes to contaminated blood and body fluids (BBF). Existing empirical evidence, albeit limited, indicates a deficiency in the knowledge of occupational safety among health workers, consequently raising concerns about their adherence to safety-related practices. Nonetheless, numerous studies have demonstrated that enhanced knowledge regarding safety precautions can mitigate the risk of exposure to diseases transmitted through blood and body fluids.

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to find out the effectiveness of educational intervention in improving knowledge of universal precautions among Health workers about exposures to blood pathogens. Specifically, it examined literature published between 2017 and 2023.

Methods:

This study conducted a literature review on published articles about the effectiveness of educational programs on knowledge of health workers about safety measures against exposure to blood pathogens.

Results:

There were disparities in baseline knowledge levels among healthcare workers. While some studies indicated poor knowledge pre-intervention, others reported relatively high levels, particularly regarding certain aspects such as injection safety or HIV guidelines. However, educational interventions significantly improved workers' knowledge regarding blood borne pathogens and reduced exposure risks.

Conclusion:

All studies highlighted the effectiveness of educational interventions in improving healthcare workers' knowledge of blood borne pathogens. Significant increases in knowledge scores were observed post-intervention across various studies, indicating the efficacy of educational programs in enhancing understanding and awareness.

Factors Related to The Quality of Life among Ambulatory Hypertensive Patients in Asia: A Systematic Review

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction:

Hypertension has emerged as an enormous public health concern in recent decades, exerting detrimental effects on global mortality, morbidity, and disability rates. It serves as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and significantly impacts the quality of life of affected individuals. Addressing various factors is crucial to improve patients' quality of life. The primary objective of this study is to explore the factors associated with a deterioration in the quality of life, as well as their impact on the ambulatory hypertensive population residing in Asia.

Methods:

The literatures were reviewed from three databases which were WOS, Scopus and PubMed. All published literatures were English articles with free access, published between the years 2014 and 2023, and conducted in the Asian region

Results:

The paper highlights various factors associated with a decreased quality of life. These factors include gender (specifically, being female), older age, limited social support, lower levels of education, and comorbidities leading to reduced financial resources. Additionally, inadequate health literacy, non-compliance with medication regimens, and insufficient understanding of the disease are also linked to a diminished quality of life.

Conclusion:

Family and social support play pivotal roles in enhancing the quality of life for individuals with hypertension. Healthcare providers should prioritize the promotion of health literacy and encourage medication adherence to mitigate further complications related to hypertension.

Home Environmental Hazards and Ageing in Place: A Scoping Review

Muhammad Al Amin Shaharuddin, Mohd Rizal Abdul Manaf — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction:

Ageing in place is a preferable choice for the elderly and it has been adopted as a response to population ageing. The elderly may remain in their own homes so that they can retain connections with friends and family in their community. However, the places in which people grow old often have home environmental hazards that may affect ageing in place. This scoping review aimed to identify environmental hazards that existed in the home of the elderly, factors that were associated with home environmental hazards, and the impact of home environmental hazards on the elderly ageing in place.

Methods:

We used PRISMA-ScR to search PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. We included all English-language research on home environmental hazards, their associated factors, and impacts on elderly ageing in place. We analysed the study data and summarised the results. 30 records were reviewed, yielding 18 included studies.

Results:

There was a high prevalence of home environmental hazards in the home of the elderly with the bathroom being the most common location with environmental hazards. Certain factors such as socio-demographic, socioeconomic, living arrangement/house-related factors, and individuals’ health-related factors were associated with the presence of home environmental hazards. Fall was one of the impacts of home environmental hazards though its contribution to the risk of falling remained uncertain.

Conclusions:

Improved understanding of home environmental hazards and their impact on elderly ageing in place is important so that interventions can be done to reduce the presence and impact of home environmental hazards, and ultimately to protect the elderly’s health.

Willingness to Counsel HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis to Clients among Pharmacists: A Systematic Review

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction:

The successful implementation of PrEP as a prevention program is also associated with the willingness of the healthcare provider to counsel, especially among the pharmacists. We aimed to summarize and synthesize the evidence on level of willingness to counsel HIV Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) clients among pharmacists for the past ten years.

Methods:

We conducted a systematic search to assess the level of willingness to counsel HIV Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) clients from five databases; PubMed, SagePub, Science Direct, Web of Science (WOS), and Springer in May 2023. The eligibility criteria are cross- sectional study designs, published in English language, availability of full-text articles, and articles published before the year 2014. The Quality of all seven articles was assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute checklist for Analytical Cross-sectional studies. The results of each study were recorded in the data extraction form.

Result:

Of an initial 474 potential studies identified, 7 cross-sectional studies met the inclusion criteria. Five out of seven studies showed that willingness among pharmacists to counsel HIV PrEP is more than 50%. Four studies concluded that willingness among pharmacists are influenced by level of knowledge and experience in HIV and PrEP counselling

Conclusion:

The review adds new evidence about the level of willingness among pharmacists to counsel clients for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis. However, due to limited high quality studies, the findings are inconclusive.

Pencemaran Air Sungai dengan logam Litium dan Antimoni serta Impak Kesihatan Tiroid: Ulasan Naratif

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction:

Environmental factors account for 30% of the community's risk of developing thyroid dysfunction. Recently, river water pollution with heavy metals such as Lithium (Li) and Antimony (Sb) has become a concern of researchers worldwide, especially regarding its impact on human thyroid health.

Methodology:

This narrative review uses databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus using specific search keywords. In addition to the databases, as mentioned earlier, searches are also carried out using the "snowball" technique, self-selection and searching of articles involving references from the initial search strategies are also performed

Result:

Several studies show the level of water pollution by Li and Sb in some countries. Exporting countries Li and Sb through mining activities were found to have the highest values for water pollution by both these heavy metals. In addition, developed countries have higher levels of Li and Sb pollution in water than developing countries. Exposure to Li through drinking water may affect thyroid function, in line with known side effects of serum lithium treatment associated with an increased risk of Li hypothyroidism. Three studies also showed a correlation that environmental exposure to Sb may increase the risk of thyroid disease with Sb urine being significantly associated with an increased likelihood of thyroid dysfunction.

Conclusion:

Environmental toxicity of Li and Sb in water shows a clear correlation to thyroid dysfunction. Therefore, various parties, including policymakers, need to work together to shape strategies to reduce Li and Sb's health risks to the community.

Health-Promoting Lifestyle Among Children of Parents Deceased Versus Healed from Cancer in Shiraz, Iran

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction:

The impact of cancer is not limited to the patient but also affects the life of the patient's spouse, children, family members, and friends. The present study aimed to compare the health-promoting lifestyle in children of parents deceased from cancer and children of parents healed from cancer.

Methods:

The sample consisted of 115 people (58 children of parents healed from cancer and 57 children of parents deceased from cancer) in Shiraz, Iran. The Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP II) was used to measure different types of health-promoting lifestyles (health responsibility, physical activity, nutrition, spiritual growth, interpersonal relations, and stress management). The collected data were analysed using a multivariate analysis of variance.

Results:

The results showed that the children of parents healed from cancer significantly achieved higher scores in spiritual growth, responsibility in health, stress management, physical activity, and nutrition than children of parents deceased from cancer. Moreover, the results showed no significant difference between the two groups in interpersonal relations.

Conclusions:

This study highlighted the importance of a health-promoting lifestyle in families with a cancer parent.

Using Nominal Group Technique to develop COMBI-related health contents of a mobile application

Mon, 02 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction:

The Communication for Behavioral Impact (COMBI) program functions as a platform for developing effective ways to prevent and control outbreaks in community settings that are technically sound and culturally acceptable, relevant, and feasible for communities to execute. This research aimed to systematically develop the health content for the mobile application using the nominal group technique (NGT) to improve the implementation of COMBI in preventing and controlling dengue in Malaysia.

Methods:

We assembled a group of individuals focusing on implementing the COMBI program and developing a mobile application. Using the NGT, a proven and structured method for conducting group meetings to reach a consensus, we agreed on the crucial contents to prioritise for developing a mobile application as the new approach to delivering the COMBI program. The panel met once via an online platform in November 2022, and the meeting lasted for two and a half hours.

Result:

14 participants participated in the expert panel. During the sharing ideas activity, the panel generated 22 items. The response rate for voting was 100%. After determining the acceptance of each item, the panel retained 20 items from the original list to establish the rank order. Only one round was needed for the panel to reach a consensus to accept all the final 20 items (distributed into 11 categories) as the content for the mobile app. The selected components agreed upon by the expert panel encompassing information on COMBI, essential facts about dengue including the pathogen, the vector (characteristics of Aedes mosquito and its potential breeding sites), and the symptoms and signs, information on preventive methods including search and destroy breeding sites, application of larvicide, and methods to prevent mosquito bites, dengue situation (daily cases and outbreak report), actions during dengue outbreak, law enforcement in dengue control, update on COMBI activities, reminder alert program for search and destroy activity, dengue monitoring for dengue patient, problem reporting system, as well as Uniform Resource Locator related to dengue. These can support communities by disseminating key messages regarding dengue and equipping them with enough motivation and skills to prevent dengue transmission at the community level.

Conclusion:

This is the first known consensus study to identify engaging mobile app content to improve the COMBI program's delivery and implementation using the NGT. We recommend the technique as an effective tool for designing interventions against communicable diseases.

Evaluation of the Impact of Enhanced Primary Health Care Intervention Programme in Malaysia: A Repeat Cross-sectional Pre-Post Quasi Experimental Study

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Non-communicable diseases (NCD) lead to substantial mortality and morbidity worldwide. Malaysia is currently experiencing an epidemic of NCDs. Objective: This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Enhanced Primary Health Care (EnPHC) intervention in reducing the prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes, undiagnosed hypertension and undiagnosed hypercholesterolemia as well as NCD risk factors in the population after about one year of intervention.

Methods

This is a repeat cross-sectional pre-post quasi-experimental study comparing intervention and control group. The target population included adults aged 30 years and above living within the 40 selected clinics' catchment areas for at least six months. Data were collected using face-to-face interviews and clinical assessments. A difference-in-difference (DID) analysis was used to determine the effect of the EnPHC intervention.

Results

The percentage of the population screened for diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia increased from the baseline status by 8.7%, 9.9% and 9.2%, respectively. The prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolemia decreased from the baseline status by 17.6% and 13.7% compared to the control group. However, the EnPHC intervention did not affect the prevalence of overweight, obesity and smoking.

Conclusion

The EnPHC intervention contributed to the reduction in the prevalence of undiagnosed NCDs. A more extended period of intervention would be required to show the effect on NCD risk factors. Further strengthening of the intervention would be needed for implementation in other localities.

Risk Perception of COVID-19 and Its Associated Factors Among Indigenous Population in Malaysia

Mon, 02 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction:

Indigenous people have a higher risk of experiencing the bad impact of COVID-19 once they are infected. This study aimed to identify the risk perception of COVID-19 among indigenous population and its associated factors.

Method:

This is a cross-sectional study with psychometric evaluation of the Malay version of the risk perception of COVID-19 questionnaire.

Result:

A total of 408 indigenous adults of the Semai tribe from a remote rural area of Pahang participated in the study. For psychometric evaluation, the item internal consistency reliability was 0.87, while the item separation was 2.57. Descriptively, mean age was 36-year-old (SD ±14), woman (60.8%), mean household income RM170 (SD ± RM355), had informal education (36%) and had job (92.9%). The cross-sectional finding highlighted that those who had job (adj.OR 4, CI: 1.118-14.374), had knowledge on COVID-19 (adj.OR 3.78, CI: 1.247-11.448), higher health literacy score (adj.OR 3.3, CI:1.262-8.852), higher trust on information (adj.OR 2.95, CI:1.071-8.109) and used more frequent information on COVID-19 (adj.OR 5.77, CI:1.228-27.063) had higher risk perception on COVID-19. Those did not agree to lift the government restriction has a protective factor in the level of risk perception on COVID-19 (OR 0.34, CI:0.131-0.879).

Conclusion:

The indigenous population in Malaysia has a high-risk perception of COVID-19; however, they need assistance complying with the government policy on preventive and control measures.

Modified Initial Era Checklist for Screening Ergonomics Risk Factors in Diagnosing Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders

Mon, 02 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction:

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) are known to affect a diverse range of occupations around the world. One major factor for their occurrence is the presence of ergonomics risk factors in the workplace; as such, steps to minimise WRMSDs in Malaysia include the development of the Initial Ergonomics Risk Assessment (ERA) checklist for on-site assessors. The checklist, however, may not be useful for medical doctors who diagnose WRMSDs in hospitals or clinics. Moreover, there is no tool to assist medical doctors in considering the role of ergonomics risk factors when diagnosing WRMSDs, which can hamper the overall management of occupational diseases. This study was therefore carried out to modify the Initial ERA checklist so that medical doctors can use it to consider the role of ergonomics risk factors when diagnosing WRMSDs.

Methods:

In Phase I, document analysis was performed to construct the tool by integrating elements that were relevant for use in hospitals or clinics from the Initial ERA checklist and similar tools published overseas. In Phase II, the tool was reviewed by medical doctors and nurses and was found to have excellent content validity (I-CVI = 1.00). In Phase III, the tool underwent further improvement after trailing its application in two role-play sessions involving various healthcare professionals.

Results:

The resulting Modified Initial ERA Checklist can assist medical doctors screen for various ergonomics risk factors when diagnosing WRMSDs in hospitals or clinics.

Conclusions:

Future studies could further examine its application in the field to validate its actual use in hospitals or clinics.

The Relationship Between Quality of Life (QoL) and Academic Performance During E-Learning Among Students in Higher Learning Institution

Wed, 18 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction:

The level of education and academic performance at the Universiti Malaysia Pahang depends on having a better understanding of the standard of living among students there. The study aimed to acquire the relationship between psychological, social, and environmental conditions and academic performance during e-learning among students from Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Gambang. This study aims to ascertain the relationship between the variables affecting students' performance and their outcomes in UMP, Gambang.

Method:

Data were collected from 357 students through a questionnaire survey. The data were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SSPS) version 26 software. This study analysed three aspects that influence students' academic performance toward psychological, social, and environmental.

Result:

The findings show that none of the hypotheses proposed are statistically significant for this study. The analysis result shows that psychological with a spearman-value of -0.043, t-value 0.655. Spearman-value -0.097, t-value 0.0333 for social and environmental with spearman-value of -0.087, t-value 0.925.

Conclusion:

Results from this study revealed that all the listed factors contribute to the success of student academic performance, and the most contributing factor to the success of student academic performance was improving the social condition.