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Fulltext Antenatal iron deficiency in an urban Malaysian population

Mahdy, Z.A., Rahana, A.R., Zaleha, M.I., Muhammad Za’im, S.H., Mukudan, K., Jumaida, A.B.

Medicine & Health, 2017;12(1):27-33.
MyJurnal

Iron deficiency anemia is the most common form of anemia in pregnancy. The present study was carried out to determine the prevalence of antenatal anemia and iron deficiency in the Malaysian population and its correlation with sociodemographic and obstetric profile. It was a cross-sectional study conducted at an urban health clinic over a period of six months. A single blood sample was drawn from apparently healthy pregnant mothers at antenatal booking and sent for laboratory assessment of full blood count and serum ferritin as screening tools for anemia and iron status. SPSS version 19.0 was used for statistical analyses. The results showed that out of 250 subjects, 43.6% had anemia and 31.6% had iron deficiency. Whilst 47.7% of subjects with anemia were iron deficient, 19.1% of subjects without anemia were also iron deficient. Serum ferritin correlated negatively with period of gestation at booking (p<0.001), with 77.6% of these women not having prior iron supplements. Serum ferritin was also significantly lower among grandmultiparae (p=0.01). Iron deficiency was significantly (p=0.024) more common among Indians (42.5%) compared to Malays (33.5%) and Chinese (13.0%). In conclusion, continuation of the current practice of routine antenatal iron supplementation is still warranted and justifiable in Malaysia as there is high prevalence of iron deficiency in pregnancy not only in the presence of anemia but also in the presence of normal hemoglobin values. Keywords: anaemia, ferritn, pregnancy

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Smoking status and oral health-related quality of life among adults in the United Kingdom

Bakri NN, Tsakos G, Masood M

Br Dent J, 2018 07 27;225(2):153-158.
PMID: 30050198 DOI: 10.1038/sj.bdj.2018.529

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to examine the association between smoking and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among dentate people aged 16 years and above in England.
Methods: Cross-sectional study, based on the Adult Dental Health Survey (ADHS) 2009. ADHS 2009 involved data collection from 11,380 face-to-face interviews and 6,469 dental examinations from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This study focuses on the dentate sample from England, consisting of 5,622 individuals who underwent dental examination. OHRQoL was measured by two indices; Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) and Oral Impacts on Daily Performance (OIDP). Unadjusted and adjusted zero-inflated regression models were used. Adjustment was sequentially done for socio-demographics, clinical oral conditions and self-reported general health.
Results: Prevalence of those who had never smoked, past smokers and current smokers were 45.6%, 35.3% and 19.2% respectively. Current smokers had considerably higher mean OHIP-14 and OIDP scores than non-smokers. There was a statistically significant association between smoking and OHRQoL (both OHIP-14 and OIDP) even in the fully adjusted models. Current smokers were more likely to report worse OHRQoL compared to those who had never smoked in both OHIP-14 and OIDP score. There was no statistically significant difference between past smokers with those who had never smoked in reporting OHIP-14 and OIDP. Among those reporting OHRQoL, there was a stepwise gradient risk of reporting no oral impact, where the probability was higher among those who had never smoked, followed by past smokers and current smokers both in OHIP-14 and OIDP.
Conclusion: Smoking was independently associated with worse OHRQoL, even after adjusting for a range of socio-demographic factors, clinical oral conditions and self-reported general health.

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Fulltext Plasma lead levels among paediatric thalassaemic patients in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia

Iyen, Mohd I., Ab Wahab, Mohd S., Norsarwany Mohamad, Mariani Mohamad, Erejuwa, Omotayo O.

Malaysian Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2016;22(1):17-25.
MyJurnal

Objective: Lead toxicity constitutes a major environmental risk to health in both animals and humans of all ages. It is more severe in young children than adults. Blood transfusion is an important source of lead exposure and may predispose premature infants to lead toxicity. Thalassaemia is common in Malaysia and majority of patients require frequent blood transfusion. The objective of this study was to determine whether regular blood transfusion contributed to high blood lead levels in paediatric thalassaemic patients.

Method: This was a cross sectional study conducted at the Paediatric Thalassaemia Day Care Unit, General Paediatric Ward and Paediatric Clinic in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM). A total of 90 patients were included, 45 were thalassaemic transfusion dependant patients and the other 45 were control, who were of the same age and sex with patients group and had never been transfused. The blood samples were taken preand post-transfusion for thalassaemic and control groups. Blood lead levels were analyzed using standard Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) analysis.

Results: The overall mean plasma lead levels (2.13 + 1.72µg/dL) were lower than those of standard CDC recommendations. The independent t-test showed that plasma lead levels in thalassaemic group were significantly (p < 0.05) lower than the levels in controls. However, the ANCOVA analysis revealed the plasma lead levels were not significantly (p > 0.05) different between the two groups. Thus, suggesting that the reduced plasma lead level in thalassaemic group was due to the administration of iron chelators. Increased frequency of blood transfusion also did not significantly (p > 0.05) increase plasma ferritin or lead levels in thalassaemic patients.

Conclusion: This study shows that transfusion dependent thalassaemic infants have comparable plasma lead levels to those of age- and sex-matched controls, after taking into consideration the administration of iron chelators.

Study site: Paediatric Thalassaemia Day Care Unit, General Paediatric Ward and Paediatric Clinic in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM)

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Attitude, knowledge and ethical perception toward precision medicine among junior and senior medical students: Findings from one Malaysian medical school

Koh, Kwee Choy, Shanmugan Goonasakaren, Ng, Lam Kean, Chua, Yi Lin, Lee, Jia Ying, Alaric Ding Tian Ang

International e-Journal of Science, Medicine & Education, 2017;11(3):10-19.
MyJurnal

Background: Medical schools are escalating changes
to meet the need for doctors competent to work in the
era of precision medicine. Information on the current
level of awareness of precision medicine among medical
students can help effect the necessary changes in the
medical curriculum. A cross-sectional comparative
study was done to assess the knowledge, attitude and
perception toward the practice of precision medicine
among junior and senior medical students in a medical
school in Malaysia.

Materials and Method: A survey instrument measuring
attitude toward precision medicine, perceived
knowledge of genomic testing concepts, and perception
toward ethical consideration related to precision
medicine, was distributed to junior and senior medical
students. Comparisons were made between senior and
junior medical students.

Results: Only about one-third of the 356 respondents
had heard of precision medicine although 92.7%
expressed interest to learn more about precision
medicine. Overall, junior and senior medical students
had positive attitude toward the adoption of genomeguided
prescribing and precision medicine but were
uncomfortable with their knowledge of genomic testing
concepts. Both junior and senior students were largely
well grounded in their understanding of ethical issues
related to precision medicine.

Conclusions: Knowledge of precision medicine was low
among junior and senior medical students. Although
the students supported the use of precision medicine,
they did not feel adequately prepared to apply genomics
to clinical practice. Their perceptions on ethical issues
related to precision medicine were sound. Seniority did
not appear to influence the perceptions of the students.

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Fulltext Second-hand smoke knowledge and exposure among adults in rural Pedas, Negeri Sembilan

Siew WF, Choo KJY, Lim ZX, Tsia AKV

International e-Journal of Science, Medicine & Education, 2017;11(3):20-29.
MyJurnal

Background: It is an undeniable fact that exposure to tobacco smoke from the ambiance poses harmful effects to human health. Although many countries including Malaysia have imposed smoking bans and restrictions in indoor and outdoor public places, yet, to achieve a zero exposure to tobacco smoke from one’s surroundings remains a challenge.
Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine the second-hand smoke (SHS) knowledge and percentage of exposure among adults of rural Pedas, Negeri Sembilan and assess the association between socio-demographics and knowledge of SHS among these adults.
Methods: A cross sectional study with convenient sampling was carried out on 485 adults in Pedas, Negeri Sembilan. The instrument used was a validated questionnaire which was adapted with permission to suit the sample under study. The data collected were analysed with SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 24.0.
Results: The percentage of SHS exposure among the non-smoking adults in rural Pedas, Negeri Sembilan was high (95.5%). More than 30% of the non-smoking respondents reported a daily exposure to SHS. The adults from this study however have good knowledge of SHS effects on health. A Mann-Whitney U test result revealed that knowledge on SHS scores was significantly higher for the non-smokers than that of smokers (U=17645, p < .001, r=.18). The top three locations identified as the most common places for SHS exposure were restaurants (38.9%), followed by workplace (26.2%) and home (19.4%).
Conclusions: The percentage of SHS exposure among the non-smoking adults of rural Pedas, Negeri Sembilan is high. Although the adults in this study have good knowledge of SHS health consequences, yet they are unavoidably exposed to SHS because smoking still occurs within their home, workplaces and public places. Our findings suggest the need for more comprehensive, assertive and strongly enforced policies to ban smoking in public areas, not only in this community but all across Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Fulltext The usefulness of osteocalcin measurements in Malaysian patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Wong TH, Das Gupta E, Radhakrishnan AK, Gun SC, Chembalingam G, Yeap SS

International e-Journal of Science, Medicine & Education, 2018;12(1):4-10.
MyJurnal

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory condition that can be associated with abnormal bone turnover and hence osteoporosis. Osteocalcin (OC) levels are increased in conditions with high bone turnover, including high RA disease activity. Thus, OC levels could possibly be used as a marker to assess bone health and disease activity in RA patients. As there have been no previous studies looking at serum OC levels in Malaysian RA patients, this study was performed to examine possible correlations between OC, bone mineral density (BMD) and disease activity in this population. A cross-sectional study of 75 female RA patients and 29 healthy controls was performed. Serum OC was measured using a Quantikine® ELISA kit. Dualenergy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was used to assess BMD. Serum OC levels were not significantly different between RA patients (median 14.44 ng/mL, interquartile range [IQR 12.99]) compared to healthy controls (median 11.04 ng/mL IQR 12.29) (p=0.198). Serum OC increased with age (Spearman’s rho r=0.230, p=0.047). There was no significant correlation between serum OC and body mass index (BMI), menopause status, BMD, DAS28, swollen or tender joint counts. Overall, there were 11 (14.7%) patients with osteoporosis and 27 (36.0%) with osteopenia. Menopause status was significantly associated with BMD at all sites (lumbar spine p=0.002, femoral neck p=0.004, total hip p=0.002). Serum OC were similar in RA patients compared to healthy controls. In RA patients, serum OC did not correlate with RA disease activity or BMD. Menopause status remains an important influence on BMD. Thus, measuring serum OC levels in Malaysian RA patients was not useful in identifying those at risk of low BMD.
Study site: Rheumatology clinic, Hospital Tuanku Jaafar, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, and Klinik Pakar Puchong, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Fulltext High knowledge on dengue but low preventive practices among residents in a low cost flat in Ampang, Selangor

Nur Syakilah Mahyiddin, Rosmawati Mohamed, Hamid Jan Jan Mohamed, Norfarhana Ramly

The Malaysian Journal of Nursing, 2016;8(1):39-48.
MyJurnal

Dengue incidence has grown dramatically in recent decades and become a global incidence especially in the
urban area. Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia reported that the number of dengue cases since January
2014 until June 2014 was 38. 411 cases which was higher compared to the number reported in year 2013 (10,
910 cases). The objective of the study was to determine the knowledge and preventive practices of dengue
among residents in Flat Pandan Indah, Ampang Selangor. A cross sectional study design with convenience
sampling method was adopted in this study. A total of 298 respondents living in Flat Pandan Indah were
recruited based on the inclusion criteria. A validated questionnaire that measures knowledge and preventive
practices of dengue was completed by respondents. More than half of the respondents had scored 61.7%
with good knowledge regarding dengue. However, 50.3% of the respondents had a limited extent of dengue
practice. Almost all of the respondents (95.6%) reported that television or radio as the main source for
information on dengue. The common preventive measures used by the respondents were cleaning the
house (n=148, 49.7%), eliminating standing water around the house (n=123, 41.3%) and covering water
containers in the home (n=120, 40.a3%). There was no correlation between dengue knowledge and
preventive practice score (p = 0.109). The study revealed that majority of the respondents had good
knowledge regarding dengue but the practices to prevent dengue are poor. Thus, health education program
focusing on dengue prevention practices should be done on the community members in the future.

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Fulltext Association between organizational factors, occupational stress and cortisol level among lecturers in a private university in Selangor

Noormaliza, H., Najibah, A.R., Fauzana, M., Azizah, A., Nukhdiha, O.

Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, 2017;14(1):25-29.
MyJurnal

Stress reduces the performance and productivity of employees.
One of the most important stressors originate from organizational factors,
which are decision latitude, psychological demand, social support and job
insecurity. This creates four kinds of jobs: passive, active, low strain and high
strain. The objective of the study is to determine the association between
organizational factors with occupational stress and cortisol level among
lecturers in University Selangor. This cross-sectional study used a purposive
sampling, which involved 45 lecturers from various faculties. The instrument
used in this study was Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) which is a
Psychosocial Job Assessment Instrument designed by Karasek et al., (1998).
The questionnaire has been translated to Malay version by Edimansyah et al.,
(2006). 10ml of blood sample was collected from each respondent by certified
phlebotomist. Results from the statistical analysis showed that majority of the
respondents were female (75.6%), aged below forty years old (82.2%), married
(77.8%) and hold a master degree (68.9%). Most of the respondents were
found having low decision latitude 35(77.5%). Majority of the respondents
were also found in passive group 13(28.9%) which were having low
psychological job demand and low decision latitude, while others are in low
strain 11(24.4%), high strain 11(24.4%) and active group 10(22.2%)
respectively. There was a significant association between two organizational
factors with occupational stress level, which are decision latitude and
psychological job demand (p0.05). As a
conclusion, two out of four organizational factors, which are decision latitude
and psychological job demand showed a significant association with
occupational stress levels. Cortisol as one of stress biomarkers may not be
significant due to small sample size.

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Fulltext Prevalence and factors associated with low back pain among tea plantation workers in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Abdul Hadi H

Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, 2016;13(1):1-10.
MyJurnal

A cross sectional study was conducted among tea plantation workers in Cameron Highlands from July to December 2006 to study the prevalence of low back pain and factors associated with it. One hundred and six tea plantation field workers participated in the study. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaire. Time motion studies were also conducted for 3 different job categories. The prevalence of back pain experienced throughout their work in the plantation was 81.1% and the prevalence of low
back pain experienced in the past 12 months was 64.2%. Feeling the need to work as fast as possible was a significant predictor of low back pain and increased the risk by 3.5 times, therefore it is suggested that both the management and workers give serious attention to this particular aspect to reduce the incidence of low back pain.

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Fulltext The influence of operator changes on orthodontic treatment duration and outcomes

Loke, Shuet Toh

Malaysian Dental Journal, 2015;38(2):16-36.
MyJurnal

Aim: Orthodontic treatment duration is variable and associated with many factors Very few studies looks at operator changes influencing treatment duration and outcome. This study aims to evaluate the influence of operator changes on treatment time and quality.

Methodology: This is a 4-year cross-sectional retrospective study of preadjusted Edgewise two-arch appliance cases treated by single/ multiple operators and finished/debonded by the author. 60 singleoperator (Group 1) and 82 multiple-operator (Group 2) cases were selected and the Peer Assessment Rating (PAR) Index was used to measure treatment outcome.

Results: Group 1 (2.31 years, SD.86) had statistically significantly shorter treatment time than Group 2 (3.25 years, SD1.23). Mean % reduction in PAR scores was high (88.7%), although single operators (92%) showed a slightly higher (p=.04) reduction than multiple-operator cases (86.2%). Post-treatment PAR score was slightly higher in Group 2 (4.6, SD5.4) compared with Group 1 (2.6, SD2.9). There was no significant difference in post-treatment PAR scores with operator changes from within and outside the clinic although there was difference in treatment duration (p=.0001). Possible predictors of treatment duration included number of failed/changed appointments, extractions and pre-treatment PAR. Multiple linear regression model showed significant association of treatment time with failed/changed appointments (p=.0001) and number of operators (p=.0001) although this contributed to 57.5% of possible factors (r=.762) .

Conclusion: Change of operator contributes to increased treatment time by 11.3 months. Although standard of treatment was high in both groups there was slightly better outcomes in single operators. The reduction in PAR score can be predicted more accurately in single operators.

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Fulltext Knowledge, belief and barriers to adult influenza and pneumococcal vaccination among primary care doctors in Sarawak

Wong, L. K. S., Muthupalaniappen, L., Tie, S. T.

Medicine & Health, 2017;12(2):275-285.
MyJurnal

Adult influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations are grossly underutilized although there is clear benefit in reducing mortality and morbidity among those at risk. The aim of the study was to assess primary care physician’s knowledge on adult influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations, their beliefs and barriers to vaccination. A cross-sectional study using self-administered questionnaires was conducted at eight primary care centres in Kuching, Sarawak. A total of 108 primary care physicians participated in this study. Median age of participants was 29 years (IQR 4.0). The median knowledge score for influenza vaccine was 9 (IQR 3) and for pneumococcal vaccine was 8 (IQR 4). Female participants scored higher compared to their male counterparts for influenza and pneumococcal vaccines (P = 0.005 & 0.007). The highest percentage of correct responses for influenza vaccination was for side effects (75.3%) while the lowest was for contraindications (9.3%). The highest percentage of correct responses for pneumococcal vaccination was for side effects (69.1%) while the lowest was for advocated target groups (6.2%). Most participants believed that pneumococcal and influenza vaccines were safe (92.8 & 99%) and beneficial for patients (89.7 & 93.8%). Cost of influenza and pneumococcal vaccines (94.8% & 96.9%) and their availability (86.6% & 89.7%) were the main barriers to prescribing them. Primary care physicians in the public sector have moderate knowledge of both adult vaccinations. Areas of knowledge paucity and barriers need to be addressed to ensure a more comprehensive health care delivery to the aging Malaysian population.
Keywords: adult, belief, influenza vaccines, knowledge, pneumococcal vaccines

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Fulltext Comparison between yogurt and commercial probiotics in the duration of diarrhea in pediatric age group

Aamer Naseer, Humayun Iqbal Khan, Mian Jawad Ahmad, Rabia Tariq, Atif Amin Baig

Malaysian Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2017;23(1):0-0.
MyJurnal

Objective: To compare the mean duration of diarrhea between children taking yogurt and with the group taking commercial probiotics, containing lactobacillus in acute watery diarrhea. Materials and

Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in the Department of Pediatrics, Services Hospital, Lahore. The duration of this cross sectional study was 6 months, from June 2013 to November 2013. A total of 200 children suffering from acute watery diarrhea were involved in the study after the informed consent under the said hospital. Their demographic information was recorded and later divided in two groups of 100 each; group A received yogurt and group B was given commercial probiotic. The duration of diarrhea was observed in both groups. The results were compared by using independent sample t-test.

Results: The average duration of diarrhea in group A, was 1.98 + 1.31 day while that in group B was 3.09 + 1.64 days. Student's t-test was applied and the difference between the two groups was found to be statistically significant (p< 0.05).

Conclusions: Treatment with yogurt significantly decreases the mean duration of diarrhea as compared to probiotic among patients with acute watery diarrhea.

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Fulltext Prevalence of low-back pain among public ambulance workers in Kelantan, Malaysia

Tuan Lonik EA, Tuan Kamauzaman TH, Abdullah AA, Nor J, Ab Hamid SA

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2017;17(1):126-135.
MyJurnal

This study is to determine the prevalence and the associated factors of low-back pain (LBP), which has multifactorial causes, among ambulance workers in Kelantan, Malaysia. The cross-sectional study involved ambulance workers in the emergency department in all government hospitals in Kelantan. Those who did not consent, complete or return the questionnaire as well as having rheumatic diseases were excluded from the study. The participants were asked to answer a self-administered questionnaire in English. Descriptive analyses and Chi-square test were used. A total of 168 respondents had completed the questionnaires with a response rate of 85.0%. Questionnaires with more than 95.0% items completed were included in the analysis (n=143). The respondents had a higher proportion of male than female (63.6% versus 36.4%). Assistant Medical Officer comprised of 60.0% of all respondents and the rest were nurses. The respondents’ age ranged between 23 to 58 years old with a mean age of 38.27 and standard deviation (SD) of 7.27. The mean duration of involvement in ambulance service was 9.68 years (SD 6.97). The majority (98.5%) of the respondents were Malay. Gender, smoking status and hobbies were the associated factors of LBP among ambulance workers. The modifiable risk factors should be emphasized to the ambulance workers as a measure to prevent the development of LBP.

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Fulltext Factors contributing to medication errors and failure to report errors among U29 nurses in Hospital University Sains Malaysia

Che Romli R, Chan SG

The Malaysian Journal of Nursing, 2015;6(2):11-16.
MyJurnal

This quantitative-oriented research was conducted to identify factors that contributed to errors in dispensing medication among nurses and to understand why nurses did not report their errors in dispensing. In this study a total of 284 U29 nurses participated in focusing on factors contributing to medication errors and failure to report the errors. In this study, analysis of the data collected was made in two sections; dispensing errors and failure to report the errors in giving medication. According to Evans et al. (2006) although nurses may not admit directly to such errors, they expressed their perceptions towards situations described in the questionnaire items as contributing to medication errors among nurses. Almost all in the sample of 284 chose not to report medication errors because they could not identify the cause of dispensing errors; other nurses perceived that the individual involved is not competent in performing the task. Other reasons include fear that the action will be exposed by the management, to avoid publicity from the media, and there is no difference in reporting or not reporting the medication errors. This study was done not only for exploring factors of medication errors; it also aspires to identify problems that arise in hospital services and in order to maintain the quality of health care. The management should consider the impact of medication errors and failure to report medication errors on the nursing profession and quality image of the hospital.

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Fulltext Estimating dengue incidence and hospitalization in Malaysia, 2001 to 2013

Woon YL, Hor CP, Lee KY, Mohd Anuar SFZ, Mudin RN, Sheikh Ahmad MK, et al.

BMC Public Health, 2018 08 02;18(1):946.
PMID: 30068318 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-018-5849-z

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic measures of the dengue burden such as prevalence and incidence are important for policy-making and monitoring the progress of disease control. It is a common practice where epidemiologic and economic research estimate dengue burden based on notification data. However, a basic challenge in estimating the incidence of dengue is that a significant proportion of infected population are asymptomatic. It can be overcome by using mathematical models that relate observed prevalence and mortality to incidence. In this study, we estimate the trend of dengue incidence and hospitalization in Malaysia.
METHODS: This study is based entirely on the available secondary data sources on dengue in Malaysia. The age-specific incidence of dengue between 2001 and 2013 was estimated using the prevalence and mortality estimates in an incidence-prevalence-mortality (IPM) model. Data on dengue prevalence were extracted from six sero-surveys conducted in Malaysia between 2001 and 2013; while statistics on dengue notification and Case Fatality Rate were derived from National Dengue Surveillance System. Dengue hospitalization data for the years 2009 to 2013 were extracted from the Health Informatics Centre and the volumes of dengue hospitalization for hospitals with missing data were estimated with Poisson models.
RESULTS: The dengue incidence in Malaysia varied from 69.9 to 93.4 per 1000 population (pkp) between 2001 and 2013.The temporal trend in incidence rate was decreasing since 2001. It has been reducing at an average rate of 2.57 pkp per year from 2001 to 2013 (p = 0.011). The age-specific incidence of dengue decreased steadily with dengue incidence reaching zero by age > 70 years. Dengue notification rate has remained stable since 2001 and the number of notified cases each year was only a small fraction of the incident cases (0.7 to 2.3%). Similarly, the dengue hospitalization was larger but still a small fraction of the incident cases (3.0 to 5.6%).
CONCLUSION: Dengue incidence can be estimated with the use of sero-prevalence surveys and mortality data. This study highlights a reducing trend of dengue incidence in Malaysia and demonstrates the discrepancy between true dengue disease burden and cases reported by national surveillance system. Sero-prevalence studies with representative samples should be conducted regularly to allow better estimation of dengue burden in Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Fulltext Food court hygiene assessment and food safety knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers in Putrajaya

Mohd. Firdaus Siau, A., Son, R., Mohhiddin, O., Toh, P.S., Chai, L.C

International Food Research Journal, 2015;22(5):1843-1854.
MyJurnal

This cross sectional study aimed to explored the pattern of socio-demographic distribution, to assess the level of KAP of food safety; and the relationship with the level of premise cleanliness in the food courts at Putrajaya. Distribution of food handlers socio-demographic profile was Malaysian (62.0%), male (70.4%), working experienced in food industry (82.0%) and attended food handler training (85.0%). The mean age was 28.7 years and 85.4% having income not less than RM 1,500 monthly. 78.5% of the food handlers at educational level were found as primary/secondary school. 15.0% of the respondents had not attended the food sanitation training. The findings reveal that food handlers’ KAP were high with a mean percentage score more than 79.0%.The majority of the food courts in Putrajaya had consistently moderate level of cleanliness (63.5%) with the mean of 83.03%. Only 27.4% of the food courts were in the level of clean situation (>89% of premise cleanliness score) and 9.1% were not in the clean condition (

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Fulltext Jellyfish stings on Langkawi Island, Malaysia

Mohd Suan MA, Tan WL, Soelar SA, Cheng HP, Osman M

Med J Malaysia, 2016 Aug;71(4):161-165.
PMID: 27770113 MyJurnal

Jellyfish stings are the most frequently reported marine animal envenomation worldwide. However, data on jellyfish sting from Malaysia remains obscure due to inadequate research.

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
An Optical Tomography System Using a Digital Signal Processor

Rahim RA, Thiam CK, Rahiman MH

Sensors (Basel), 2008 Mar 27;8(4):2082-2103.
PMID: 27879811

The use of a personal computer together with a Data Acquisition System (DAQ) as the processing tool in optical tomography systems has been the norm ever since the beginning of process tomography. However, advancements in silicon fabrication technology allow nowadays the fabrication of powerful Digital Signal Processors (DSP) at a reasonable cost. This allows this technology to be used in an optical tomography system since data acquisition and processing can be performed within the DSP. Thus, the dependency on a personal computer and a DAQ to sample and process the external signals can be reduced or even eliminated. The DSP system was customized to control the data acquisition process of 16x16 optical sensor array, arranged in parallel beam projection. The data collected was used to reconstruct the cross sectional image of the pipeline conveyor. For image display purposes, the reconstructed image was sent to a personal computer via serial communication. This allows the use of a laptop to display the tomogram image besides performing any other offline analysis.

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Fulltext Prevalence and perceived causes of unreported medication errors among nurses in a public hospital in Selangor

Fatimah Sham, Siti Munirah Abdul Wahab, Hapesah Mohamed Sihat, Haznizan Abdullah Nazri, Aida Juliana Mohamad Amyah, Harnake Kaur

The Malaysian Journal of Nursing, 2018;9(103):3-10.
MyJurnal

Medication errors could bring serious consequences to patients. Reporting medication error is a strategy to
mitigate such incidence from happening. Unfortunately, some nurses do no report the errors due to certain
factors. Determining the factors influencing unreported medication errors will ensure imperative actions
that are to be taken to curb this issue. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and perceived
causes of unreported medication errors among nurses in a public hospital in Selangor. A descriptive and
cross-sectional study was carried out in 26 wards from various disciplines and the sample involved 234
nurses. The data were gathered through self-reported questionnaires consisting of three sections. The first
section covered demographic characteristics, the second section aimed to obtain information on the
frequency of medication error incidents and the last section aimed to obtain information on nurses'
perceptions of barriers in reporting medication errors. The findings of this study indicated that there was a
significant relationship between level of education and the nurses' perceptions of barriers in reporting
medication errors. The study recommended that providing enough education, initiating a non-punitive
culture may help increase voluntary reporting of medication errors among nurses to strengthen the
reporting system and to avert medication errors in the future.

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies
Fulltext Stress and physio-psycho-social symptoms among a public university's nursing students during clinical posting

Fatimah Sham, Siti Munirah Abdul Wahab, Nor Afizah Ramli, Norlia Anuar, Wan Nor Izzatul Huda Wan Hassan

The Malaysian Journal of Nursing, 2018;9(103):21-27.
MyJurnal

Clinical posting is the most important part in nursing education, requiring knowledge, skills, and the right
attitude to facilitate the development to be a professional nurse. However, clinical posting was found to be the
most stressful phase for nursing students throughout their education process in most countries. As nursing
students enter the real hospital environment with the lack of knowledge and nursing skills, their health can be
affected. The aim of this study is to assess the level of stress and physio-psycho-social symptoms among
nursing students in a public university during clinical posting. This cross-sectional study design involved 181
undergraduate nursing students who had completed their clinical posting in a government hospital. The
results showed that the nursing students experienced stress most of time especially during their clinical
posting. The most common cause of stress was from the workload and assignment and the most common
response to stress was behavioral symptoms. This study revealed that the residence where these students lived
had significance with the level of stress during their clinical posting (p=0.01). Detecting early stress events,
creating more effective environment and understanding the effectiveness of coping behaviors may help
nursing educators reduce the negative effects of stress which will altogether help students handle stress more
effectively.

Matched MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies

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