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Fulltext Behavioural issues among primary schoolchildren with colour vision deficiency.

Nithiyaananthan PJ, Sharanjeet-Kaur, Anne BT, Eliana AN, Mahadir A

IIUM Medical Journal Malaysia, 2020;19(3):37-45.
MyJurnal

Colour vision deficiencies may raise behavioural changes among children. This study explores the presence of any behavioural issues faced by primary schoolchildren with congenital red-green colour vision deficiency (CRGCVD). Materials and Methods:Male schoolchildren, aged 8-11 years old, from 10 randomly selected schools in Klang Valley were screened using Ishihara plates and Farnsworth D-15 test. Children with CRGCVD (study group) and without CRGCVD (control group) were asked to complete the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for children (self-report) while their class teachers completed the SDQ for teachers (teacher-report). Difficulty scores were calculated. The test categorised behaviour into 3 categories based on the difficulty scores into ‘normal’, ‘borderline’ and ‘abnormal’ behaviours. Non-parametric test was used to compare the median of difficulty scores between control group and study group. Spearman correlation was used to determine association between self-report SDQ and teacher-report SDQ. Results:A total of 134 schoolchildren were recruited in this study, of which 44 had CRGCVD and 90 were in the control group. Teacher-reported SDQ for the children were obtained from 134 teachers. No statistically significant differences (p>0.05) were noted between the total SDQ scores of children with and without CRGCVD using self-report SDQ and teacher-report SDQ. The total difficulty scores of self-report SDQ and teacher-report SDQ were poorly but significantly correlated. Teachers rated 9.09% of children with CRGCVD as falling under the ‘abnormal’ category, slightly higher than self-rated of 2.27%. Conclusion:This study found no prominent behavioural issues among schoolchildren with CRGCVD.
Fulltext Identification of risk factors for myopia questionnaire in the Malay language among primary school children in Malaysia

Nur Liyana I., Sharanjeet-Kaur, Saadah M.A., Mahadir A., Abdul Mutalib O.

International Medical Journal Malaysia, 2018;17(1):127-134.
MyJurnal

This study aimed to develop a questionnaire in Malay language for the identification of risk factors for myopia among primary school children aged 10 to 12 years old in Malaysia. Materials and Methods: The study commenced in October 2012 till Julai 2013 in two main phases. The first phase was a pilot study for the construction of questionnaire items by literature review and discussion with the experts. A total of 103 parents of primary school children were randomly selected to test the comprehensibility of the preliminary questionnaire. The second phase was the actual study which involved parents of 353 primary school children , 132 were parents whose children were myopes and 221 parents whose children were nonmyopes. Results: Discussions with experts in human vision science identified 5 main domains and 71 items for the preliminary questionnaire. A total of 55 items were retained for the actual study phase in view of statistically good correlation (r = 0.4 and above). Predictive validity by chi-square test allowed 28 items to be retained because of significant association with myopia (p
Fulltext Validation of food frequency questionnaire in estimating Docosahexanoic Acids (DHA) intake among Malay primary school children

Nurhidayah, M., Suzana, S., Zahara, A.M., Mahadir, A., Mohd Azahadi, O., Mohamad Hasnan, A., et al.

Malays J Nutr, 2016;22(2):233-243.
MyJurnal

Introduction: Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) play an important role in developing cognitive function in children, especially Docosahexanoic Acid (DHA). However, there is no suitable dietary assessment tool to assess DHA intake among Malaysian children. Thus, this study assessed the validity of an interviewer-administered semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) for estimating DHA intake among Malay school children in the Sepang District.

Methods: Thirty 12-year-old Malay children (13 boys and 17 girls) were recruited through purposive sampling. Their DHA intake for one month duration was assessed using a 30-food item FFQ and validated against a 3-day food record.

Results: The majority of the subjects (70%) had normal body mass index, 6.7% were overweight, 16.7% obese, whilst the rest were in the thin category. The reliability of FFQ was found to be good with a Cronbach’s α coefficient value of 0.815. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test indicated no significant difference in mean intake between the two assessment methods. Significant and strong correlation between FFQ and the 3-day food record was found for total omega-3 PUFAs (r=0.812)and DHA (r=0.839) using both methods. BlandAltman analysis exhibited no apparent systematic bias between the two methods for DHA and total omega-3 PUFAs intake, whilst a quartile analysis assigned 73.3% of the subjects into the same quartile.

Conclusion: The FFQ was found to be valid in estimating DHA intake among Malay school children, and it is recommended that its validity be tested on other ethnic population groups.
Fulltext Interventions for children with dyslexia: A review on current intervention methods

Nurul Anis MY, Normah CD, Mahadir A, Norhayati I, Rogayah AR, Dzalani H

Med J Malaysia, 2018 10;73(5):311-320.
PMID: 30350811 MyJurnal

INTRODUCTION: Dyslexia is a neurobiological impairment that primarily affects reading ability. It is commonly known as a reading disorder which is likely to be present at birth and is generally identified at pre-school level. Dyslexia is manifested through difficulties with accurate word recognition and also by poor performance in reading and writing.

METHOD: The main objective of this paper is to review the various methods or treatments that are used to manage the literacy and cognitive abilities for children with dyslexia particularly in Malaysia. The articles were obtained from online databases such as PubMed, Ebscohost and Medline during the time frame of six years starting from 2000 until 2016. An initial count of 300 articles were generated but only 13 articles met the inclusive criteria.

RESULTS: There are a few types of interventions such as the multisensory method, the phonological intervention, and the cognitive training method which can be used to improve literacy and cognitive deficits among children with dyslexia. In Malaysia, most of the treatments are focused on the aspects of language such as word mastery, alphabet identification and writing skills. The cognitive training were carried out to improve specific domain such as visuospatial skills, memory skills and psychomotor skills.

CONCLUSION: There is yet no studies which has employed the comprehensive method of combining the intervention of cognitive functions and linguistics-literacy deficits. It is imperative that researchers in Malaysia go beyond literacy skills and take into consideration the underlying cognitive functions which contribute to the specific reading and writing difficulties of Malaysian children with dyslexia.
Exploring the beliefs of caregivers about the caregiving experiences of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Malaysia

Chong ASS, Mahadir A, Hamidah A, Rizuana IH, Afifi L, Chan CMH

Belitung Nurs J, 2022;8(3):204-212.
PMID: 37547110 DOI: 10.33546/bnj.2083

BACKGROUND: Cancer is one of the major leading causes of childhood death, and the most common type is acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The survival rate has increased in recent years; however, the long patient trajectory may trigger psychological distress among caregivers as they play an active role in ensuring that the child's basic needs are met. Being in a patient-focused system, the needs of caregivers may be neglected.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the caregivers' beliefs on children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia caregiving experiences in order to promote their well-being.
METHODS: Caregivers from thirteen families of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia participated in this phenomenological study. NVivo 12 was used for the thematic analysis of the data. Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) were used in this study.
RESULTS: Overall, five main themes for caregivers' beliefs were identified from their responses: 1) dietary intake with emphasis on its importance in aiding recovery and its potential influence on cancer complications, 2) childcare which emphasized the need to be strong and self-sacrifice, 3) treatment which reflected the use of home or natural remedies and caregivers' negative perception towards chemotherapy, 4) causes of cancer believed to be linked to early childcare choices on food, beverage, and stress imposed on the child, and 5) source of beliefs that included doctors, online platforms, personal encounters and information on food labels.
CONCLUSION: Caregivers' beliefs are varied and nuanced, formed in a multicultural social background of Malaysia. These findings provide knowledge for future supportive cancer care for patients, their caregivers, and the treatment outcome in the Malaysian context. Nurses, who play an essential role between healthcare professionals and patients and/or their caregivers, can be empowered to provide psychological support, early detection of psychological distress, and exploration of caregiver beliefs, given that the number of clinical psychologists in Malaysia is lacking, and there is greater preference for care to be provided by doctors or nurses.