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Fulltext Occupational stress and personality characteristics: are they related?

Rosnah, I., Azmi, M.T.

Malaysian Journal of Community Health, 2008;14(2):78-85.
MyJurnal

Introduction: To determine association between occupational stress and personality characteristics among nurses at Maternal and Child Health Clinic in the state of Malacca, emphasizing on type of personality and personal perception of stress.
Methods : A cross sectional study was conducted among 152 nurses of Maternal and Child Health Clinics in Malacca using self administered questionnaires and selected via multistage sampling.
Results : This study showed that a total of 28.3% of the nurses were found to be stressed. Almost half (41.2%) of those who perceived that they were stressed were likely to be really stressed (p = 0.004). Therefore those who perceived themselves to be stressed should be referred for stress evaluation and further management if necessary. However selfperception of stress cannot be used as a screening tool for stress due to its lack of sensitivity (56.8%) and poor Positive Predictive Value (41.2%). Majority of the nurses were of Guardians Personality Type (98%) and 72.4% of them had extrovert trait. However there were no significant associations between stress with personality type or characteristic, most probably due to the preponderance of one personality type or characteristic. Other studied variables such as socio-demographic factors (age, gender, ethnicity, religion, marital status, educational level, body mass index, type of work place, position, duration of service and poverty level) and social factors (placement, chronic medical illness, chronic care taker, smoking status and alcohol drinker) were suggestive of an association between them and stress but were not statistically significant.
Conclusion : There is no association between occupational stress and personal characteristics among nurses in Malacca.
Fulltext Towards healthy city Malacca : the community’s satisfaction, expectation and contribution for a healthier city

Rosnah, I., Rohani, J., Farina, Z.

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2004;4(2):12-18.
MyJurnal

The Healthy City concept was taken by Malaysia in 1994 and Malacca State has initiated this project in late 1997 and launched in September 1998. The aim of the project is to had ways of achieving a better quality of urban life. The objective of this study was to assess the views and responses of Melaka Tengah community with regards to the existing facilities and services rendered in the district. The views will be incorporated into ideas for the policymakers and planners to develop Malacca into a healthy city. Three methods were used to collect the data. Questionnaires were given to the community of Melaka Tengah District. The respondents were selected by multistage sampling, Observation was carried out at selected public places to assess the community's practices and contribution, Ten focus group discussion were conducted consisting of health staff and public to discuss on environmental, social, physical and economic issues of Malacca. There were 3 sectors that had mean scores above 3.0 (the cut off level for being satisfed). They were health, housing and environment, ln terms of dissatisfaction, there were 4 sectors scoring below 3.0, These include domestic waste dnposal, road system, public transportation and recreational park. The community
expected the services to be improved especially in terms of cleanliness, They agreed to contribute in their own ways in developing the sectors discussed except for public transportation, wet market and food premises which were beyond their control. Observation showed that some of the community members exhibit bad behaviours that can contribute to an unhealthy city. The Melaka
Tengah community expected ejficient and quality services and they agreed to contribute in making Malacca into a Healthy City.
Fulltext Job stress on abdominal obesity: the moderating effects of anger and overeating behaviour

Rosnah, I., Azmi, M.T., Noor Hassim, I., Idris, M.A.

Malays J Nutr, 2017;23(3):437-448.
MyJurnal

Introduction: Individual differences pertaining to cognitive and affective processes toward job stress stimuli may influence food choice and intake, leading to overeating and obesity. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between job stress and abdominal obesity with anger as a personality trait and overeating as moderators among male workers in Malaysia.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 492 male employees from 33 private companies in various states in Malaysia. The companies and workers were approached by convenience sampling. Workers who fulfilled the study inclusion criteria completed validated questionnaires assessing job stress, anger as a personality trait and overeating, using the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory-Exhaustion, Spielberger Trait Anger Scale and Three Factor Eating Questionnaire-Uncontrolled, respectively. Weight, height and abdominal circumference were taken for each participant. Moderation effect analyses were conducted based on standard multiple regression.

Results: For two-way interaction, a significant curvilinear regression equation was found to predict overeating based on job stress as a predictor and anger as a moderator (β=0.93, SE=0.46, t=2.03, p=0.043). High anger was associated with higher overeating behaviour on exposure to high job stress level (F (7, 484) = 9.36, p
Fulltext Musculoskeletal symptoms among employees in a shared service center in Kuala Lumpur

Jefferelli, S.B., Manai, L., Norbrilliant, M., Hanizah, M.Y., Rosnah, I.

Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, 2016;13(1):11-16.
MyJurnal

Computer work is common at shared service centres and employees are exposed to risk of musculoskeletal symptoms.
Although employees at this service centre had already been advised to complete an ergonomics self assessment using a checklist and
consult an occupational health doctor if symptomatic, almost half participants responded they were either unaware or unsure of the
company’s ergonomics self assessment checklist and all did not mention consulting an occupational health doctor if symptomatic.Most
participants had at least one musculoskeletal symptom. The main location of musculoskeletal symptom reported was shoulder, neck
and lower back. This was consistent with main location of musculoskeletal symptoms reported due to work which were shoulder, neck
and lower back. Most of the musculoskeletal symptoms affected wellbeing at work and almost half were at least moderately severe.
The incorrect posture often observed were: upper arm not close to body, shoulder not relaxed and hand not in-line with forearm..
The musculoskeletal symptoms reported were consistent with observation of incorrect posture. There is an urgent need to enhance the
effectiveness of the ergonomics program at this service centre.
Fulltext Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic: Pahang experience

Sapian, M., Sahhir, K., Rosnah, I., Ardi, A., Rohida, T., Azura, M, et al.

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2010;10(1):62-69.
MyJurnal

On 24th April 2009 the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) alert phase 4 which was later raised to phase 6 on 11th June 2009. By 11th October 2009, 199 countries were affected with 399,232 laboratory confirmed cases resulting in 4735 death. In Pahang, the state and district operation rooms were activated on the 28th April and 5th May 2009 respectively to monitor surveillance, control and preventives measures carried out. This study was done to describe the situation of Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) in Pahang from 28th April 2009 till 10th October 2009 in terms of laboratory confirmed cases and clusters reported, Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) surveillance, Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (sARI) surveillance and health education activities. During the period, 490 laboratory confirmed Influenza A (H1N1) cases were registered with 5 deaths. The age ranges from less than 1 year to 76 years with median of 16 years old. 207 ILI clusters were recorded, 139 (67.5%) were Influenza A (H1N1) clusters. For surveillance activity, 11,570 (2.2%) of outpatient attendances were ILI cases while 966 (2.0 %) of total admissions were sARI cases. There were 14,927 health education activities carried out during the period. The number of people affected by Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) in Pahang reached its peak in mid August 2009 and later showed a downward trend. ILI surveillance was a useful tool to detect Influenza A (H1N1) activity in Pahang.
Study site: Klinik kesihatan, outpatient clinics, hospitals, Pahang, Malaysia
Psychometric properties of the Malay-translated General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire among shipyard workers

Arma N, Rosnah I, Noor Hassim I

Med J Malaysia, 2017 12;72(6):350-355.
PMID: 29308772 MyJurnal

BACKGROUND: The General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPPAQ) is a validated and reliable screening tool to measure the level of physical activity in adults. However, it has never been translated and validated in Malaysian population. This study aimed to translate the GPPAQ into Malay language and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Malay-translated GPPAQ among shipyard workers.
METHODS: The original English version of GPPAQ was translated forward and backward into Malay version by experts. The final version of the Malay-translated GPPAQ was then tested for validity and reliability. A cross-sectional study design was performed and systematic random sampling was used to select respondents. Construct validity and internal consistency of the Malay-translated version were tested using exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha respectively.
RESULTS: Sixty-two male shipyard workers participated in this study. The GPPAQ showed good factor loading values for all items (0.608-0.834). The exploratory principal component factor analysis delineates all seven items into two factors with variance of 41.65%. The Cronbach's alpha value was good with 0.81, 0.84 and 0.76 for total scale, factor 1 and factor 2 respectively.
CONCLUSION: The Malay-translated version of GPPAQ has high psychometric properties. Therefore, it is a valid instrument to assess physical activity among Malaysian working population, particularly in male shipyard workers.
Fulltext A systematic translation and cultural adaptation process for Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R21)

Rosnah I, Noor Hassim I, Shafizah AS

Med J Malaysia, 2013 Oct;68(5):424-34.
PMID: 24632873 MyJurnal

INTRODUCTION: The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire was first constructed to measure eating behavior in an English population in the United States. It has been validated and translated for various populations in different languages. The aim of this article is to describe a systematic process for translating the questionnaire from English to Malay language.

METHODOLOGY: The report of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcome Research (ISPOR) Task Force was used as the basis for the systematic translation process. The process began with preparation; followed by forward translation (2 independent translators), reconciliation, back translation (2 independent translators), back translation review, harmonization, cognitive debriefing, review of cognitive debriefing results and finalization, proofreading; and ended with the final report. Four independent Malay translators who fluent in English and reside in Malaysia were involved in the process. A team of health care researchers had assisted the review of the new translated questionnaires.

RESULTS: Majority of the TFEQ-R21 items were experiencing, conceptually and semantically equivalence between original English and translated English. However, certain phrase such as "feels like bottomless pit" was difficult to translate by forward translators. Cognitive debriefing was a very helpful process to ensure the TFEQ-R21 Malay version was appropriate in term of wording and culturally accepted. A total of four redundant comments in regards to response scale wording, word confusion and wording arrangement.

CONCLUSION: The systematic translation process is a way to reduce the linguistic discrepancies between the English and Malay language in order to promote equivalence and culturally adapted TFEQ-R21 questionnaire.
Effects of hydration practices on the severity of heat-related illness among municipal workers during a heat wave phenomenon

Mansor Z, Rosnah I, Ismail NH, Hashim JH

Med J Malaysia, 2019 08;74(4):275-280.
PMID: 31424033

INTRODUCTION: The continue rise in temperatures due to climate change increases the risk of heat-related illness (HRI) among outdoor workers. This study aims to evaluate the effects of hydration practices on the severity of HRI during a heat wave episode among municipal workers in Negeri Sembilan.
METHOD: A cross-sectional study was performed in March and April 2016. The outdoor temperatures were measured using the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) tool. The participants completed a self-administered questionnaire containing sociodemographic factors prior to work shift; while working profile, hydration practices, and HRI symptoms at the end of work shift. The hydration status of the respondents was assessed by direct observation of their urine colour. Multiple logistic regression was performed to ascertain the effects of age, working profile, hydration practice, history of previous HRI, and hydration status on the likelihood that outdoor workers having moderate to severe HRI.
RESULTS: A total of 320 respondents completed the questionnaire. The mean (standard deviation) outdoor workplace temperature was 30.5°C (SD 0.53°C). The percentage of respondents who experienced moderate to severe HRI was 44.1%. The likelihood that outdoor workers experienced moderate to severe HRI symptoms was associated with irregular fluid intake [odds ratio (OR): 16.11, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 4.11; 63.20]; consumption of non-plain water (OR: 5.92, 95%CI: 2.79; 12.56); dehydration (OR: 3.32, 95%CI: 1.92; 5.74); and increasing outdoor workplace temperature (OR: 1.85, 95%CI: 1.09; 3.11).
CONCLUSION: Irregular drinking pattern and non-plain fluid intake was found to have a large effect on HRI severity among outdoor workers exposed high temperatures during a heat wave phenomenon.
Thirst as the threshold symptom to prevent worsening heat-related illness

Mansor Z, Ismail NH, Rosnah I, Hashim JH

Med J Malaysia, 2019 02;74(1):1-7.
PMID: 30846654

INTRODUCTION: The heat-related illness (HRI) is a continuum illness ranging from minor health effects to life-threatening medical emergencies when the pathological effects of heat load are not prevented. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the threshold HRI symptom for deciding to take simple preventative actions both by the individual workers and employers.
METHOD: A total of 328 municipal workers were enrolled in April to March 2016 were asked to recall if they experienced eleven HRI symptoms during the previous work day. Rasch Measurement Model was used to examine the unidimensional parameters and bias for gender before identifying the threshold of HRI symptoms. We determined the threshold symptom based on the person-item map distribution on a logit ruler value.
RESULTS: A total of 320 respondents were analysed. The psychometric features HRI symptoms suggested evidence of unidimensionality and free of bias for gender (DIF size =0.57; DIF t value =1.03). Based on the person-item map distribution, the thirst item was determined as the threshold item (Cut-off point = -2.17 logit) for the preventative action purposes to group the person as mild and moderate/severe HRI groups.
CONCLUSION: Thirst item is viewed as threshold symptoms between mild and moderate or severe HRI symptoms. It is a reliable symptom to initiate behavioural response to quench the thirst by adequate fluids. Failure to recognise the thirst symptom may lead to devastating unwanted health complications.
Psychosocial stressors at work and well-being of male employees

Noor Dalila IZA, Rosnah I, Ismail NH

Med J Malaysia, 2019 04;74(2):160-167.
PMID: 31079128

INTRODUCTION: Psychosocial stressors appear to alter the state of mind and adoption of overeating behaviour, resulting in high body mass index. This study was conducted to determine the magnitude of psychosocial stressors on male employees' well-being.
METHOD: This study used secondary data retrieved from a cross-sectional study involving 492 male employees' completed data. Eligible participants completed validated questionnaires of the Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC-12) scale, short version Demand Induced Strain Compensation (DISQ 2.1), Oldenburg Burnout Inventory - Emotional Exhaustion domain and the Three Eating Factor Questionnaire (TEFQ) -Uncontrolled Eating domain; assessing psychosocial safety climate, job demands and job resources, emotional exhaustion, and uncontrolled eating behaviour, respectively. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated based on weight and height. The research statistical model was tested by two-steps of assessment replicating partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).
RESULT: The results show that psychosocial stressors (psychosocial safety climate, job demands and job resources) had significant effects on emotional exhaustion (β= -0.149, p=0.004; β= 0.223, p<0.001; β= -0.127, p=0.013). Emotional exhaustion predicted by work stressors may act as a chain reaction which could result in uncontrolled eating (β=0.138, p=0.005) and high BMI (β=0.185, p<0.001). Emotional exhaustion does mediate the relationship between PSC and uncontrolled eating behaviour (β= -0.021 [95% boot CI bias corrected: -0.048, -0.002]).
CONCLUSION: The psychosocial stressors at work are significant factors for emotional exhaustion, which further signifies the positive effect on uncontrolled eating behaviour and BMI among Malaysian male employees.
Pesticide applicators questionnaire content validation: A fuzzy delphi method

Manakandan SK, Rosnah I, Mohd Ridhuan J, Priya R

Med J Malaysia, 2017 08;72(4):228-235.
PMID: 28889134 MyJurnal

BACKGROUND: The most crucial step in forming a set of survey questionnaire is deciding the appropriate items in a construct. Retaining irrelevant items and removing important items will certainly mislead the direction of a particular study. This article demonstrates Fuzzy Delphi method as one of the scientific analysis technique to consolidate consensus agreement within a panel of experts pertaining to each item's appropriateness. This method reduces the ambiguity, diversity, and discrepancy of the opinions among the experts hence enhances the quality of the selected items. The main purpose of this study was to obtain experts' consensus on the suitability of the preselected items on the questionnaire.
METHODS: The panel consists of sixteen experts from the Occupational and Environmental Health Unit of Ministry of Health, Vector-borne Disease Control Unit of Ministry of Health and Occupational and Safety Health Unit of both public and private universities. A set of questionnaires related to noise and chemical exposure were compiled based on the literature search. There was a total of six constructs with 60 items in which three constructs for knowledge, attitude, and practice of noise exposure and three constructs for knowledge, attitude, and practice of chemical exposure. The validation process replicated recent Fuzzy Delphi method that using a concept of Triangular Fuzzy Numbers and Defuzzification process.
RESULTS: A 100% response rate was obtained from all the sixteen experts with an average Likert scoring of four to five. Post FDM analysis, the first prerequisite was fulfilled with a threshold value (d) ≤ 0.2, hence all the six constructs were accepted. For the second prerequisite, three items (21%) from noise-attitude construct and four items (40%) from chemical-practice construct had expert consensus lesser than 75%, which giving rise to about 12% from the total items in the questionnaire. The third prerequisite was used to rank the items within the constructs by calculating the average fuzzy numbers. The seven items which did not fulfill the second prerequisite similarly had lower ranks during the analysis, therefore those items were discarded from the final draft.
CONCLUSION: Post FDM analysis, the experts' consensus on the suitability of the pre-selected items on the questionnaire set were obtained, hence it is now ready for further construct validation process.
Detrimental effects of bisphenol A on development and functions of the male reproductive system in experimental rats

Gurmeet K, Rosnah I, Normadiah MK, Das S, Mustafa AM

EXCLI J, 2014;13:151-60.
PMID: 26417249

Bisphenol A (BPA) is widely used in manufacturing industries. It is commonly detected in the environment and was reported to exert oestrogenic effects which may be harmful to the reproductive system. The present study was carried out to observe the effects of oral administration of BPA on the development of the reproductive organs and plasma sex hormone levels in prepubertal male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Prepubertal male SD rats (n=8 in each group) were administered BPA in the doses of 1, 5, 10 and 100 mg/kg BW (body weight) via oral gavage for a period of 6 weeks. The control animals received the vehicle for BPA (Tween 80 in distilled water). Following 6 weeks of BPA exposure, the rats exhibited less evidence of spermatogenesis. There was seminiferous epithelial damage which included disruption of intercellular junctions and sloughing of germ cells into the seminiferous tubular lumen. Furthermore, the lumina of the seminiferous tubules and the epididymis of these animals were filled with immature germ cells and cellular debris. This damage may lead to the significant reduction in the seminiferous tubular diameter in BPA-treated animals. These findings were associated with the significant lower plasma testosterone and 17β-oestradiol levels. There was no significant difference between the body weight gain, the absolute as well as relative testis weight or epididymal weight of BPA-treated animals when compared to the control animals. The findings provided further evidence of the detrimental effects of BPA on the male reproductive system.
Fulltext A tale of two construct validation analysis: Rasch model and exploratory factor analysis approach for Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R21) among Malaysian male workers

Rosnah I, Mohd Zali MN, Noor Hassim I, Azmi MT

Med J Malaysia, 2015 Jun;70(3):169-76.
PMID: 26248780 MyJurnal

INTRODUCTION: This study aims for construct validation using two approaches, i.e., exploratory factor analysis and Rasch Model.
METHODS: A cross sectional of 313 male workers from multiple worksites had completed self-administered Malay translated version of Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire- R21. Data quality was assessed by misfit person criteria, dimensionality, summary statistic, item measure and rating (partial credit) scale followed by exploratory factor analysis and internal consistency reliability assessment.
RESULTS: The dual approaches of construct validation analysis were complement to each other. Rasch analysis supported the theoretical constructs of three eating behaviour dimensions among respondents. In contrary to exploratory factor analysis, it did show presence of a newfound factor (∝=0.04) came up from the separation of the cognitive restrain and uncontrolled eating however, the correlation between the two respective sub-factors were fair (r=0.39) and weak (r= -0.08). Both analyses had detected three problematic items but those items were psychometrically fit for used for current study setting. The data had adequate psychometric properties. Cronbach's alpha for cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating were 0.66, 0.79 and 0.87 respectively. Rating scale quality was conformed to standard criteria.
CONCLUSION: Malay version TFEQ-R21 with promising psychometric properties and valid measures for eating behaviour dimensions among male workers aged between 20 to 60 years old is now available. Further development should focus on the items in relation to Malaysian cultural adaptation before its use for daily practice in future setting.
Fulltext Needle stick injuries among health care workers in Negeri Sembilan

Mohd Faid AR, Zainudin MA, Yusmah M, Norizah M, Rosnah I

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2005;5(2):10-14.
MyJurnal

Prevention of needle stick injuries (NSI) remained a challenge to the health care workers throughout the world. In Malaysia, efforts to prevent NSI among health care workers has been one ofthe emphases as these injuries may cause serious and potential fatal infections such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV. This retrospective cohort study was done to determine factors related to prevalence of NSI among health care workers in government health facilities in Negeri Sembilan that were reported from 2001 until 2003. There were 101 cases of NSI reported affecting various categories of health staff and also paramedical trainees and medical students. The NSI occurs mostly in females (72.35%), age 30 years or less (73.2%), and trainees of medical or paramedical courses (45.4%). Other characteristics found are as follows: cases had attended SP courses (60.4%) , had less than 5 years in service (78.1%) and mostly never had NSI before (93.1%), However 84.2% of N SI among the respondents that have good and very good knowledge levels on NSI prevention. It is recommended that follow-up or audit on the practice of the Standard Precautions (SP) should be implemented following the training of staff. It is also important that medical trainees or paramedical students be adequately trained on SP before entering the clinical environment.
Individual antecedents of workplace victimisation: The role of negative affect, personality and self-esteem in junior doctors' exposure to bullying at work

Samsudin EZ, Isahak M, Rampal S, Rosnah I, Zakaria MI

Int J Health Plann Manage, 2020 Sep;35(5):1065-1082.
PMID: 32468617 DOI: 10.1002/hpm.2985

Previous studies have indicated that junior doctors commonly experience workplace bullying and that it may adversely impact medical training and delivery of quality healthcare. Yet, evidence on the precursors of bullying among them remains elusive. Drawing on the individual-disposition hypothesis, the present paper examined the relationships of negative affect, personality and self-esteem with workplace bullying among junior doctors. Multilevel analysis of a universal sample (n = 1074) of junior doctors working in the central zone of Malaysia using mixed effects logistic regression was performed. The results indicate that participants with moderate (AOR 4.40, 95% CI 2.20-8.77) and high degree (AOR 13.69, 95% CI 6.46-29.02) of negative affect as well as high degree of neuroticism (AOR 2.99, 95% CI 1.71-5.21) have higher odds of being bullied compared to their counterparts. The findings present evidence that individual traits are associated with junior doctors' exposure to bullying. While victim blaming should be avoided, this suggest that antibullying measures with an interpersonal focus should be considered when developing antibullying initiatives targeted at junior doctors. This includes primary intervention such as cognitive training, secondary interventions such as resource enhancement building and conflict management skills training, and tertiary interventions such as counselling.
Organisational antecedents of workplace victimisation: The role of organisational climate, culture, leadership, support, and justice in predicting junior doctors' exposure to bullying at work

Samsudin EZ, Isahak M, Rampal S, Rosnah I, Zakaria MI

Int J Health Plann Manage, 2020 Jan;35(1):346-367.
PMID: 31659793 DOI: 10.1002/hpm.2926

Workplace bullying is a pervasive phenomenon among junior doctors that may negatively impact their training and abilities to deliver quality healthcare, yet evidence on the factors of bullying among them remains lacking. This study examined the role of organisational climate, culture, leadership, support, and justice in junior doctors' exposure to workplace bullying on the basis of the work environment hypothesis, which suggests that workplace psychosocial factors are the main antecedents of bullying at work. Multilevel analysis of a universal sample (n = 1074) of junior doctors working in the central zone of Malaysia, using mixed effects logistic regression, was conducted. Analysis indicates that junior doctors working in departments with neutral and positive organisational climate, moderate and high degree of clan culture, moderate and high degree of adhocracy culture, moderate degree of hierarchy culture, moderate degree of production and achievement-oriented leadership style, moderate and high degree of organisational support, moderate degree of procedural justice, moderate and high degree of interactional justice, and high degree of distributive justice have lower odds of bullying compared with their counterparts. The results present evidence that all aspects of the organisation influence junior doctors' exposure to bullying and should be considered when developing antibullying initiatives targeted at them.
Workplace Bullying Among Junior Doctors in Malaysia: A Multicentre Cross-Sectional Study

Samsudin EZ, Isahak M, Rampal S, Rosnah I, Zakaria MI

Malays J Med Sci, 2021 Apr;28(2):142-156.
PMID: 33958968 DOI: 10.21315/mjms2021.28.2.13

Background: Research suggests that junior doctors often experience workplace bullying, which may have adverse impacts on medical training and delivery of quality healthcare. However, evidence among local population has not been established. The present study aims to examine the prevalence of workplace bullying among Malaysian junior doctors and explore its associated sociodemographic and employment factors.
Methods: A multicentre cross-sectional study was conducted in 12 government hospitals accredited for housemanship training within the central zone of Malaysia. The study included a total of 1,074 house officers who had been working for at least 6 months in various housemanship rotations. The Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) was used to examine workplace bullying.
Results: The 6-month prevalence of workplace bullying among study participants was 13%. Work-related bullying such as 'being ordered to do work below your level of competence', person-related bullying such as 'being humiliated or ridiculed in connection with your work', and physically intimidating bullying such as 'being shouted at or being the target of spontaneous anger' were commonly reported by study participants. Medical officers were reported to be the commonest perpetrators of negative actions at the workplace. Study participants who graduated from Eastern European medical schools (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 2.27; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.27, 4.07) and worked in surgical-based rotation (AOR 1.83; 95% CI: 1.13, 2.97) had higher odds of bullying compared to those who graduated from local medical schools and worked in medical-based rotation, whereas study participants with good English proficiency (AOR 0.14; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.94) had lower odds of bullying compared to those with poor English proficiency.
Conclusion: The present study shows that workplace bullying is prevalent among Malaysian junior doctors. Considering the gravity of its consequences, impactful strategies should be developed and implemented promptly in order to tackle this serious occupational hazard.
Fulltext Occupational exposure and challenges in tackling M. bovis at human-animal interface: a narrative review

Devi KR, Lee LJ, Yan LT, Syafinaz AN, Rosnah I, Chin VK

Int Arch Occup Environ Health, 2021 08;94(6):1147-1171.
PMID: 33725176 DOI: 10.1007/s00420-021-01677-z

Zoonotic tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis), a member of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) has increasingly gathered attention as a public health risk, particularly in developing countries with higher disease prevalence. M. bovis is capable of infecting multiple hosts encompassing a number of domestic animals, in particular cattle as well as a broad range of wildlife reservoirs. Humans are the incidental hosts of M. bovis whereby its transmission to humans is primarily through the consumption of cattle products such as unpasteurized milk or raw meat products that have been contaminated with M. bovis or the transmission could be due to close contact with infected cattle. Also, the transmission could occur through aerosol inhalation of infective droplets or infected body fluids or tissues in the presence of wound from infected animals. The zoonotic risk of M. bovis in humans exemplified by miscellaneous studies across different countries suggested the risk of occupational exposure towards M. bovis infection, especially those animal handlers that have close and unreserved contact with cattle and wildlife populations These animal handlers comprising of livestock farmers, abattoir workers, veterinarians and their assistants, hunters, wildlife workers as well as other animal handlers are at different risk of contracting M. bovis infection, depending on the nature of their jobs and how close is their interaction with infected animals. It is crucial to identify the underlying transmission risk factors and probable transmission pathways involved in the zoonotic transmission of M. bovis from animals to humans for better designation and development of specific preventive measures and guidelines that could reduce the risk of transmission and to protect these different occupational-related/populations at risk. Effective control and disease management of zoonotic tuberculosis caused by M. bovis in humans are also hindered by various challenges and factors involved at animal-human interface. A closer look into factors affecting proper disease control and management of M. bovis are therefore warranted. Hence, in this narrative review, we have gathered a number of different studies to highlight the risk of occupational exposure to M. bovis infection and addressed the limitations and challenges underlying this context. This review also shed lights on various components and approaches in tackling M. bovis infection at animal-human interface.
Fulltext Is knowledge and awareness of needle stick injury among future healthcare providers sufficient?

Hamzah FH, Zarith NZ, Nawal Syakirah AW, Najwa Khairiah S, Kylie AE, Ida, Z.Z. ZZ, et al.

Malaysian Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2018;3(1):0-0.
MyJurnal

Future healthcare providers are facing the threat of needle stick injuries (NSIs) with the consequent risk of acquiring blood borne diseases. A cross sectional study was conducted from May 2017 to September 2017 among 327 students including medical, nursing and paramedic students from Faculty of Medicine UKM. This study aimed to determine the level of knowledge and awareness among students during their clinical years. A validated questionnaire was delivered via convenience sampling. Data was analyzed using SPSS 23 software and one sample t-test was used to compare with the standard setting value. The mean age of respondents was 23.32±2.37. The knowledge and awareness were significantly higher in both paramedic (knowledge (10.71 ± 1.64, p<0.001), awareness (5.50 ± 0.86, p<0.001), and nursing (knowledge (9.94 ± 1.38, p<0.001), awareness (5.35 ± 1.07, p<0.001) students as compared to standard setting, respectively. Meanwhile for medical students there was no significant difference in knowledge (9.95 ± 1.39, p=0.589) but significant difference in awareness (5.87 ± 1.03, p<0.001) compared to standard setting. The prevalence of NSIs was 8.3% with majority having at least one incident (85.2%) and main exposure is during medical posting (77.8%) during procedure needle recapping (70.4%) using hollow needle (63%). Incident of NSIs were mostly not reported (74.1%). Despite a significant good result on knowledge and awareness, the incidence of NSIs is alarming. Therefore, preventive steps need to be taken by the university to avoid the occurrence.
Keyword: Knowledge, Awareness, Students, Needle Stick Injury (NSI), Cross-sectional study
Study site: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
Firefighter satisfaction and happiness at work: how big is the effect?

Muthukumaran M, Mohd Nadzrul Safiq AR, Rosnah I, Nor Hisham M, Ashrul Riezal A, Ismail AG

Med J Malaysia, 2023 May;78(3):287-295.
PMID: 37271837

INTRODUCTION: Firefighter satisfaction plays a crucial role in overall workplace happiness. We seek to quantify the effect size of firefighters' satisfaction with happiness at work after adjusting for socio-demographic attributes.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study used data from an online cross-sectional survey that was conducted from 24 June to 24 July 2021 in the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia. Firefighters were approached using the saturation sampling technique. They received online surveys via email through the Director of State and follow-up reminders through the Assistant Director of State Operations. A total of two filter questionnaires were employed i.e. type and duration of service. Firefighters stating that they were volunteer/auxiliary firefighters or had been in service for 2 years or less were excluded. In this study, data from 6041 out of 8581 firefighters were included for further analysis. The survey utilised the validated staff satisfaction index (SSI) and the happy career (HC) scale for in-service firefighters. SSI was a dual-dimension index consisting of welfare and protection against hazards at work, with 16 subdimensions. The HC is a five multi-dimensional items scale. Then, we used multiple linear regression to obtain the coefficient of determination while adjusting for age groups, gender, marital status, job grade, years of service and region of service.
RESULTS: A total of 6041 eligible data points were analysed in the study. The mean (±SD) age was 38.70 (8.97) years, of which 95.9% were male. The firefighters were in service for a median of 14 years (Q1, Q3: 8, 21). The firefighter reported higher life satisfaction (mean [SD] = 78.30 [9.15]) than happiness at work (mean [SD] = 77.22 [0.20]). The mean happiness scores differed significantly between years of service groups (p<0.001), region of service (p<0.001), marital status (p=0.029) and grade (p<0.001). Firefighters' satisfaction contributed 42.7% of workplace happiness (βadj=1.096 [95% CI: 1.064, 1.128]; p<0.001) after adjusting for frontline, married, the central region of service and male gender as control variables.
CONCLUSION: Firefighter satisfaction had a large effect size on happiness at work (42.7%). However, the interpretation of this effect size should be done with caution because happiness at work is inseparable from other life dimensions such as stability in matrimonial relationships and finances, involvement in leisure and religious activities and being mentally healthy.

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