Pengetahuan mengenai pendedahan plumbum (Pb) di kalangan kanak-kanak masih kurang baik di kalangan ibu bapa di Malaysia. Tujuan utama kajian ini adalah untuk menterjemahkan versi Bahasa Inggeris Chicago Lead Knowledge Test (CLKT) yang asal ke dalam Bahasa Melayu (bahasa tempatan) dan disesuaikan dengan latar belakang budaya negara ini. Langkah-langkah terjemahan adalah sistematik dan berdasarkan ‘International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcome Research’ (ISPOR) iaitu persediaan, terjemahan ke depan, perangkuman, terjemahan mundur, penilaian terjemahan mundur, penyelarasan, pembahasan kognitif, penilaian pembahasan kognitif dan semakan akhir, pembacaan pruf, dan laporan akhir. Jumlah item adalah kekal 24, di mana satu item dihapus, satu item disemak semula, dan satu item ditambah ke dalam borang soalan kaji selidik. Keempat-empat tema iaitu pengetahuan umum, pendedahan, pencegahan dan pemakanan dalam soal selidik ini dikekalkan. Skala respon, skema jawapan, dan sistem pemarkahan adalah tetap sama. Sebilangan besar item mempunyai terjemahan langsung ke bahasa Melayu kecuali item 5, 7, 12, 20, dan 22. Purata (+SD) dan julat interkuartil (IQR) untuk skor keseluruhan pengetahuan adalah 9.50 + 2.45 markah dan 5 markah masing-masing. Skor terendah adalah 4 markah dan skor tertinggi ialah 13 markah. Ini merupakan satu-satunya kajian yang menggunakan pendekatan sistematik dan standard dalam terjemahan dan penyesuaian budaya di Malaysia. Terjemahan CLKT dan penyesuaian budaya di Malaysia akan menyumbang kepada penyelidikan semasa yang lain terutamanya mengenai pendedahan Pb di kalangan kanak-kanak.
Introduction: This study aimed to explore the associated factors related to causes of stress and coping strategies among university students. Materials and Methods: As a focus group discussion, it was universal sampling, conducted among 39 of Medical Science and Biomedicine students on their second semester from Management and Science University (MSU), Shah Alam, Malaysia. Three issues were discussed: firstly, how they define the stress; secondly, what the most important causes of stress in their life are; and thirdly, how they cope with stress. Verbal consent was obtained from all participants. Due to the small sample size, the data was analyzed manually. Results: Total of participants were 39 students, their age ranged from 21 to 26 years. Seventeen (43.6%) of the students were 21 years old and the majority were female 31 (79.5%). The
most important causes of stress reported by the students were financial, lack of sleep, and family problems. In terms of coping with stress, the students were able to describe a variety of strategies to cope with their stressful situations. These included counseling services, doing meditation, sharing of problems, getting adequate sleep, and going out with friends. Conclusion: Most of the students defined stress as “a mental condition”. Lack of sleep, financial, and family problems were the most causes of stress among students. The students were able to identify some strategies to cope with stress.
Introduction : The purpose of this study was to determine the quality of life (QOL) of breast cancer survivors based on socio-demographic and clinical characteristics.
Methods : A cross-sectional study was performed on 125 breast cancer survivors from the outpatient clinics. FACT-B (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast) questionnaire was used to assess survivors’ QOL.
Results : Survivors with low body mass index (BMI) (underweight) were found to have the lowest overall QOL. Those who were overweight had a higher overall QOL, and those who were normal-weight had the highest QOL. Low educational level, being underweight and low monthly household income were significantly associated with lower overall QOL Tamoxifen use and employment status were significantly associated with QOL in some domains. Time since diagnosis to QOL interview was significantly associated with greater scores in emotional well-being (EWB). Multiple linear regression indicated that age, marital status, monthly household income, surgery and histological grade were indicative of the patients QOL.
Conclusion : The four primary factors related to better QOL were high educational level, high income, normal body weight and greater duration from the time of diagnosis to the time of interview. Age, marital status, income, lumpectomy and histological grade were indicative of the patient QOL.
Study site: Oncology and Surgical clinics; Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Malnutrition is associated with childhood diseases such as diarrhea or other severe illness. Children who suffer from
repeated episodes of diarrhea are more likely to suffer from malnutrition. In addition, the source of drinking water is
a very important factor affecting the nutritional status. The objective of this study was to find out the prevalence of
malnutrition condition among children aged 3 to 5 years old and the factors associated with it. A cross sectional study
using simple random sampling was conducted among 220 children aged 3 to 5 years old from four kindergartens in
Baghdad city, Iraq. Nutritional assessment was carried out using the indicator weight-for-age z-score based on World
Health Organization cut off points. Acute malnutrition was found in 18.2 % of the respondents. In this study 65 % of
the respondents used tap water to drink as compared to 35 % who used sterilized bottles as source of drinking water.
The environmental factors mainly the source of drinking water was significantly associated with child nutritional
status (p=0.034). The prevalence of diarrhea and admissions to the hospital due to diarrhea were also significantly
associated with malnutrition (p < 0.01, p
Breast self-examination (BSE) is recommended globally as one of the methods in early detection of breast cancer. Little is known about nurses screening behavior related to BSE. A cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the knowledge, attitude and practice of Breast Self Examination (BSE) among nurses. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to a total of 114 nurses working in Obstetrics & Gynaecology wards and clinics of two tertiary hospitals. Among the 114 participants, 111(97.4%) practiced BSE. The mean age of the participants was 34.97(±9.104) years. The mean score of knowledge was 11.07(±1.020) and 81.1% had high knowledge of BSE. Majority (98.2%) of respondents showed good attitude towards BSE. Barriers was found to be a significant predictor and self confidence proved to be an influencing factor on BSE performance. Despite practicing BSE, the number of nurses that examined their breast monthly was only 35.1%. Age, working experience and marital status showed no significant relationship with knowledge and practice of BSE. However, BSE taught during their undergraduate programme was found to have a significant relationship with practice of BSE. Majority of nurses in this study were not complying with MOH recommendation for BSE in terms of frequency. Thus, intervention strategies should focus on educating nurses on performing BSE monthly, in accordance with the Ministry of Health guidelines. This is important as nurses play a primary role in promoting health behaviors in BSE practice and breast cancer awareness among women in this country.
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
Goitre prevalence and mental performance were determined amongst the Aborigines in Sinderut, a remote rural area in Pahang. A total of 196 subjects aged 4 to 60 years old were selected for study. Goitre status was determined by an experienced endocrinologist using classification suggested by World Health Organization; while mental performance was measured using Raven's test (Oxford Psychologists Press). Blood specimen was also taken for thyroxine (T4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) measurement. It was found that goitre prevalence was 26.5% (52/196); with visible goitre prevalence of 42.3% (22152). The overall mean of goitre volume was 21.4 ± 19.1 ml (range: 3.0 - 90.8 ml), while the prevalence of mental performance for the percentile value of more than 5.0 was 26.5% (range: 5.0 - 50.0). Mean thyroxine levels was 75.4 ± 19.3 nmol/L (range: 19.9 - 138.1 nmol/ L) while mean levels of thyroid stimulating hormone was 4.9 ± 3.2 mU/L (range: 0.4 - 18.9 mU/L). There was no significant correlation between hormone levels and mental performance score (Pearson Correlation; T4 : r=-0.002, p=0.9736; TSH : r=0.10, p=0.1843). goitre volume and mental performance score (Pearson Correlation; r=-0.02, p=0.8395). Goitre prevalence of more than 20% in this area indicates a moderate endemia, while mental performance showed a low thinking level in the Aborigines particularly those who lived in remote areas.