METHODS: An interventional study was conducted in 121 antenatal women selected through systematic random sampling between June and December 2010. Baseline knowledge of, attitude towards, and practice of pelvic floor muscle exercise were assessed using self-administered validated questionnaires at first visit and at 2 months postpartum. All participants attended two exercise education classes on their next two visits before delivery. A paired ttest and multivariate analysis were used for data evaluation.
RESULTS: The mean pre-intervention scores for knowledge, attitudes, and practice were 24.98, 24.25, and 3.51, respectively, with statistically significant mean score increments after intervention (P<0.001). The mean differences were 4.67 (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.86-5.49), 3.77 (95% CI, 3.05-4.50) and 3.45 (95% CI, 2.90-4.00) for knowledge, attitudes, and practice, respectively. Lack of baseline information on pelvic floor muscle exercise was significantly associated with practice change following an educational class.
CONCLUSION: Education is effective in improving knowledge of, attitude towards, and practice of pelvic floor muscle exercise. There is a need for greater effort to increase exercise awareness in our community, especially during antenatal class.
METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted from December 2014 to April 2015. The home blood pressure monitoring group used an automatic blood pressure device along with standard hypertension outpatient care. Patients were seen at baseline and after 2 months. Medication adherence was measured using a novel validated Medication Adherence Scale (MAS) questionnaire. Office blood pressure and MAS were recorded at both visits. The primary outcomes included evaluation of mean office blood pressure and MAS within groups and between groups at baseline and after 2 months.
RESULTS: Mean changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and MAS differed significantly within groups. The home blood pressure monitoring group showed greater mean changes (SBP 17.6 mm Hg, DBP 9.5 mm Hg, MAS 1.5 vs. SBP 14.3 mm Hg, DBP 6.4 mm Hg, MAS 1.3), while between group comparisons showed no significant differences across all variables. The adjusted mean difference for mean SBP was 4.74 (95% confidence interval [CI], -0.65 to 10.13 mm Hg; P=0.084), mean DBP was 1.41 (95% CI, -2.01 to 4.82 mm Hg; P=0.415), and mean MAS was 0.05 (95% CI, -0.29 to 0.40 mm Hg; P=0.768).
CONCLUSION: Short-term home blood pressure monitoring significantly reduced office blood pressure and improved medication adherence, albeit similarly to standard care.
METHODS: A total of 171 women admitted for elective cesarean delivery at two tertiary hospitals in Kelantan, Malaysia, participated in this study. On day two after cesarean delivery, face-to-face interviews were conducted with the mothers to get information on feeding practice. Descriptive statistics, including simple and multiple logistic regressions, were used for data analysis.
RESULTS: Seventy-three percent of mothers initiated breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth. Approximately 15.8% and 10.5% of mothers initiated breastfeeding within 24 hours and ≥24 hours, respectively. Skin-to-skin contact between mothers and their infants occurred in 77.8% of cases after cesarean delivery. Breastfeeding initiation was significantly associated with skin-to-skin contact (odds ratio [OR], 14.42; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.58-58.06), mothers who exclusively breastfed during hospitalization (OR, 36.37; 95% CI, 5.60-236.24), and infants who were not sleepy during attempts at breastfeeding (OR, 5.17; 95% CI, 1.32-20.21).
CONCLUSION: Based on our results, it is possible to increase the proportion of mothers initiating breastfeeding within 1 hour among women who undergo elective cesarean delivery. Therefore, it is important that health practitioners educate women beginning in the antenatal period who plan to undergo cesarean delivery by emphasizing the importance of early initiation of breastfeeding.
METHODS: A qualitative study using narrative inquiry was conducted at a public primary care clinic. Ten participants with type 2 diabetes of more than a 1-year duration were selected through purposive sampling. In-depth interviews were conducted using a semi-structured protocol guide and were audio-taped. The interviews were transcribed and the texts were analyzed using a thematic approach with the Atlas.ti ver. 8.0 software (Scientific Software Development GmbH, Berlin, Germany).
RESULTS: Three themes emerged from the analysis. The first theme, "Initial reactions toward diabetes," described the early impression of diabetes encompassing negative emotions, feeling of acceptance, a lack of concern, and low level of perceived efficacy. "Process of discovery" was the second overarching theme marking the journey of participants in finding the exact truth about diabetes and learning the consequences of ignoring their responsibility in diabetes care. The third theme, "Making the right decision," highlighted that fear initiated a decision-making process and together with goal-setting paved the way for participants to reach a turning point, moving toward engagement in their care.
CONCLUSION: Our findings indicated that fear could be a motivator for change, but a correct cognitive appraisal of diabetes and perceived efficacy of the treatment as well as one's ability are essentially the pre-requisites for patients to reach the stage of having the intention to engage.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study conducted in 2016 involving 388 late adolescents from six government colleges in Kelantan, Malaysia, aged 18 to 19 years. They were requested to answer self-directed questionnaires with items on sociodemographic information and types of ATNP used. Other variables obtained include the environmental influence and reasons for using the products. Regression analyses between the dependent and independent variables were conducted using IBM SPSS ver. 20.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).
RESULTS: The prevalence of ATNP use among late adolescents was 14.4%. The male sex, cigarette smoking status, and peer use were significantly associated with ATNP use. Several reasons for use were not significantly associated with ATNP use: perception of ATNP being less harmful and less addictive compared with cigarettes, curiosity, less expensive than cigarettes, to aid smoking cessation, and pleasurable flavors and taste.
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of ATNP use among late adolescents studying in government colleges in Kelantan is significant. There is higher perception on ATNP being less harmful and addictive than the conventional cigarette among the users compared with non-users. Significant associations are seen for the male sex, peer use, and concurrent cigarette smoking.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in January 2019 among adolescents aged 10-19 years attending four designated health clinics in the northeastern state of Peninsular Malaysia. The test for Cronbach's α was performed to determine the internal consistency reliability.
RESULTS: There were a total of 85 adolescent clients involved in this study. The mean age of respondents was 15.6 years. The majority of respondents were female, Malay, students, and had attained a secondary level of education. The mean total satisfaction score was 78.35. The internal consistency reliability according to the Cronbach's α of the domain was 0.854, which is considered highly reliable. The corrected item-total correlation for the domain was acceptable as it was ≥0.4.
CONCLUSION: The Malay version of the Malaysian Ministry of Health's Adolescent Client Satisfaction Questionnaire has excellent internal consistency reliability. Therefore, it may be recommended as a tool to measure the satisfaction level among adolescents attending health clinics in Malaysia.