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  1. Fulltext Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child malnutrition in Selangor, Malaysia: A pilot study
    Rahman A, Othman N, Kuddus MA, Hasan MZ
    J Infect Public Health, 2024 May;17(5):833-842.
    PMID: 38547630 DOI: 10.1016/j.jiph.2024.02.019
    BACKGROUND: Child malnutrition risk factors are globally recognized, but the specific impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence of child malnutrition, considering socioeconomic burdens and changes in family lifestyles, remains underexplored. This study aims to identify the significance of COVID-19-related factors in relation to the prevalence of child malnutrition in Selangor, Malaysia.

    METHODS: Purposive sampling was employed in this pilot study to select the households with under-5 children and, a structured questionnaire was developed to gather data. Chi-squared tests, logistic regression modelling and World Health Organisation AnthroPlus software-based visualization were used for analyses.

    RESULTS: The present study's findings indicate that demographic and social factors, including 'Citizenship,' 'Type of House,' 'Number of Earning Members,' 'Father's Highest Educational Level,' and 'Number of Children in a Family,' have a statistically significant association with Wasting. Additionally, the mother's 'Highest Educational Level' is found to be linked to underweight prevalence. Within COVID-19 factors, "COVID-19 Impact on Employment/Business" demonstrated significance for both stunting and wasting. Multivariate analysis revealed disparities in childhood malnutrition by gender, age, and factors such as "COVID-19 impact on children's physical activity" and "COVID-19 impact on children's decrease in health over the last two weeks."

    CONCLUSIONS: This study identified COVID-19 factors alongside sociodemographic variables with statistically significant relationships impacting childhood malnutrition in Selangor, Malaysia. The results underscored the substantial influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on child malnutrition prevalence. Decision-makers at family and community levels can benefit by considering these factors in their actions. However, the study's limitation lay in its dataset, urging larger-scale analyses to explore further sub-categories of the examined variables.

  2. Fulltext The impact of triple doses vaccination and other interventions for controlling the outbreak of COVID-19 cases and mortality in Australia: A modelling study
    Rahman A, Kuddus MA, Paul AK, Hasan MZ
    Heliyon, 2024 Feb 29;10(4):e25945.
    PMID: 38384567 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25945
    COVID-19 is a significant public health problem around the globe, including in Australia. Despite this, Australia's Ministry of Health has expanded COVID-19 control measures widely, logistical trials exist, and the disease burden still needs more clarity. One of the best methods to comprehend the dynamics of disease transmission is by mathematical modeling of COVID-19, which also makes it possible to quantify factors in many places, including Australia. In order to understand the dynamics of COVID-19 in Australia, we examine a mathematical modeling framework for the virus in this study. Australian COVID-19 actual incidence data from January to December 2021 was used to calibrate the model. We also performed a sensitivity analysis of the model parameters and found that the COVID-19 transmission rate was the primary factor in determining the basic reproduction number (R0). Gradually influential intervention policies were established, with accurate effect and coverage regulated with the help of COVID-19 experts in Australia. We simulated data for the period from April 2022 to August 2023. To ascertain which of these outcomes is most effective in lowering the COVID-19 burden, we here assessed the COVID-19 burden (as shown by the number of incident cases and mortality) under a range of intervention scenarios. Regarding the policy of single intervention, the fastest and most efficient way to lower the incidence of COVID-19 is via increasing the first-dose immunization rate, while an improved treatment rate for the afflicted population is also helps to lower mortality in Australia. Furthermore, our results imply that integrating more therapies at the same time increases their efficacy, particularly for mortality, which significantly reduced with a moderate effort, while lowering the number of COVID-19 instances necessitates a major and ongoing commitment.
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