METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey conducted during the 15th Family Medicine Scientific Conference in June 2011 using the Warr-Cook-Wall scales. The questionnaires included demography and work-related items and were self-distributed and returned at the end of the conference. Independent risk factors were identified using multiple linear regressions.
RESULTS: A total of 149 conference participants completed the survey, with a response rate of 33.1%. They were mainly females (85.2%), Malay (83.2%), and married (83.9%) in almost equal proportions of practice location (urban 57.8% and rural 42.2%). Majority of them were working at community-based health clinics (74.0%) and in public sectors (94.4%). The respondents were mainly doctors (91.4%). The mean age of the participants was 39.1 years (SD 8.0), with a mean duration of service of 9 years (SD 6.9). Family medicine specialty (FMSt) residents had lower job satisfaction (B = -8.0, 95% CI -14.61 to -1.40, p = 0.02). Family medicine specialists (FMSs) had higher satisfaction with working conditions (B = 1.95, 95% CI 0.50 to 3.41, p = 0.01). A male worker had on average 2.8 (95% CI -4.7 to -0.9, p = 0.005) lower points in the total intrinsic job motivation scale. There was a positive relationship between the duration of working and job motivation (B = 0.10, 95% CI 0.004 to 0.2, p = 0.04).
CONCLUSION: FMSt residents might have the least job satisfaction, but FMSs were generally satisfied with their working conditions regardless of the location of their clinics. Men and those who were novice in primary healthcare may need more support for motivation.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional validation study among 159 T2DM patients attending a public primary care clinic in Selangor. The DMOQ English version underwent adaptation, translation, face validation and field testing to produce the Malay version. Psychometric analysis was performed using Exploratory Factor Analysis, internal consistency and testretest reliability.
RESULTS: The DMOQ domains were conceptually equivalent between English and Malay language. A total of 13 items and two domains were removed during the validation process (three items during the content validation, three items due to poor factor loadings, five items as they loaded onto two domains which were not interpretable, one item as it did not fit conceptually into the factor it loaded onto and one openended question as it did not fit into the retained domains). Therefore, the final DMOQ Malay version consisted of 21- items within five domains. The Cronbach alpha was 0.714 and the intraclass-correlation coefficient was 0.868.
CONCLUSION: The DMOQ Malay version is a valid and reliable tool which is consistent over time. It can be used to examine the perception of T2DM patients towards the risk of their offspring developing diabetes and possibility of intervention in Malay-speaking patients.
METHODS: A cross-sectional contingent valuation study on 571 Malaysians was conducted to elicit respondents' WTP value via bidding game approach. A double-bounded dichotomous choice was used in 3 hypothetical scenarios: innovative diabetes medicine, innovative oncology medicine one-off (IOMO), and innovative oncology medicine insurance. Univariate logistic regression was used to determine the factors affecting respondent's WTP, whereas the mean WTP value and the factors affecting amount to WTP was determined using a parametric 2-part model.
RESULTS: This study received 95% response rate. The mean age of the respondents is 48 years (SD 17) with majority of the respondents female (60.3%) and from ethnic Malay (62%). About 343 (64.7%) of the respondents expressed WTP for IOMO. Those in higher income bracket were willing to pay more for the access of IOMO than the overall WTP mean value (P = .046, coefficient 351.57).
CONCLUSIONS: More than half of Malaysian are willing to pay for IOMO at mean value of Malaysian Ringgit 279.10 (US dollar 66.77). Collaborative funding mechanisms and appropriate financial screening among the stakeholders could be introduced as methods to expedite the access of innovative oncology medicine among patients with cancer in Malaysia.
METHODS: A total of 28 employees participated in a six-month-long obesity health programme, which consisted of two weekly unsupervised exercise sessions and monthly dietary/health education sessions. The physical fitness and body fat percentages of participants were assessed at the baseline and after six months, using SPSS version 20.0.
RESULTS: The participants were 31.6 years (SD 8.2) of age, and had a BMI of 27.6 kg/m(2) (SD 3.2). The Wilcoxon test showed significant differences in body fat percentage (P = 0.010), gross maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max, P = 0.014), partial curl up repetition (P = 0.001) and sit and reach distance (P = 0.005). However, no significant effects were observed on body mass (P = 0.193), self-perceived level of physical activity (P = 0.145) or behaviour toward exercise (P = 0.393).
CONCLUSION: The worksite health programme successfully improved the physical fitness and body fat percentages of subjects, despite not improving the subjects' self-perceptions with regard to physical activity.