Home Care Nursing Program (HCNP) at HUKM was started in 1998 and evaluation of the program was required. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of HCNP on stroke rehabilitation at HUKM. A retrospective study using a matched pair design involving 69 stroke patients admitted to HUKM from August 1998 to December 2000 was carried out. The participants of this study were the HCNP group (n=35), and Non- HCNP (n=34). The matching was based on five criteria; age, sex, race, data of admission and severity of disability. The HCNP group was identified through data at the HCNP unit and their medical reports were traced. For the Non-HCNP group, the participants were identified based on criteria which were similar to that of the HCNP group. Based on the criteria identified, there was no significant difference between the two groups. The Activities of Daily Living was measured using the Modified Barthel Index twice; once on admission (based on record) and one post stroke. The t-test was applied to parametric data and non-parametric data; Chi-square was used to detect any significant relationships between the scores of the two groups. Results showed no significant difference (p=0.1990) in ADL on admission and ADL post stroke patients between the two groups. However, there were significant difference (HCNP p=0.000 and Non-HCNP p=0.000) in ADL on admission and post stroke for stroke patients who sought alternative treatment compared to those who had not.
Quality of life after acute coronary heart disease amongst patients is important outcome factor in deliberations of patient's care. The main aim of the study was to examine the quality of life amongst acute CHD patients.
There is paucity of literature on the measurement of the quality of life in post stroke patients in the developing countries. The main objective of this study was to determine the quality of life (QOL) of post stroke patients.
Sharps injury among health care workers in HUKM has received serious attention lately due to the possible transmission of diseases like HIV, Hepatits B and Hepatitis C, which can cause serious consequences for the victim. The aim of the study was to gain a deeper understanding of the emotional problems experienced by health care workers who had incurred a sharps injury and the coping strategies adopted by them to overcome the problem. A 28 item semi-structured questionnaire was designed by the supervisors and the researcher as there was no existing questionnaire to be adopted, as no research had been carried out in this area prior to this. The target group consisted of 64 health care workers of different categories working in HUKM. Data was collected over a period of five months from November 2000 to March 2001. The results of the study revealed that the most frequently injured were the staff nurses, nearly 90% of whom were emotionally upset and were worried that they might contract a disease. There was no significant difference in the emotional stress experienced by the different categories of the health care workers, all were equally upset about the injury but each category of staff adopted different methods to overcome the tragedy. Open comments and opinions about prevention and the management of the sharps injury in HUKM as given by the respondents here are taken into account. Several views given by the participants were explored and discussed. Finally, several implications for nursing and recommendations have been presented.
Study site: Wards and the general operating theatres in Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
BACKGROUND AND AIMS:
Diabetic foot ulcer is one of the major health problems that accounts for increased morbidity among the diabetic patients. Having good knowledge, good attitude and practice of managing the foot prevents the impending chronic co-morbidities of the disease.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
This cross-sectional study was performed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice on foot care among the newly diagnosed diabetic type 2 patients with low education and socio economic background. This study was conducted in one of the out patient clinics in a tertiary hospital. A set of questionnaire adopted from The Michigan Diabetes Research and Training Center (MDRTC), was used to assess 109 respondents based on their knowledge of diabetes mellitus, practice and attitude towards the condition and care of the feet.
RESULTS:
The overall finding on knowledge, practice and attitude had shown unsatisfactory result. There was no relationship between the knowledge, practice and attitude with care of the feet. Only 20 (18.3%) respondents had a high score on knowledge, 31 (28.4%) had practiced good habits and 5 (4.6%) showed positive attitude towards care of the feet. However, there was significant finding on the level of education and the knowledge of foot care (p=0.01);
CONCLUSION:
Strategies should be developed to overcome the longterm complications. As for the Muslim patients, ablution, the ritual practice of washing and cleaning both feet prior to the prayers may be a possible means of checking the feet for any diabetic foot complication.