OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the association between wheezing symptoms among toddlers attending DCCs and indoor particulate matter, PM10, PM2.5, and microbial count level in urban DCCs in the District of Seremban, Malaysia.
METHODS: Data collection was carried out at 10 DCCs located in the urban area of Seremban. Modified validated questionnaires were distributed to parents to obtain their children's health symptoms. The parameters measured were indoor PM2.5, PM10, carbon monoxide, total bacteria count, total fungus count, temperature, air velocity, and relative humidity using the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health analytical method.
RESULTS: All 10 DCCs investigated had at least one indoor air quality parameter exceeding the acceptable level of standard guidelines. The prevalence of toddlers having wheezing symptoms was 18.9%. There was a significant different in mean concentration of PM2.5 and total bacteria count between those with and those without wheezing symptoms (P = 0.02, P = 0.006).
CONCLUSIONS: Urban DCCs are exposed to many air pollutants that may enter their buildings from various adjacent sources. The particle concentrations and presence of microbes in DCCs might increase the risk of exposed children for respiratory diseases, particularly asthma, in their later life.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will use a mixed-method research design. The study will be conducted in Costal Hadhramout in three phases. Phase 1 will involve a situational analysis using secondary data from records of the national expanded immunisation programme in Costal Hadhramout to examine the trend for previous years. Phase 2 will be a quantitative study aimed at assessing the prevalence of vaccination status of children aged <2 years and the determinants of parental vaccine hesitancy perception through a validated questionnaire. Lastly, phase 3 will be a qualitative study that explores vaccine hesitancy in Yemen using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with parents and healthcare providers, respectively.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has been approved by the Research Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, University Kebangsaan Malaysia. The findings will be disseminated via publication in peer-reviewed academic journals, academic conferences and public presentations.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to validate the Individual Community Related Empowerment (ICRE) scale in alignment with the national language of Malaysia.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted from May to December 2019. Back-to-back translation from the English to Malay version of the ICRE scale was done. A total of 328 older persons aged 60 years old and above who attended clinics and understood Malay had been randomly selected. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), particularly Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation and Kaiser Normalization, was performed in this study using IBM SPSS version 27 Amos graphic.
RESULTS: The findings revealed that the Malay version of the Individual Community Related Empowerment (ICRE-m) scale consists of five components: self-efficacy, intention, participation, motivation, and critical awareness, which collectively accounted for 92.3% of total variance. All five components demonstrated Cronbach's alpha values greater than 0.7, indicating the reliability of the selected items for field studies.
CONCLUSION: The ICRE-m scale is acceptable for field studies and valid for measuring individual-related community empowerment. Nurses and other healthcare professionals can employ this scale specifically within the Malay-speaking population, particularly in the Asian region. Future studies on community empowerment among older individuals can utilize this tool to assess community readiness for participating in community health interventions.
OBJECTIVE: This review aimed to identify self-care approaches, domains, and their effectiveness for a proper self-care educational guide package for women with GDM.
DESIGN: A systematic review using electronic literature databases published between January 2016 and December 2022 was conducted.
DATA SOURCES: Web of Science, Scopus, and Ovid databases were used.
REVIEW METHODS: This review utilized the PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcomes) framework to screen the retrieved articles for eligibility in which mothers with GDM, educational materials, standard practice or intervention, and effectiveness were considered the PICO, respectively. The CIPP (Context, Input, Process, Product) model served as a framework for adopting the education development model. Mixed methods appraisal tool was used for quality assessment. Data extraction and synthesis without meta-analysis were presented as evidence tables.
RESULTS: A total of 19 articles on GDM were included in the final analysis (16 Intervention studies, two qualitative studies, and one mixed-methods study). Four broad domains emerged from the analysis: 1) information or knowledge of GDM, 2) monitoring of blood glucose levels, 3) practice of healthy lifestyles, and 4) other non-specific activities. The majority of the articles employed a face-to-face approach in executing the educational group sessions, and most studies disclosed their positive effects on GDM management. Other methods of evaluating intervention effectiveness were described as improved self-care behavior, increased satisfaction score, enhanced self-efficacy, good glucose control, and better pregnancy outcome.
CONCLUSION: Knowledge or information about GDM, healthy diet, and exercise or physical activity was found to be the most applied domains of intervention. Framework domains based on the present review can be used in the future development of any interventional program for GDM women in enhancing health information reaching the targeted group in promoting self-efficacy.
PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021229610.
Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted at primary-care child health clinics in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The sample consisted of infants who fulfilled the criteria and were born in 2019. The anthropometric data of infants were assessed at birth and at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.
Results: A total of 328 infants were analysed. In total, 27.7%(n=91) of the subjects were SGA infants, and 237 of them were not. Significant differences in the median weight-for-age and length-for-age z-scores were observed between SGA and non-SGA infants at birth, 1 month, 6 months, and 12 months. There was a significant difference between the growth patterns of SGA and non-SGA infants. Birth weight and sex significantly predicted the nutritional status(stunting and underweight) of SGA infants during their first year of life.
Conclusion: SGA infants can catch up to achieve normal growth during their first year of life. Even though the nutritional status of SGA infants trends worse than non-SGA infants, adequate infant birth weight monitoring and an emphasis on nutritional advice are crucial for maintaining well-being.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2010 and December 2020 using secondary data from a single tertiary healthcare center in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A total of 40,212 deliveries were included for analysis to investigate the association between conditions (maternal characteristics and adverse birth outcomes) and preeclampsia. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to assess the association between multiple independent variables and the outcome variable (preeclampsia).
RESULTS: The reported prevalence of preeclampsia was 1.6%. Pregnant women with preeclampsia had a higher risk of preterm delivery (67.7%), instrumental and cesarean delivery (74.7%), neonatal low birth weight (48.5%), neonatal 5-min Apgar score <7 (18.1%), and neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission (19.8%). There were significantly higher odds of developing preeclampsia among nullipara [adjusted odd ratio (adjOR) 1.792, 95% CI: 1.518-2.115], women with a previous history of preeclampsia (adjOR 5.345, 95% CI: 2.670-10.698) and women with multiple pregnancies (adjOR 1.658, 95% CI: 1.071-2.566). However, there is a significant association between maternal characteristic variables. There was a significant association when a combination of variables for risk assessment: the presence of anemia and gestational hypertension effect on preeclampsia (OR 26.344, 95% CI: 9.775-70.993, p < 0.002) and gestational hypertension without anemia on preeclampsia (OR 3.084, 95% CI: 2.240-4.245, p < 0.001). Similarly, an association was seen between chronic hypertension and younger age (<35 years old) on preeclampsia (OR 14.490, 95% CI: 9.988-21.021, p < 0.001), and having chronic hypertension with advanced maternal age (≥35 years old) on preeclampsia (OR 5.174, 95% CI: 3.267-8.195, p < 0.001). Both conditions had increased odds of preeclampsia, in varying magnitudes. Overall, the significant interaction effects suggest that a history of chronic or gestational hypertension has a different relationship to the incidence of preeclampsia depending on the maternal age and anemia status. Pregnant women with preeclampsia had significantly higher odds for preterm delivery (adjOR 6.214, 95% CI: 5.244-7.364), instrumental and cesarean delivery (adjOR 4.320, 95% CI: 3.587-5.202), neonatal low birth weight (adjOR 7.873, 95% CI: 6.687-9.271), 5-min Apgar score <7 (adjOR 3.158, 95% CI: 2.130-4.683), and NICU admission (adjOR 8.778, 95% CI: 7.115-10.830).
CONCLUSIONS: Nulliparity, previous history of preeclampsia, and multiple pregnancies were associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia. The presence of different underlying conditions, such as chronic hypertension, anemia, and extremes of maternal age played an important role in increasing preeclampsia risk in the considered study. Larger samples are needed to validate such findings.
OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to explore youth perceptions of the My-Elderly-Care-Skills Module intervention and its perceived feasibility.
METHODS: This study involved youth respondents (18-30 years old) from low-income households who are accountable to providing care for independent older people (60 years or above) living in the same house. A qualitative study using a case study design was used to assess youth perceptions based on the content of the My-Elderly-Care-Skills module, by focusing on its implementation usage and usefulness for the care of the elderly. A total of 30 youths voluntarily participated in the online training workshop during the COVID-19 pandemic movement restriction order period. There were multiple sources of data, such as video recorded on reflection of care given at home, text messages in a WhatsApp group, and in-depth interviews during small group online meetings. Data were recorded and transcribed verbatim for common themes before a theme analysis was conducted. Inductive content analysis was performed after the saturation point was met.
RESULTS: Thematic analysis derived two domains of feasibility: operational and technical feasibility. There were three themes under operational practicality (improving awareness, addressing the caregiving skills needs, and seeking resources for knowledge) and three themes for technical practicality (easily used and informative, skill in effective communication, and program fulfillment).
CONCLUSION: It was verified that it is feasible for young caregivers of the elderly to participate in the My-Elderly-Care-Skills training intervention as it helps in improving knowledge and skills performance in managing and caring for the elderly.
Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted in year 2017 in Selangor, Malaysia among 719 parents/guardians of primary school children. The parent/guardians were randomly assigned as the intervention groups and were given a health educational Be-SAFE booklet on drowning prevention and water safety. The pretest was conducted before the intervention and posttest was done one month of intervention. The data collection tool was using a validated questionnaire on knowledge, attitude and practice for drowning prevention and water safety.
Results: There were 719 respondents (response rate of 89.9%) participated at baseline and 53.7% at end line (after the intervention). Significant differences found in knowledge, attitudes and practice on drowning prevention and water safety for the intervention and control groups after the intervention (P<0.001). There was a significant difference in mean scores for knowledge and attitude before and after the intervention, whereas no significant findings noted for practices (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Be SAFE booklet contributed to the increase in parents/guardian's knowledge and attitudes towards drowning prevention and water safety to prevent the risk of child drowning.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The package known as "Preemie Mom: A Guide for You" was designed based on Stufflebeam's model and has four phases: (1) content evaluation from available sources of information, (2) input evaluation based on mothers' need related to premature baby care, (3) process evaluation for package designing and content drafting, and (4) product evaluation to determine its feasibility. The contents were extracted and collated for validation by consulting various specialists in related fields. A final draft was drawn based on comments given by experts. Comments from the mothers were taken for formatting, visual appearance, and content flow for easy understanding and usage.
RESULTS: All ten existing articles and eight relevant documents were gathered and critically appraised. The package was designed based on 11 main components related to the care of premature baby after discharge. The content validation was accepted at a minimum score of 0.85 for the item-level content validity index analysis. Both experts and mothers were agreed that the package is easy to use and well accepted as a guide after discharge. The agreement rate by the mothers was at 93.33% and greater for the front page, writing style, structure, presentation, and motives of the package.
CONCLUSIONS: "Preemie Mom: A Guide for You" is a validated health educational package and ready to be used to meet the needs of the mother for premature baby care at home.
METHODS: The International Society of Global Health (ISoGH) used the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) method to identify research priorities for future pandemic preparedness. Eighty experts in global health, translational and clinical research identified 163 research ideas, of which 42 experts then scored based on five pre-defined criteria. We calculated intermediate criterion-specific scores and overall research priority scores from the mean of individual scores for each research idea. We used a bootstrap (n = 1000) to compute the 95% confidence intervals.
RESULTS: Key priorities included strengthening health systems, rapid vaccine and treatment production, improving international cooperation, and enhancing surveillance efficiency. Other priorities included learning from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, managing supply chains, identifying planning gaps, and promoting equitable interventions. We compared this CHNRI-based outcome with the 14 research priorities generated and ranked by ChatGPT, encountering both striking similarities and clear differences.
CONCLUSIONS: Priority setting processes based on human crowdsourcing - such as the CHNRI method - and the output provided by ChatGPT are both valuable, as they complement and strengthen each other. The priorities identified by ChatGPT were more grounded in theory, while those identified by CHNRI were guided by recent practical experiences. Addressing these priorities, along with improvements in health planning, equitable community-based interventions, and the capacity of primary health care, is vital for better pandemic preparedness and response in many settings.