METHODS: A two-phase mixed-methods approach was used. Phase 1 involved qualitative interviews with hypertensive patients from two health clinics in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The themes extracted from these interviews were used to generate items for the MAANS. In Phase 2, data from 213 participants were analysed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to establish the scale's factor structure, thereby created the modified version of the MAANS. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was then conducted on a separate dataset of 205 participants to confirm the factor structure, resulted in the final version of the MAANS. The reliability of the final MAANS version was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The MAANS scores were used to predict subscales of the Malay version of the WHO Quality-of-Life (QOL) BREF, demonstrating the scale's predictive validity.
RESULTS: Ten qualitative interviews yielded 73 items. The EFA produced a modified MAANS with 21 items grouped into five factors. However, the CFA retained three factors in the final scale: Perceived Non-Susceptibility, Poor Doctor-Patient Relationship, and Unhealthy Lifestyle. The final 14-item, 3-factor MAANS demonstrated moderate reliability (Cronbach's alpha coefficient = 0.64) and exhibited partial predictive validity, with the Poor Doctor-Patient Relationship and Unhealthy Lifestyle subscales significantly predicting Social QOL and Environmental QOL.
CONCLUSION: The MAANS is a reliable, valid, and multidimensional scale specifically developed to evaluate non-adherence to anti-hypertensive medications in local clinical settings with the potential to further the advancement of research and practice in sociomedical and preventive medicine.
METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will conduct a systematic search in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and grey literature. Descriptive statistics will be used to report the characteristics of included studies. The facilitators and barriers to DHTs implementation, gathered from both quantitative and qualitative data, will be synthesised using a parallel-results convergent synthesis design. A thematic analysis, employing an inductive approach, will be conducted to categorise these facilitators and barriers into coherent themes. Additionally, we will identify and categorise all available DHTs based on their equipment types and methods of operation to develop an innovative classification framework.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Formal ethical approval is not required, as primary data collection is not involved in this study. The findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and meetings with key stakeholders and partners in the field of digital health.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary teaching hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sociodemographic data questionnaire, Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale 21, sources of workplace worries questionnaire, and Brief-COPE inventory were randomly distributed to frontline HCWs who worked at the medical, emergency, and anaesthesiology departments. Data were analyzed using Chi-square tests and multivariable linear regression analysis.
RESULTS: A total of 137 frontline HCWs responded to the questionnaires. The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress was 69.3%, 77.4%, and 57.7%, respectively. None of the sociodemographic characteristics was associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. Depression was associated to all sources of workplace worries, except "fear of getting infected" (p = 0.089), while anxiety and stress were associated with all sources of workplace worries. Humour (β = 0.821), self-blame (β = 0.686), denial (β = 0.676), substance use (β = 0.835), and behavioural disengagement (β = 0.583) were positively correlated to depression. However, active coping (β = -0.648) and acceptance (β = -0.602) were negatively correlated to depression. On the other hand, active coping (β = 0.913), planning (β = 0.879), acceptance (β = 0.831), religion (β = 0.704), and self-distraction (β = 0.929) were positively correlated to stress. Only substance use (β = -0.417) was negatively correlated to stress. All coping strategies did not correlate to anxiety.
CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress is attributed by the various sources of workplace worries and the inappropriate coping strategies among the frontline HCWs. Measures that minimise workplace worries and inappropriate coping strategies must be implemented promptly.
AIMS: This review is aimed to identify the prevalence of Long Covid-19 in the workplace and to determine the various symptoms of Long Covid-19 experienced by the workers.
METHODS: A meta-analysis was conducted to calculate the pooled estimates for the prevalence of Long Covid-19. Heterogeneity among the estimates was evaluated using the I² statistic.
RESULTS: The pooled prevalence of Long Covid-19 among workers across the 11 studies was 38% (95% CI 23-56). A total of 43 symptoms associated with Long Covid-19 were identified in the workplace, with the top five symptoms being dyspnoea at moderate activity (51%, 95% CI 39-62), mental symptoms (38%, 95% CI 6-87), dyspnoea at mild activity (35%, 95% CI 25-47), fatigue (26%, 95% CI 3-78) and effort intolerance (24%, 95% CI 15-35).
CONCLUSIONS: The review indicates a significant burden of long-lasting symptoms within the workforce. The top five reported symptoms of Long Covid-19 were dyspnoea during mild and moderate activities, mental symptoms, fatigue and effort intolerance.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a correlational cross-sectional study. The sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire, sickness absenteeism questionnaire, job characteristics questionnaire, Demand-Control-Support Questionnaire (DCSQ), Work-Related Strain Inventory (WRSI), Work and Family Conflict Scale (WAFCS), the COVID-19-related workplace worries questionnaire, as well as the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress (DASS-21) questionnaire will be randomly distributed to 166 nurses from October 2024 to May 2025.
DISCUSSION: While physical illnesses, psychological disorders, job-related factors, and sociodemographic factors have been identified as risk factors to sickness absenteeism among healthcare professionals in general, the role of these risk factors in causing sickness absenteeism among the nurses remains unclear. Additionally, the increased stress and workload faced by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, may have further impacted sickness absenteeism.
CONCLUSION: By examining the various risk factors of sickness absenteeism, especially in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, this research will inform future targeted interventions to reduce sickness absenteeism among Malaysian nurses and its associated consequences.
METHODS: A multi-center cross-sectional study was conducted with 264 trainee doctors in Selangor, Malaysia. Eligible participants were provided with sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, job characteristics questionnaire, WPB questionnaire, and the Big Five Inventory-10 (BFI-10). Chi-square tests were used to examine the association between: (i) sociodemographic characteristics and WPB, (ii) job characteristics and WPB; and (iii) personality traits and WPB. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to evaluate the association between the significant independent variables (as determined from Chi-square tests) and WPB.
RESULTS: The prevalence of WPB was 45.1 %, with verbal abuse being the most common form of bullying (46.2 %). Chi-square test showed that only marital status and low agreeableness were significantly associated with WPB. Subsequently, multiple logistic regression demonstrated that being married (OR: 1.866; 95 % CI: 1.077-3.234) and low agreeableness (OR: 2.287; 95 % CI: 1.169-4.473) were significant predictors of WPB.
CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of WPB among trainee doctors could be attributed by marriage and low agreeableness personality traits in this population. In order to minimise WPB and maximise workforce potential, it is essential for healthcare institutions and medical training programmes to recognise this vulnerabilities and take steps to protect and support trainee doctors who are married and/or with low agreeableness personality trait.
METHODS: This is an exploratory mixed-methods study. In phase 1 (qualitative phase), three groups of participants (i.e., clinicians, employers, and workers) will be invited to participate to focus group discussions (FGDs) until thematic saturation. The aim of the FGDs is to explore the understanding, experience, and potential risk factors of Long Covid-19 among manufacturing workers. Findings from the FGDs will be analysed thematically. Themes generated from the FGDs will be used to generate items in a new questionnaire. The newly developed questionnaire will be validated using a fuzzy Delphi study, which will also be conducted among clinicians, employers, and workers. Phase 2 is a cross-sectional study that will be conducted among manufacturing workers across all states in Malaysia to identify the prevalence and risk factors of Long COVID-19, as well as the prevalence and risk factors of adverse work outcomes among workers with Long COVID-19. A multistage cluster sampling will be used to collect data from 4500 manufacturing workers in Malaysia. Logistic regression will be performed to determine the association between risk factors with both Long COVID-19 and adverse work outcomes.
CONCLUSION: Once the prevalence and risk factors of Long COVID and its associated adverse work outcome are identified, timely support and effective interventions could be provided to manufacturing workers to maintain their health and productivity.
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: Ethical approval has been granted by the Research Ethics Committee of the National University of Malaysia (JEP-2023-607) and the Medical Research and Ethics Committee (MREC) Malaysia (NMRR ID-23-03310-H3E).