Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 219 in total

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  1. Mokhzan NS, Sutan R, Yasin RM, Yamat H
    Front Public Health, 2023;11:1042124.
    PMID: 36844841 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1042124
    BACKGROUND: Caregivers of elderly people need the right education and empowering skills to manage their own health needs and the elderly people they care for.

    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.

  2. Muhammad Nur Amir AR, Binti Amer Nordin A, Lim YC, Binti Ahmad Shauki NI, Binti Ibrahim NH
    Front Public Health, 2021;9:574135.
    PMID: 33643985 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.574135
    The COVID-19 pandemic that emerged in 2019 has inflicted numerous clinical and public health challenges worldwide. It was declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization and activated response teams at almost all Malaysian healthcare facilities. Upon activation of the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Center in January 2020, the National Institutes of Health Malaysia established a COVID-19 operation room at the facility level to address the rise in COVID-19 infection cases each day. The National Institutes of Health COVID-19 operation room committee formed a workforce mobilization team for an effective and efficient mobilization system to fulfill requests received for human resource aid within the Ministry of Health Malaysia facilities. Selected personnel would be screened for health and availability before mobilization letters and logistics arrangements if necessary. The workforce from the National Institutes of Health, consisting of various job positions, were mobilized every week, with each deployment cycle lasting 2 weeks. A total of 128 personnel from the six institutes under the National Institutes of Health were mobilized: tasks included fever screening, active case detection, health management at quarantine centers, and management of dead bodies. A well-organized data management system with a centralized online system integration could allow more rapid deployment and answer some of the key questions in managing a similar pandemic in the future. With improving infected COVID-19 cases throughout the country, the National Institutes of Health COVID-19 operation room was effectively closed on June 15, 2020, following approval from the Deputy Director-General of Health.
  3. Barteit S, Sié A, Zabré P, Traoré I, Ouédraogo WA, Boudo V, et al.
    Front Public Health, 2023;11:1153559.
    PMID: 37304117 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1153559
    BACKGROUND: Climate change significantly impacts health in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), exacerbating vulnerabilities. Comprehensive data for evidence-based research and decision-making is crucial but scarce. Health and Demographic Surveillance Sites (HDSSs) in Africa and Asia provide a robust infrastructure with longitudinal population cohort data, yet they lack climate-health specific data. Acquiring this information is essential for understanding the burden of climate-sensitive diseases on populations and guiding targeted policies and interventions in LMICs to enhance mitigation and adaptation capacities.

    OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to develop and implement the Change and Health Evaluation and Response System (CHEERS) as a methodological framework, designed to facilitate the generation and ongoing monitoring of climate change and health-related data within existing Health and Demographic Surveillance Sites (HDSSs) and comparable research infrastructures.

    METHODS: CHEERS uses a multi-tiered approach to assess health and environmental exposures at the individual, household, and community levels, utilizing digital tools such as wearable devices, indoor temperature and humidity measurements, remotely sensed satellite data, and 3D-printed weather stations. The CHEERS framework utilizes a graph database to efficiently manage and analyze diverse data types, leveraging graph algorithms to understand the complex interplay between health and environmental exposures.

    RESULTS: The Nouna CHEERS site, established in 2022, has yielded significant preliminary findings. By using remotely-sensed data, the site has been able to predict crop yield at a household level in Nouna and explore the relationships between yield, socioeconomic factors, and health outcomes. The feasibility and acceptability of wearable technology have been confirmed in rural Burkina Faso for obtaining individual-level data, despite the presence of technical challenges. The use of wearables to study the impact of extreme weather on health has shown significant effects of heat exposure on sleep and daily activity, highlighting the urgent need for interventions to mitigate adverse health consequences.

    CONCLUSION: Implementing the CHEERS in research infrastructures can advance climate change and health research, as large and longitudinal datasets have been scarce for LMICs. This data can inform health priorities, guide resource allocation to address climate change and health exposures, and protect vulnerable communities in LMICs from these exposures.

  4. Lim HM, Ng CJ, Abdullah A, Dalmazzo J, Lim WX, Lee KH, et al.
    Front Public Health, 2023;11:1132397.
    PMID: 37228723 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1132397
    BACKGROUND: Online health misinformation about statins potentially affects health decision-making on statin use and adherence. We developed an information diary platform (IDP) to measure topic-specific health information exposure where participants record what information they encounter. We evaluated the utility and usability of the smartphone diary from the participants' perspective.

    METHODS: We used a mixed-method design to evaluate how participants used the smartphone diary tool and their perspectives on usability. Participants were high cardiovascular-risk patients recruited from a primary care clinic and used the tool for a week. We measured usability with the System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire and interviewed participants to explore utility and usability issues.

    RESULTS: The information diary was available in three languages and tested with 24 participants. The mean SUS score was 69.8 ± 12.9. Five themes related to utility were: IDP functions as a health information diary; supporting discussion of health information with doctors; wanting a feedback function about credible information; increasing awareness of the need to appraise information; and wanting to compare levels of trust with other participants or experts. Four themes related to usability were: ease of learning and use; confusion about selecting the category of information source; capturing offline information by uploading photos; and recording their level of trust.

    CONCLUSION: We found that the smartphone diary can be used as a research instrument to record relevant examples of information exposure. It potentially modifies how people seek and appraise topic-specific health information.

  5. Li H, Cheong JPG
    Front Public Health, 2023;11:1201228.
    PMID: 37809003 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1201228
    INTRODUCTION: Good physical fitness is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. For students, the school becomes the main place to improve their physical fitness. The traditional physical education class places little emphasis on improving physical fitness and students' physical fitness have continued to decline. To address these challenges, this study aimed to design and develop a functional training program that can be incorporated into existing physical education lessons to improve students' physical fitness levels.

    METHODS: This study adopted the instructional design framework of the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation (ADDIE) model to guide the design and development of the functional training program. After development, the program was implemented and evaluated.

    RESULTS: The results showed the program aroused students' interest and significantly improved students' physical fitness.

    CONCLUSION: This study showed the usefulness of functional training in improving the physical fitness of primary school students. In addition, it provided a reference for how to use functional training in conjunction with the physical education syllabus.

  6. Goni MD, Naing NN, Hasan H, Wan-Arfah N, Deris ZZ, Arifin WN, et al.
    Front Public Health, 2019;7:268.
    PMID: 31620419 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2019.00268
    This study aimed to assess the uptake of recommended vaccines and to identify the factors associated with the vaccines' uptake among Malaysian Hajj and Umrah pilgrims. A cross-sectional survey among Malaysian Hajj and Umrah pilgrims in 2018. The uptake of the recommended vaccines was surveyed through an anonymous self-administered questionnaire to pilgrims attending a pre-departure Hajj/Umrah orientation course. Descriptive statistics were used for elaborating the demographic characteristics and vaccines uptake of the respondents. Multiple logistic regression was used for predicting the factors associated with the vaccines' uptake. A total of 1,274 pilgrims participated in the study with a mean age (standard deviation) of 42.42 (15.6). A total of 833 (65.4%) participants were females and 232 of the participants (18.2%) had at least more than one chronic disease. The uptake of influenza and pneumococcal vaccines were 28.6% (364/1,274) and 25.4% (324/1,274), respectively. Among the 527 pilgrims who were "at increased risk" of infections, 168 (31.9%) and 184 (34.9%) received influenza and pneumococcal vaccines, respectively. Gender, marital status and occupation were the common predictors associated with vaccines uptake. The vaccination uptake among Malaysian Hajj and Umrah pilgrims is low and declining from previous years. Educating the pilgrims toward vaccine uptake is essential and exploring the barriers for vaccination.
  7. Neo EX, Hasikin K, Mokhtar MI, Lai KW, Azizan MM, Razak SA, et al.
    Front Public Health, 2022;10:851553.
    PMID: 35664109 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.851553
    Environmental issues such as environmental pollutions and climate change are the impacts of globalization and become debatable issues among academics and industry key players. One of the environmental issues which is air pollution has been catching attention among industrialists, researchers, and communities around the world. However, it has always neglected until the impacts on human health become worse, and at times, irreversible. Human exposure to air pollutant such as particulate matters, sulfur dioxide, ozone and carbon monoxide contributed to adverse health hazards which result in respiratory diseases, cardiorespiratory diseases, cancers, and worst, can lead to death. This has led to a spike increase of hospitalization and emergency department visits especially at areas with worse pollution cases that seriously impacting human life and health. To address this alarming issue, a predictive model of air pollution is crucial in assessing the impacts of health due to air pollution. It is also critical in predicting the air quality index when assessing the risk contributed by air pollutant exposure. Hence, this systemic review explores the existing studies on anticipating air quality impact to human health using the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI). From the extensive review, we highlighted research gaps in this field that are worth to inquire. Our study proposes to develop an AI-based integrated environmental and health impact assessment system using federated learning. This is specifically aims to identify the association of health impact and pollution based on socio-economic activities and predict the Air Quality Index (AQI) for impact assessment. The output of the system will be utilized for hospitals and healthcare services management and planning. The proposed solution is expected to accommodate the needs of the critical and prioritization of sensitive group of publics during pollution seasons. Our finding will bring positive impacts to the society in terms of improved healthcare services quality, environmental and health sustainability. The findings are beneficial to local authorities either in healthcare or environmental monitoring institutions especially in the developing countries.
  8. Ahmmed F, Hossain MJ, Sutopa TS, Al-Mamun M, Alam M, Islam MR, et al.
    Front Public Health, 2022;10:988016.
    PMID: 36504941 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.988016
    Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is essential for infant and child health. This study aimed to explore the trend in the EBF over the last decade in Bangladesh and investigated if there was a significant association with maternal employment by analyzing the data extracted from three consecutive nationally representative surveys: Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys (BDHS) of 2011, 2014, and 2017-2018. Prevalence of EBF (95% confidence interval) with the Cochran-Armitage test was reported to see the trend in EBF. A chi-square (χ2) test was applied to find the potential factors associated with EBF. Finally, a three-level logistic regression was utilized to find the significant association between maternal employment and EBF while adjusting other covariates. We observed no increase in the practice of EBF over the last decade (P = 0.632). The prevalence of EBF was 64.9% (95% CI: 61.41, 68.18) in 2011, followed by 60.1% (95% CI: 56.25, 64) in 2014, and 64.9% (95% CI: 61.82, 67.91) in 2017. Regression results showed that employed mothers had 24% (p < 0.05) lower odds of EBF than unemployed mothers. Early initiation of breastfeeding was also found to be significantly associated [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.22, P < 0.05] with EBF. Government and policymakers must come forward with new interventions to increase the practice of EBF, providing basic education and campaigns on the topic of EBF. Maternity leave should be extended up to 6 months of the child's age to achieve an optimal level of EBF.
  9. Renganathan E, Guinto R, Mahmood J, Lacey-Hall O, Veerakumarasivam A, Poppema S
    Front Public Health, 2023;11:1072823.
    PMID: 37168072 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1072823
    This article is part of the Research Topic 'Health Systems Recovery in the Context of COVID-19 and Protracted Conflict'. Universities, as engines of knowledge creation and dissemination and as incubators of disciplined yet original thinking, have a key role to play in tackling the most complex challenges that societies and our planet face, from infectious diseases to the climate emergency. This commentary presents the perspectives from Sunway University, a young private university in Malaysia that made a strong commitment to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) prior to the pandemic, and its experiences in promoting research, innovation, and learning as part of COVID-19 recovery and in preparation for future crises such as the climate emergency. Some of the university's initiatives include embracing the planetary health approach, reviving essential public health functions, exploring pandemic resilience, addressing 'infodemics' and promoting science diplomacy. The example of Sunway University provides some insights on the opportunities and challenges that academic institutions face as they seek to reorient the paradigm of education, research, and service away from disciplinary siloes and towards a more integrated, preventive, accessible and translational approach.
  10. Zhao H, Song T, Rafik-Galea S, Dong J, Fitriana M, Ji Y, et al.
    Front Public Health, 2023;11:1202741.
    PMID: 37521981 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1202741
    BACKGROUND: Previous cross-sectional studies have shown that meaning in life (MIL) is closely associated with college students' smartphone addiction (SA), but the causal relationship between MIL and college students' SA is uncertain. Therefore, conducting a longitudinal study to explore their relationship is very necessary. Furthermore, some studies have implied possible gender differences in the relationship between MIL and SA and the relationship between SA and MIL. Therefore, it is necessary to further examine whether there are gender differences in the above relationships.

    METHODS: The present study constructed a three-wave cross-lag panel model to explore the relationships between MIL and college students' SA. Three waves of data were collected from 705 college students (male: 338; female: 367) in China for three consecutive years, and the interval of data collection was 1 year. These college students completed the same online questionnaire regarding MIL and SA.

    RESULTS: (1) The MIL of male college students was significantly stronger than that of female college students at time 1, time 2, and time 3, (2) Female college students' SA at time 1, time 2, and time 3 was more serious than that of male college students, (3) There were reciprocal relationships between MIL and college students' SA, (4) The influence of MIL on female college students' SA was significantly stronger than that of male college students, and (5) The influence of SA on female college students' MIL was significantly stronger than that of male college students.

    CONCLUSION: This study showed reciprocal relationships between MIL and SA among male college students and female college students. The findings further deepen our understanding of the relationship between MIL and SA and provide a gender perspective for preventing or intervening with college students' SA.

  11. Sharif Nia H, Allen KA, Arslan G, Kaur H, She L, Khoshnavay Fomani F, et al.
    Front Public Health, 2023;11:1085197.
    PMID: 36875362 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1085197
    BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Recent new mutations and increases in transmission of COVID-19 among adolescents and children highlight the importance of identifying which factors influence parental decisions regarding vaccinating their children. The current study aims to explore whether child vulnerability and parents' attitudes toward vaccines mediate the association between perceived financial well-being and vaccine hesitancy among parents.

    METHOD: A predictive, cross-sectional, multi-country online questionnaire was administered with a convenience sample of 6,073 parents (Australia, 2,734; Iran, 2,447; China, 523; Turkey, 369). Participants completed the Parent Attitude About Child Vaccines (PACV), the Child Vulnerability Scale (CVS), a Financial Well-being (FWB) measure, and Parental Vaccine Hesitancy (PVH) questionnaire.

    RESULTS: The current study revealed that perceived financial well-being had significant and negative associations with parents' attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines and child vulnerability among the Australian sample. Contrary to the Australian findings, results from Chinese participants indicated that financial well-being had significant and positive predictive effects on parent attitudes toward vaccines, child vulnerability, and parental vaccine hesitancy. The results of the Iranian sample revealed that parents' attitudes toward vaccines and child vulnerability significantly and negatively predicted parental vaccine hesitancy.

    CONCLUSION: The current study revealed that a parents' perceived financial well-being had a significant and negative relationship with parental attitudes about vaccines and child vulnerability; however, it did not significantly predict parental vaccine hesitancy among Turkish parents as it did for parents in Australia, Iran, and China. Findings of the study have policy implications for how certain countries may tailor their vaccine-related health messages to parents with low financial wellbeing and parents with vulnerable children.

  12. Tian K, Hao L, Xuan W, Phongsatha T, Hao R, Wei W
    Front Public Health, 2023;11:1034231.
    PMID: 36844825 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1034231
    INTRODUCTION: Disseminating health science information via the internet has become an essential means for improving Chinese residents' health literacy, which has received constant attention from the Chinese government. Therefore, it is important to explore Chinese residents' perceived value and emotional response to mobile health science information for determining Chinese residents' satisfaction and use intention.

    METHODS: This study applied the cognition-affect-conation model to evaluate the perceived value, arousal, pleasure, trust, satisfaction, and continuous use intention. A mobile device was used to obtain health science information from 236 Chinese residents via an online survey and the data were analyzed using partial least squares (PLS)-structural equation modeling.

    RESULTS: The results showed that Chinese residents' perceived value of health science information obtained using the mobile device directly affect the degree of arousal (β = 0.412, P < 0.001), pleasure (β = 0.215, P < 0.01), and trust (β = 0.339, P < 0.001). The degree of arousal (β = 0.121, P < 0.01), pleasure (β = 0.188, P < 0.01), and trust (β = 0.619, P < 0.001) directly affected Chinese residents' satisfaction, which further affected their continuous use intention (β = 0.513, P < 0.001). Similarly, trust directly affected Chinese residents' continuous use intention (β = 0.323, P < 0.001). The degree of arousal directly affected their degree of pleasure (β = 0.304, P < 0.001), and pleasure also imposed a direct effect on trust (β = 0.293, P < 0.001).

    DISCUSSION: The result of this study provided an academic and practical reference to improve mobile health science popularization information. Affective changes have imposed an important effect on Chinese residents' continuous use intention. High-quality, diversified and frequent use of health science information can significantly increase residents' continuous use intention, improving their health literacy as a consequence.

  13. Rehman AU, Khattak M, Mushtaq U, Latif M, Ahmad I, Rasool MF, et al.
    Front Public Health, 2023;11:1244450.
    PMID: 38074769 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1244450
    BACKGROUND: The existence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) in tuberculosis (TB) patients is very dangerous for the health of patients. One of the major concerns is the emergence of MDR-TB in such patients. It is suspected that the development of MDR-TB further worsens the treatment outcomes of TB such as treatment failure and thus, causes disease progression.

    AIM: To investigate the impact of DM on the Emergence of MDR-TB and Treatment Failure in TB-DM comorbid patients.

    METHODOLOGY: The PubMed database was systematically searched until April 03, 2022 (date last searched). Thirty studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this study after a proper selection process.

    RESULTS: Tuberculosis-Diabetes Mellitus patients were at higher risk to develop MDR-TB as compared to TB-non-DM patients (HR 0.81, 95% CI: 0.60-0.96, p 

  14. Md Iderus NH, Singh SSL, Ghazali SM, Zulkifli AA, Ghazali NAM, Lim MC, et al.
    Front Public Health, 2023;11:1213514.
    PMID: 37693699 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1213514
    BACKGROUND: Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the transmission dynamics and distribution of dengue. Therefore, this study aims to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the geographic and demographic distribution of dengue incidence in Malaysia.

    METHODS: This study analyzed dengue cases from January 2014 to December 2021 and COVID-19 confirmed cases from January 2020 to December 2021 which was divided into the pre (2014 to 2019) and during COVID-19 pandemic (2020 to 2021) phases. The average annual dengue case incidence for geographical and demographic subgroups were calculated and compared between the pre and during the COVID-19 pandemic phases. In addition, Spearman rank correlation was performed to determine the correlation between weekly dengue and COVID-19 cases during the COVID-19 pandemic phase.

    RESULTS: Dengue trends in Malaysia showed a 4-year cyclical trend with dengue case incidence peaking in 2015 and 2019 and subsequently decreasing in the following years. Reductions of 44.0% in average dengue cases during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic phase was observed at the national level. Higher dengue cases were reported among males, individuals aged 20-34 years, and Malaysians across both phases. Weekly dengue cases were significantly correlated (ρ = -0.901) with COVID-19 cases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    CONCLUSION: There was a reduction in dengue incidence during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic phase. Significant reductions were observed across all demographic groups except for the older population (>75 years) across the two phases.

  15. Khalid MT, Khalily MT, Saleem T, Saeed F, Shoib S
    Front Public Health, 2024;12:1229262.
    PMID: 38504677 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1229262
    INTRODUCTION: The Community Reinforcement Approach is an evidence-based treatment modality for alcohol and drug addiction treatment with proven efficacy and cost-effectiveness. The present study investigated the effectiveness of the Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA) in the context of quality of life among drug addicts.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 60 inpatient substance abusers post detoxification in Fountain House, Lahore, Pakistan, participated in this study. Fountain House was selected as the Minnesota model is primarily used there. Therefore, a new treatment approach was introduced to investigate its effectiveness for individuals with substance abuse. A randomized 12-week trial was conducted as a substance use disorders (SUDs) treatment program. Persons with SUD (i.e., identified patients) enrolled in a residential treatment program were randomized into the integrated model of the Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA) and traditional Minnesota model treatment (n = 30), and traditional Minnesota model treatment only (TMM; n = 30). All the participants in the experimental group attended the group therapy sessions and other activities in the facility in addition to the treatment conditions. The participants attended the individual therapeutic sessions, which were conducted according to the CRA guidelines used in the experimental group. In this study, each individual in the CRA treatment group received 12 one-to-one sessions ranging from 45 min to 1 h. The WHOQOL-BREF scale and Happiness Scale (1) were used for data collection.

    RESULT: The results showed a significant increase in the quality of life of participants in the treatment group with CRA compared with the control group with TMM. The findings also indicated that the individuals in the treatment group with CRA had improved levels of happiness compared with individuals with TMM.

    DISCUSSION: The CRA is an effective and adaptable treatment approach that works well in combination with other treatment approaches. The proven efficacy, compatibility, and cost-effectiveness distinguish it from other treatment methods.

    IMPLICATIONS: The CRA should be adapted, assessed, and evaluated further, especially in Pakistan, where there is a pressing need to adopt an effective treatment strategy for addiction problems.

  16. Kanwal N, Isha ASN
    Front Public Health, 2022;10:805733.
    PMID: 35372179 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.805733
    BACKGROUND: Social media activities affect every aspect of human life, be it personal, social or professional. Previous studies have confirmed the role of social media in affecting health in terms of releasing stress and providing social support. Increased occupational health disorders and increased time spent on social media activities motivate us to investigate this phenomenon in the context of occupational health. Therefore, the objective of this study is to measure the effects of social media activities related to personal and social life as well as work-life on health and wellbeing of office employees, on their job efforts and job rewards, and in moderating the effect of effort-reward imbalance on health and wellbeing.

    METHODS: Initially, to develop constructs related to social media activities, web-based structured interviews were conducted with five office employees working in the oil and gas industry for the last 5 years. Then, using an online questionnaire survey, data was collected from 424 office employees working in the oil and gas industry in Malaysia. Using statistical software for social science (SPSS) and Smart PLS, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to identify reliability and validity (discriminant validity, convergent validity and composite validity) of the constructs. Following this, path analysis was conducted and the moderating effects were identified.

    RESULTS: Social media activities related to work-life decrease health and wellbeing by 11% and weaken the negative effect of effort-reward-imbalance on health and wellbeing by 17.6% at a 1% level of significance. The results of social media activities related to personal and social life strengthen the negative effect of effort-reward imbalance on health and wellbeing by 12% and negatively affects health and wellbeing and job rewards by 13, 55%, respectively. The direct effect of effort-reward imbalance and job efforts is significantly negative on health and wellbeing by 59 and 10%, respectively.

    CONCLUSION: It is concluded that social media activities of the office employees significantly moderate the effect of effort-reward imbalance on health and wellbeing and intervene in job rewards in the organizations. Hence, the effect of social media activities reduces the health and wellbeing of office employees.

  17. Amran MS, Jamaludin KA
    Front Public Health, 2021;9:639041.
    PMID: 34164364 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.639041
    School closures were implemented as a public health intervention to reduce the risk of infection from COVID-19. However, prolonged school closure is likely to impact adolescents' behavioral health due to the extreme change in routine. The current study aimed to explore adolescents' behavioral health experiences during the beginning of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was done using qualitative methods to interview 15 adolescent participants (n =15) from low-income households in Malaysia. The study lasted for 2 months amidst the outbreak and data were collected via online based on focus group discussions. The results revealed that adolescents faced four main themes of experience during the COVID-19 pandemic: Alteration of sleep patterns, stress-related fatigue, dysfunctional eating patterns and lack of physical activity. This first-hand experience shows that knowledge and skills of adolescents' behavioral practices during outbreak deserves attention. This research stresses the role of family, schools, and media in addressing the health communication gap among adolescents to help them adapt in these new norms.
  18. Subermaniam K, Welfred R, Subramanian P, Chinna K, Ibrahim F, Mohktar MS, et al.
    Front Public Health, 2016;4:292.
    PMID: 28119908 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2016.00292
    Falls and fall-related injuries are increasingly serious issues among elderly inpatients due to population aging. The bed-exit alarm has only previously been evaluated in a handful of studies with mixed results. Therefore, we evaluated the effectiveness of a modular bed absence sensor device (M-BAS) in detecting bed exits among older inpatients in a middle income nation in East Asia.
  19. Godman B, Haque M, Leong T, Allocati E, Kumar S, Islam S, et al.
    Front Public Health, 2021;9:671961.
    PMID: 34249838 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.671961
    Background: Diabetes mellitus rates continue to rise, which coupled with increasing costs of associated complications has appreciably increased global expenditure in recent years. The risk of complications are enhanced by poor glycaemic control including hypoglycaemia. Long-acting insulin analogues were developed to reduce hypoglycaemia and improve adherence. Their considerably higher costs though have impacted their funding and use. Biosimilars can help reduce medicine costs. However, their introduction has been affected by a number of factors. These include the originator company dropping its price as well as promoting patented higher strength 300 IU/ml insulin glargine. There can also be concerns with different devices between the manufacturers. Objective: To assess current utilisation rates for insulins, especially long-acting insulin analogues, and the rationale for patterns seen, across multiple countries to inform strategies to enhance future utilisation of long-acting insulin analogue biosimilars to benefit all key stakeholders. Our approach: Multiple approaches including assessing the utilisation, expenditure and prices of insulins, including biosimilar insulin glargine, across multiple continents and countries. Results: There was considerable variation in the use of long-acting insulin analogues as a percentage of all insulins prescribed and dispensed across countries and continents. This ranged from limited use of long-acting insulin analogues among African countries compared to routine funding and use across Europe in view of their perceived benefits. Increasing use was also seen among Asian countries including Bangladesh and India for similar reasons. However, concerns with costs and value limited their use across Africa, Brazil and Pakistan. There was though limited use of biosimilar insulin glargine 100 IU/ml compared with other recent biosimilars especially among European countries and Korea. This was principally driven by small price differences in reality between the originator and biosimilars coupled with increasing use of the patented 300 IU/ml formulation. A number of activities were identified to enhance future biosimilar use. These included only reimbursing biosimilar long-acting insulin analogues, introducing prescribing targets and increasing competition among manufacturers including stimulating local production. Conclusions: There are concerns with the availability and use of insulin glargine biosimilars despite lower costs. This can be addressed by multiple activities.
  20. Abdul Rahman K, Ahmad SA, Che Soh A, Ashari A, Wada C, Gopalai AA
    Front Public Health, 2021;9:612538.
    PMID: 33681130 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.612538
    Background: Falls are a significant incident among older adults affecting one in every three individuals aged 65 and over. Fall risk increases with age and other factors, namely instability. Recent studies on the use of fall detection devices in the Malaysian community are scarce, despite the necessity to use them. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between the prevalence of falls with instability. This study also presents a survey that explores older adults' perceptions and expectations toward fall detection devices. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted involving 336 community-dwelling older adults aged 50 years and older; based on randomly selected participants. Data were analyzed using quantitative descriptive analysis. Chi-square test was conducted to investigate the associations between self-reported falls with instability, demographic and walking characteristics. Additionally, older adults' perceptions and expectations concerning the use of fall detection devices in their daily lives were explored. Results: The prevalence of falls was 28.9%, where one-quarter of older adults fell at least once in the past 6 months. Participants aged 70 years and older have a higher fall percentage than other groups. The prevalence of falls was significantly associated with instability, age, and walking characteristics. Around 70% of the participants reported having instability issues, of which over half of them fell at least once within 6 months. Almost 65% of the participants have a definite interest in using a fall detection device. Survey results revealed that the most expected features for a fall detection device include: user-friendly, followed by affordably priced, and accurate. Conclusions: The prevalence of falls in community-dwelling older adults is significantly associated with instability. Positive perceptions and informative expectations will be used to develop an enhanced fall detection incorporating balance monitoring system. Our findings demonstrate the need to extend the fall detection device features aiming for fall prevention intervention.
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