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Fulltext A Chinese New Year rash

Keah RSH, Ch'ng KS

Malays Fam Physician, 2013;8(2):62-64.
PMID: 25606287 MyJurnal

A 28-year-old man presented with a chief complaint of rashes all over his body. He had a history of a trip to Langkawi Island, a famous island resort off the west coast of Malaysia, over the Chinese New Year’s weekend. According to him, he had a lot of fun with a group of friends at the sunny beach and the beautiful sea. There were no untoward incidents and they were perfectly well when they returned home after a 2-day trip. On the evening of the second day after his return, he noticed rashes appearing over his body, notably on shoulders and trunk. These rashes were little painful in nature.

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Fulltext A Cross-Cultural Examination of SNS Usage Intensity and Managing Interpersonal Relationships Online: The Role of Culture and the Autonomous-Related Self-Construal

Lee SL, Kim JA, Golden KJ, Kim JH, Park MS

Front Psychol, 2016;7:376.
PMID: 27148100 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00376

Perception of the autonomy and relatedness of the self may be influenced by one's experiences and social expectations within a particular cultural setting. The present research examined the role of culture and the Autonomous-Related self-construal in predicting for different aspects of Social Networking Sites (SNS) usage in three Asian countries, especially focusing on those aspects serving interpersonal goals. Participants in this cross-cultural study included 305 university students from Malaysia (n = 105), South Korea (n = 113), and China (n = 87). The study explored specific social and interpersonal behaviors on SNS, such as browsing the contacts' profiles, checking for updates, and improving contact with SNS contacts, as well as the intensity of SNS use, hypothesizing that those with high intensity of use in the Asian context may be doing so to achieve the social goal of maintaining contact and keeping updated with friends. Two scales measuring activities on other users' profiles and contact with friends' profiles were developed and validated. As predicted, some cross-cultural differences were found. Koreans were more likely to use SNS to increase contact but tended to spend less time browsing contacts' profiles than the Malaysians and Chinese. The intensity of SNS use differed between the countries as well, where Malaysians reported higher intensity than Koreans and Chinese. Consistent with study predictions, Koreans were found with the highest Autonomous-Related self-construal scores. The Autonomous-Related self-construal predicted SNS intensity. The findings suggest that cultural contexts, along with the way the self is construed in different cultures, may encourage different types of SNS usage. The authors discuss study implications and suggest future research directions.

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Fulltext A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of Parent-Assisted Children's Friendship Training to Improve Social Skills and Friendship Quality in Children with Autism in Malaysia

Ong SY, Roslan S, Ahmad NA, Ayub AFM, Ping CL, Zaremohzzabieh Z, et al.

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2021 Mar 04;18(5).
PMID: 33806563 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18052566

Background: This study evaluates the effectiveness of parent-assisted children's friendship training intervention for enhancing friendship quality and social skills among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We conducted a quasi-experimental study to investigate the effective outcomes of social skills and friendship quality in the pre-and post-parent-assisted CFT intervention phases; Methods: to conduct a 12-week field session, 30 children with their parents were selected. The Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scales and the Quality of Play Questionnaire-Parent were used to assess the effectiveness of the parent-assisted children's friendship training during pre-and post-intervention. A semi-structured interview with parents was conducted at the end of the session; Results: findings revealed that intervention improved the social skills of these children. Additionally, the friendship quality of children with ASD improved before and after the intervention, however, engagement remained unchanged. Parents also showed some sort of improvement after the session as they reported a heightened sense of fear and resistance, awareness, learning and adjustment, change is not easy, and identifying support; Conclusions: there was clear evidence that children with ASD benefitted from parent-assisted CFTs in terms of social skills and friendship quality. However, larger and controlled studies are required to draw firm conclusions about this kind of intervention.

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Fulltext A child with coated tonsils

Appannan VR, Mohamad I, Ramli RR, Johan KB

Malays Fam Physician, 2018;13(1):55-56.
PMID: 29796214 MyJurnal

A 5-year-old girl presented with a history of
fever for four days associated with odynophagia.
She was treated with amoxycillin prescribed
by a general practitioner for 3 days prior to
presentation. However, the symptoms were
worsening and associated with drooling of
saliva and poor oral intake. There was history
of recurrent acute tonsillitis in the past two
years, with 5 to 6 episodes per year. The child
had completed regular immunizations up to her
current age. There was no similar presentation
amongst family members and friends. (Copied from article).

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Fulltext A descriptive cross sectional study on patient satisfaction in a private hospital in Selangor

Narimah, A.H.H., Shahril Rizwan, O., N Nadhrah, N.R., Adlina, S., Hakimi, Z.A., Nuraliza, A.S.

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2006;6(2):6-12.
MyJurnal

This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted to assess patient's satisfaction by evaluating the waiting time experienced by 27 (54%) inpatients and 23 (46%) outpatients who sought treatment at a private hospital in Selangor from 15th of May 2006 until 3rd of]une 2006. Majority of the patients (78%) were in the range between Z 1 - 40 years old and well»educated. Almost half (48%) were in the human resources employment category, 20% were in administration and marketing and 10% were professionals. Majority of them earned from RM1000-1999 (34%) and RMZ000-3999 (32%). Almost all of them (96%) agreed that the medical care that they had been receiving in the hospital was just about perfect. 98% agreed that the doctors treated them in a very friendly and courteous manner and 96% rated the care given by nurses as g0od/ excellent. 88% to 92% said that their communication with the doctors, nurses and other staff were good/ excellent. 80% waited less than 15 minutes at the registration counter, 52% waited less than 15 minutes to see the doctor and 44% waited less than 15 minutes at other places such as pharmacy and x-ray. Overall, 94% rated the level of services in the hospital as good/ excellent, Almost all (90%) would like to recommend the hospital to their friends and relatives. Our study demonstrated that the majority of the patients were satisfied with the doctors, nurses and environment of the private hospital. The average waiting time of patient before being attended to by a doctor was less than 30 minutes.

Study site: Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM)

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Fulltext A qualitative study exploring medicines use pattern and practice among general public in Malaysia

Dawood OT, Hassali MA, Saleem F

Pharm Pract (Granada), 2016 06 15;14(2):740.
PMID: 27382428 DOI: 10.18549/PharmPract.2016.02.740

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to explore the pattern and practice of medicine use among the general public; and to explore the key factors influencing medicine use among medicine users.
METHODS: A qualitative approach using focus group discussions was conducted to get in-depth information about medicines use pattern and practice from the general public. Adult people who reported using medicines at the time of study or in the previous month were approached. Two focus group discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The obtained data were analysed using thematic content analysis.
RESULTS: This study found that there are some misunderstanding about the appropriate use of medicines. The majority of the participants reported that they were complying with their medication regimen. However, forgetting to take medicines was stated by 4 participants while 2 participants stopped taking medicines when they felt better. In addition, 10 participants reporting using medicines according to their own knowledge and past experience. Whereas 4 participants took medicines according to other informal resources such as family, friends or the media. Seven participants have experienced side effects with using medicines, 4 of them informed their doctor while 3 participants stopped taking medicines without informing their doctor.
CONCLUSION: There was a misunderstanding about medicines use in terms of medication compliance, self-management of the illness and the resources of information about using medicines. Many efforts are still needed from health care professionals to provide sufficient information about medicines use in order to decrease the risk of inappropriate use of medicines and to achieve better therapeutic outcome.

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Fulltext A study of patient satisfaction with orthodontic treatment in Sabah

Loke, S.T.

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2002;2(1):42-46.
MyJurnal

The aims of the study were to investigate patient satisfaction and perceived psychosocial benefit from orthodontic treatment and to relate them to factors ajfecting treatment duration and treatment standards. A total of 130 patients (mean age I5 years) who had just completed full fixed appliance therapy (removable appliance) filled questionnaires. There was high proportion of satisfaction with dentofacial appearance (98.5 %), alignment of teeth (100 %), improved mastication (99.2%) and cleaning of teeth (98.5%). About 89.2% would recommend orthodontic treatment to their friends. All surveyed were satisfied with the services provided by the orthodontic staff and kw patients were dissatisfied with the length of each appointment (3.] %), number of appointments (l.5%) and total treatment time (5.4%). The main dissatisfaction appeared to be the long waiting time to be treated during their appointments (10%}. The mean duration of treatment to complete two-arch fixed appliance was I 7.6 months (S.D. 6.8 months) and 89.2% of cases were completed within 24 months. Treatment duration was also associated with pre-treatment ovemet (r=0.23 5), ovetjet d%rence_h·om pre-treatment to post-treatment 0·=0.204} and number of extractions (r=0.305}. Multmle linear regression anahtsis of duration of treatment with these factors accounted for about 7.8% ofthe variability.
Study site: Dental clinic, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Fulltext A study on knowledge, attitude and practice of family planning among doctors and nurses in Petaling District

Nor Fadilah Othman, Hamidah Amin Abd. Latip, Fazlina Yusoff, Haslinda Hassan, Ziti Akthar Supian

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2019;15(104):82-82.
MyJurnal

Introduction: Family planning practice is important among the high-risk mothers. Thus, the knowledge, attitude and practice of family planning among health care workers are very important in influencing the use of contraception among them. The objective of this study was to determine level of knowledge, attitudes and practices related to contraception among doctors and nurses in Petaling District, Selangor, Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 300 doctors and nurses working in the Maternal and Child Health Unit from six large public health clin-ics in Petaling district was conducted in May 2019. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Results: A total of 109 doctors and 149 nurses participated in this study. The response rate was 86%. The median duration of service in KKM and working in MCH were 9 years (IQR 6.0) and 3 years (IQR 6.0) respectively. Majority (74%) had attended CME on family planning. The mean score of knowledge was 9.0 (out of 13) (SD 1.899). In terms of attitude, 51.6% would often suggest family planning to relatives or friends. Three common perceived barriers for effective counselling on family planning were too many patients (94.5%), time constraint (91.7%) and inadequate knowledge on contraception (60.4%). Common preferred methods of contraception among users were hormonal method (33.1%), followed by barrier (condom) method (29.5%). Medical officers had better knowledge score as compared to nurses (p

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Fulltext Adolescent health services: do they address the needs of the adolescents - an experience in Barat Daya, Penang

Saraswathi, B.R.

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2004;4(1):59-65.
MyJurnal

A cross sectional study was carried amongst adolescent school children in Barat Daya, in 2000. This was to determine the characteristic features of adolescents in the district and to look into their sexual activities, substance use and psychosocial problems with the aim to plan an appropriate adolescent health program. Some 400 students from Form 2 and Form 4 were selected by purposive stratifed and systematic sampling. The study was carried out by trained nurses with an interview using a structured questionnaire. The majority of the respondents were Malays (78.8%) with a household income of less than RM2, 000.00 per if month. Family relations and parental influence were found to be strong. Mental health characteristics scored negatively significantly in this study and those particularly at risk were those who performed poorly in schools. Most claimed not to be involved in high risk behaviour though they knew of friends who did so. Adolescent health services in the district should take an integrated approach with other stakeholders. Health information should be easily available and focus should be given to poor achievers in school.

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Fulltext An evaluation of consumers' perceptions regarding "modern medicines" in penang, malaysia

Babar ZU, Hassali MA, Shyong TL, Hin TK, Cien CS, Bin LS, et al.

J Young Pharm, 2012 Apr;4(2):108-13.
PMID: 22754263 DOI: 10.4103/0975-1483.96625

The objective of this study was to evaluate consumers' perceptions regarding "modern medicines" in Penang, Malaysia. To conduct this exploratory study, qualitative techniques were used. Consumers more than 19 years of age and could speak English, who had visited a pharmacy in the last 30 days, were included from the four major areas of Penang. Eighteen interviews were conducted until the point of saturation. The interviews were audio-taped and then transcribed verbatim for thematic content analysis. Many consumers correctly identified the major characteristics and properties of modern medicines; however, others raised doubts regarding the safety, quality and efficacy of "modern medicines". There were many misconceptions such as "all modern medicines can cause dependence", traditional medicines are completely "free of side-effects" and "Western medicines cure while Chinese medicines don't". Color was also considered a strong determinant of the safety and characteristics of a medicine. Regarding consumers' "medicine information seeking behavior", many consumers would seek information from doctors and pharmacists; however, there were others, who would look for books, or get it from the internet and friends. Of concern many consumers emphasized that while "self-searching for drug information" they would only look for side-effects. Misconceptions regarding medicine-taking behavior, medicine use and compliance were also identified. Though several consumers complied with the medicine-taking instructions, many reported that they would stop taking medicines, once they feel better. Though many consumers correctly identified the characteristics of "modern medicines", misconceptions regarding "medicine information sources and "medicine-taking behavior" were rampant. The situation demands corrective actions including community-oriented educational campaigns to improve "medicine use" in the society.

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Fulltext Attitude towards sex: study of secondary schoolchildren in Selangor state

Maha, A., Azhar, M. Z., Sherina, M. S., Sharmili, V., Rampal, L., Abdah, A., et al.

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2010;6(1):33-61.
MyJurnal

Introduction: HIV/AIDS is one of the leading health problems worldwide. There is an increasing rate among the ages between 13 to 49 years old. School based intervention is an important component of community-based interventions for HIV/AIDS and is the best stage to promote abstinence which is best maintained among those not sexually experienced. Objectives: This study was carried out to determine attitude towards sex among secondary school children in Selangor state. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used. Four out of nine districts in Selangor state were selected at random. Students were divided according to gender, academic performance (good or poor) with no behavioural problems
and students with evidence of behaviour problems (at risk). Results: Out of 149 students, the majority (56.4%) were females. The majority of students did not think sex should be discussed in depth and do not speak to parents, teachers, religious teachers, counselors, relatives, doctors or nurses but speak to friends regarding sex. More than half watch pornography. A significantly higher percentage of male students in the weak and at-risk group admit to thinking of intimacy (hugging and kissing) with the opposite gender. A higher number of these students would try sex out of curiosity, for fun, because it was difficult to say ‘no’ to and that they would like it. A significantly higher percentage will try sex because they did not want to hurt their girlfriends’ feeling by saying ‘no’. While the majority of students think intimacy will end in sex, a significantly higher percentage of male at-risk students think just talking with the opposite gender will end in sex. The majority of male students responded feeling attracted to the picture of a girl in sexy clothing but a significantly higher percentage of at-risk students also felt attracted to the picture of a girl properly attired. A significantly higher percentage of male at-risk students say parents do not say sex before marriage is wrong and a significantly higher percentage of
male students of weak and at-risk groups say girlfriends say sex before marriage is okay. A significantly higher percentage of weak and at-risk students speak to doctors regarding sex and think sex should be discussed in depth. Conclusion: Weak and at-risk male students appeared to have a more vulnerable attitude towards sex. This may predispose them to risky sexual behaviours leading to HIV/AIDS. Poor academic performance and behaviour problems may not be different as potential sexual risk predictors. The information obtained will be useful in designing intervention programmes in the prevention of HIV/AIDS.

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Fulltext Autism: awareness and perception among Malaysian Nursing Students in Sabah

Deena Clare Thomas, Julie C M, Helda A H, Nurhani Nadiah B, Ranita M

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2020;16(105):71-0.
MyJurnal

Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, com- munication and behavioral challenges. According to the 2017 survey by the Ministry of Health Malaysia, children between the ages of 18 to 26 months showed ASD occurs approximately 1.6 in1000 children. In Sabah, 400 autistic children had been registered under Sabah Autism Society (SAS). The increasing prevalence of ASD had become a major concern not only to the parents but to the community. A correct understanding and perception about ASD are crucial especially to the nursing profession as they must be able to educate caregiver on how to manage patients with ASD. Methods: This is a quantitative study using a cross-sectional approach. The respondents are all nursing students in Sabah. The type of sampling is purposive, which is using snowball sampling methods. Research instruments were developed and distributed to all nursing colleges in Sabah. Results: A total of 115 students responded. The majority of age is within range of 18–20 years old and female students. Fifty percents (50%) respondents perceived that of autism is a socio-emotional and neuro-developmental disorder with a non-verbal behaviors’ impairment, curable disorder with proper treatment. More than fifty percent (50%) disagree that autistic child does not want friends and equivalent stand on the statement about autistic child can live independently. Ninety five percent (90%) agree that social media plays an important platform to deliver facts about autism, and health care provider remains as a key role to increase the level of awareness to the community. Conclusion: Results of this study revealed that nursing students in Sabah have a good awareness and perception towards autistic disorder. Nursing students in Sabah agree that social media plays a vital part to increase the level of awareness and perception.

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Fulltext Awareness and knowledge of nurses towards hepatitis b virus infection at a tertiary hospital in Selangor, Malaysia

Chieng, Jin Yu, Yasotha Sugumaran, Pan Yan

Borneo Journal of Medical Sciences, 2021;15(1):11-20.
MyJurnal

Hepatitis B is a well-recognized occupational risk for healthcare workers. This self-administered questionnaire study was designed to assess awareness and knowledge towards hepatitis B virus infection among 140 nurses at Serdang Hospital, Selangor, Malaysia from the period of 1st April to 30th September 2017. The response rate was 97.2% (n = 140/144). A total of 71.4% of participants showed adequate awareness of hepatitis B. Most participants had heard hepatitis B with the predominant sources receiving from friends, media and education. Majority of them did serology blood test of hepatitis B before. A total of 84.3% of participants were aware of vaccine available for hepatitis B, although 78.6% got vaccinated in the past. Antiviral treatment of hepatitis B was not well noticed by most of them. Education qualification determines the awareness of hepatitis B. Regarding the knowledge, 73.6% of participants showed poor knowledge of hepatitis B. Most participants understood that hepatitis B was caused by a virus infection and the organ most affected was the liver. Surprisingly, 77.9% of them failed to recognize that cancer could be caused by hepatitis B. Majority of participants were aware that transmission of hepatitis B could be mediated via sexual intercourse, as well as childbirth. Nevertheless, 14.3% of them believed that hepatitis B was able to spread by cough and sneeze. Older age, Chinese ethnicity, and having high educational qualification were factors leading to adequate knowledge of hepatitis B. Additional attention should be emphasized to strengthen knowledge towards hepatitis B among nurses and perhaps other healthcare workers in Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Fulltext BOOSTING STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE WITH THEAID OF SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS

GOBITHAASAN RUDRUSAMY, NURUL SYAHEERA DIN, LINGESWARAN RAMACHANDRAN, ROSLAN HASNI

UMT Journal of Undergraduate Research, 2019;1(3):28-35.
MyJurnal

There are various teaching methods developed in order to attainsuccessful delivery of a subject without prior knowledge of the interaction among the students in a class. Social network analysis (SNA) can be used to identify individual, intermediate and group measures of interaction in a classroom. The idea is on identifying ways to boost the students’ performance by means of lecturer’s intervention based on their interaction. The case study was conducted involvingthird year batchthat consistedof 76 female and 24 male students. A friendship network was drawn based on the information obtained at the end of semester 5 and it wasinvestigated based on two metrics–centralitymeasures and Girvan-Newman algorithm. At the end of semester 5, grades were added asthe attributes of the network.12 clusters were found in this batch and a distinct pattern was identified between performing and poor achieving students. At the beginning of the 6th semester, the studentsweregiven the option to choose between 2 groups. Group 1 was unperturbed without any lecturer’s intervention whereas the performing students’ clusters in Group 1 were preserved but the students in poor performing clusters were distributed among performing clusters. The students were then asked to carry out assignments/quizzesin their respective groups. The final grades indicatedthat the performance of the students of Group 1 wasmuch superior and there wasclear evidence that those poor performing students in the 5th semester performed much better in semester 6. This shows that by understanding the students’ interaction and incorporatiniginstructor’s minimal intervention, the performance of the students can be improved by creating a social contagion effect through group assignment clustering.

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Fulltext Cancer and COVID-19: economic impact on households in Southeast Asia

Kong YC, Sakti VV, Sullivan R, Bhoo-Pathy N

Ecancermedicalscience, 2020;14:1134.
PMID: 33281926 DOI: 10.3332/ecancer.2020.1134

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may worsen the existing financial vulnerabilities of cancer survivors who may be experiencing a double financial hit, both from cancer-induced financial toxicity as well as economic strains arising from loss of income and prolonged unemployment following the pandemic. The impact of the pandemic is likely to be more pronounced on cancer survivors living in resource-limited settings, such as in Southeast Asia. As health care systems in the region try to streamline resources and accommodate the influx of patients from COVID-19, many in the cancer community have experienced severe disruptions in their care. The delays and disruption of timely access to cancer care could lead to patients presenting with worsened conditions and at more advanced cancer stages in which treatment options tended to be costlier. Similar to countries around the world, the various forms of movement restrictions that were enforced have aggravated the rates of unemployment, loss of wages and the limited access to support from family or friends around Southeast Asia. The economic impact of COVID-19 hits even harder on the large proportion of the population in the region that works in the informal sector, who are often one paycheque or one episode of illness away from financial catastrophe. More worryingly, the lack of a robust social security system in many Southeast Asian countries, especially in terms of income protection, could ultimately force many cancer survivors to choose between paying for their treatments, or to forego treatments, and feed their families. Early identification of cancer patients experiencing financial toxicity following the pandemic will enable timely and appropriate interventions to be undertaken by various stakeholders, potentially averting a cascade of other economic fallouts that may last for years after cancer treatment.

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Caregiver depression: The contributing role of depression in patients, stigma, social support and religiosity

Chai YC, Mahadevan R, Ng CG, Chan LF, Md Dai F

Int J Soc Psychiatry, 2018 09;64(6):578-588.
PMID: 30074421 DOI: 10.1177/0020764018792585

BACKGROUND: Depression has been well studied as part of caregiver burden among patients with severe mental illnesses. Curiously, though, there has been little data in terms of caregiver burden with specific focus on depression among caregivers of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).
AIM: This study aims to determine the rate of depression among caregivers of person with depression and its psychosocial correlates, which include stigma, perceived social support, religious commitment and the severity of the patient's symptoms.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 165 patients diagnosed with MDD using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) together with their caregivers. Apart from gathering social demographic data, patients were administered the 16-item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self-Rated Version (QIDS-SR 16), whereas the caregivers were required to answer Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) and Depression Stigma Scale (DSS). Those who scored ⩾5 on PHQ-9 were further assessed with interviewer-rated M.I.N.I. to diagnose the presence of depression.
RESULTS: A total of 47 (28.5%) caregivers were found to have depressive symptoms. Out of that total, 13 (7.9%) were diagnosed to have MDD using M.I.N.I. From univariate analysis, factors associated with depression in caregivers were the severity of symptoms in patients ( p

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Fulltext Chikungunya in Singapore: imported cases among travelers visiting friends and relatives

Lim PL, Oh HM, Ooi EE

J Travel Med, 2009 Jul-Aug;16(4):289-91.
PMID: 19674272 DOI: 10.1111/j.1708-8305.2009.00313.x

Chikungunya infections were detected in Singapore among returning travelers who had visited friends and relatives (VFR) in India and Malaysia. These sporadic imported cases occurred over a year before the 2008 chikungunya outbreaks in Singapore, demonstrating the potential for introducing this emerging viral infection into new areas via VFR travel.

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Children abused while in the care of child-minders: the Malaysian scene

Marret, M.J., Aili, H., Koh, M.T.

Malaysian Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2000;12(1):42-47.
MyJurnal

This paper looks at some of the problems encountered when cases of abuse and injuries occur in children placed in child care in an urban community in Malaysia. It is based on the study of 37 children referred to our hospital's Child Protection Services over the past four years for injuries and incidents where the child-minders came under suspicion. They constituted 12% of the 285 children referred to the Child Protection Team during that period for evaluation of suspected child abuse. Twenty six children had experienced physical trauma. Fifty eight percent of these were young infants with cranial injuries or limb fractures but no history to explain their occurrence. Four had superficial injuries from accidents secondary to inadequate supervision. The other 11 children had been sexually abused. The perpetrators in 73% of cases were either the husbands or sons of the child-minder. Ninety five percent of the incidents occured at home-based nurseries. Prospects of any punitive measures were remote in most instances due to uncertainty about the perpetrator, or insufficient corroborative evidence required in sexual abuse cases. There were three documented cases where the family refused to lodge a police report or co-operate with investigations out of a reluctance to implicate or offend the child-minders who were mainly neighbours, relatives or friends in 58% of cases. Ninety seven percent of the facilities were unregistered, making surveillance for recurrent incidents and adherence to safety standards difficult. These incidents were almost certainly an underestimate of the problem. Training of child-care providers, improved legislation and enforcement as well as education of parents to choose suitable facilities are issues which need to be tackled.

Matched MeSH terms: Friends
Fulltext Clustering of lifestyle risk behaviours and its determinants among school-going adolescents in a middle-income country: a cross-sectional study

Teh CH, Teh MW, Lim KH, Kee CC, Sumarni MG, Heng PP, et al.

BMC Public Health, 2019 Aug 27;19(1):1177.
PMID: 31455283 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-019-7516-4

BACKGROUND: Lifestyle risk behaviours such as smoking, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, sedentary behaviour and low fruit/vegetable intake have been identified as the major causes of chronic diseases. Such behaviours are usually instigated in adolescence and tend to persist into adulthood. Studies on the clustering of lifestyle risk behaviours among adolescents are scarce, particularly in developing countries. Therefore, the present paper aimed to determine the clustering of lifestyle risk behaviours and its determinants among school-going adolescents in Malaysia.
METHODS: Data were extracted from a cross-sectional study, the Malaysian Adolescent Health Risk Behaviour (MyAHRB) study, which was conducted from May to September 2013 across 11 states in Peninsular Malaysia. A two-stage proportionate-to-size sampling method was employed to select a total of 3578 school-going adolescents aged 16-17 years from 20 selected schools in urban and rural settlements, respectively. The MyAHRB study adopted a set of self-administered questionnaires adapted from the Global School-based Student's Health Survey (GSHS) and the Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance.
RESULTS: The results from the analysis of 2991 school-going adolescents aged 16-17 years showed that 16 (in boys) and 15 (in girls) out of 32 combinations of lifestyle risk behaviours clustered. Girls (aOR 2.82, 95% CI: 2.32-3.43) were significantly more likely to have clustered risk behaviours than boys; however, no significant associated factors were observed among girls. In contrast, boys of Malay descent (aOR 0.64, 95% CI: 0.46-0.89) or boys who had at least three friends (aOR 0.65, 95% CI: 0.43-0.99) were less likely to engage in multiple risk behaviours.
CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated the clustering of multiple risk behaviours that occurred in both genders; these results suggest that multiple behaviour intervention programmes, instead of programmes based on siloed approaches, should be advocated and targeted to the high-risk sub-populations identified in the present study.

Matched MeSH terms: Friends/psychology
Fulltext Community awareness and attitudes towards influenza outbreak and prevention in Serian, Sarawak

Rohaya Mohd-Nor, Rose Nanju@Manju, Samuel Lihan, Sidiah John Siop, Rekaya Vincent Balang, Constance Rinen Justin Wah, et al.

Int J Public Health Res, 2013;3(2):334-346.
MyJurnal

To date, there has been no systematic research that investigates the rural community awareness and attitudes towards pandemic influenza H1N1 and its prevention measures in the context of Sarawak. There is also no systematic study about whether the initiatives to educate the public undertaken by the government and other agencies have empowered the rural communities to practice an effective self-care within the context of community, that assist to curb the potential spread of this disease. Our research aims to address these limitations. In this paper, we report a survey finding about the awareness and attitudes of the Serian community with regard to this area of research interest. We also investigate the relevant sources of information that the community relies on in understanding about the influenza and how it can spread. Overall, the outcomes of the survey reveal that a majority of our respondents has a relatively low level of knowledge and awareness particularly about the characteristics of the illness and how H1N1 virus can transmit. With regard to prevention measures, a majority of them reported good understanding and awareness about the effective self-care practices that can help to curb the potential spread of the influenza. The top five sources to obtain information about the influenza were: information from family, relatives, friends or neighbours; radio; TV; newspapers; and government health talk seminar or campaigns. The research outcomes can offer pragmatic contributions that can benefit the health campaigners and policy makers.

Matched MeSH terms: Friends

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