Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 100 in total

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  1. Zubair S, Syed Yusoff SK, Fisal N
    Sensors (Basel), 2016;16(2):172.
    PMID: 26840312 DOI: 10.3390/s16020172
    The emergence of the Internet of Things and the proliferation of mobile wireless devices has brought the area of mobile cognitive radio sensor networks (MCRSN) to the research spot light. Notwithstanding the potentials of CRSNs in terms of opportunistic channel usage for bursty traffic, the effect of the mobility of resource-constrained nodes to route stability, mobility-induced spatio-temporal spectral opportunities and primary user (PU) protection still remain open issues that need to be jointly addressed. To this effect, this paper proposes a mobile reliable geographical forwarding routing (MROR) protocol. MROR provides a robust mobile framework for geographical forwarding that is based on a mobility-induced channel availability model. It presents a comprehensive routing strategy that considers PU activity (to take care of routes that have to be built through PU coverage), PU signal protection (by the introduction of a mobility-induced guard (mguard) distance) and the random mobility-induced spatio-temporal spectrum opportunities (for enhancement of throughput). It also addresses the issue of frequent route maintenance that arises when speeds of the mobile nodes are considered as a routing metric. As a result, simulation has shown the ability of MROR to reduce the route failure rate by about 65% as against other schemes. In addition, further results show that MROR can improve both the throughput and goodput at the sink in an energy-efficient manner that is required in CRSNs as against compared works.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources
  2. Zin, Thant, Myint, Than, Htay, Kyaw, Shamsul, B. S.
    MyJurnal
    Island health differs from other health care systems, particularly in that there are limited resources and referral faculties available. With globalisation and climate change, island populations have become increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters and global pandemics. This study will identify, explore, compare and report on island health issues facing in the western Pacific, before making appropriate recommendations. A review of selected health indicators in Pacific islands was collected from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other publicly available resources. In the Pacific region, 15 islands saw lower health expenditure (
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources
  3. Zawiah M, Al-Ashwal FY, Saeed RM, Kubas M, Saeed S, Khan AH, et al.
    Front Public Health, 2020;8:419.
    PMID: 32850608 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00419
    Background: In the past decade, Yemen has witnessed several disasters that resulted in a crumbled healthcare system. With the declaration of COVID-19 a global pandemic, and later the appearance of first confirmed cases in Yemen, there is an urgent need to assess the preparedness of healthcare facilities (HCFs) and their capacities to tackle a looming COVID-19 outbreak. Herein, we present an assessment of the current state of preparedness and capabilities of HCFs in Yemen to prevent and manage the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: An online survey for HCFs was developed, validated, and distributed. The questionnaire is divided into five main sections: (1) Demographic variables for participants. (2) HCFs capabilities for COVID-19 outbreak. (3) Support received to face the emergence and spread of COVID-19. (4). Current practices of infection prevention and control measures in the HCFs. The last section focused on the recommendations to ensure effective and timely response to this outbreak in Yemen. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze data using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS), version 23. Results: Responses were received from healthcare workers (HCWs) from 18 out of 22 governorates in Yemen. Out of the 296 HCWs who participated in the study, the vast majority (93.9%) believed that the healthcare system in Yemen does not have the resources and capabilities to face and manage a COVID-19 outbreak. Approximately 82.4% of participants rated the general preparedness level of their HCFs as very poor or poor. More specifically, the majority of HCWs rated their HCFs as very poor or poor in term of availability of the following: an adequate number of mechanical ventilators (88.8%), diagnostic devices (88.2%), ICU rooms and beds (81.4%), and isolation rooms (79.7%). Conclusions: The healthcare facilities in Yemen are unprepared and lack the most basic resources and capabilities to cope with or tackle a COVID-19 outbreak. With the current state of a fragile healthcare system, a widespread outbreak of COVID-19 in Yemen could result in devastating consequences. There is an urgent need to provide support to the healthcare workers and HCFs that are on the frontline against COVID-19.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources/supply & distribution
  4. Yip CH, Taib NA
    Climacteric, 2014 Dec;17 Suppl 2:54-9.
    PMID: 25131779 DOI: 10.3109/13697137.2014.947255
    Breast cancer is one of the leading cancers world-wide. While the incidence in developing countries is lower than in developed countries, the mortality is much higher. Of the estimated 1 600 000 new cases of breast cancer globally in 2012, 794 000 were in the more developed world compared to 883 000 in the less developed world; however, there were 198 000 deaths in the more developed world compared to 324 000 in the less developed world (data from Globocan 2012, IARC). Survival from breast cancer depends on two main factors--early detection and optimal treatment. In developing countries, women present with late stages of disease. The barriers to early detection are physical, such as geographical isolation, financial as well as psychosocial, including lack of education, belief in traditional medicine and lack of autonomous decision-making in the male-dominated societies that prevail in the developing world. There are virtually no population-based breast cancer screening programs in developing countries. However, before any screening program can be implemented, there must be facilities to treat the cancers that are detected. Inadequate access to optimal treatment of breast cancer remains a problem. Lack of specialist manpower, facilities and anticancer drugs contribute to the suboptimal care that a woman with breast cancer in a low-income country receives. International groups such as the Breast Health Global Initiative were set up to develop economically feasible, clinical practice guidelines for breast cancer management to improve breast health outcomes in countries with limited resources.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources/economics; Health Resources/trends
  5. Yelamanchi R, Agrawal H, Durga CK
    Malays J Med Sci, 2020 Dec;27(6):187-189.
    PMID: 33447144 DOI: 10.21315/mjms2020.27.6.16
    Breast complaints are a very common cause of healthcare visits in the female population. They range in severity from benign to malignant, and treatment options vary from simple observation to mastectomy. As healthcare facilities are overburdened with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, properly triaging patients diagnosed with breast disorders is necessary for the optimal use of limited resources in developing countries. We are proposing a concise triage system for timely intervention among patients with breast disorders during the havoc of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources
  6. Wasant P, Padilla C, Lam S, Thong MK, Lai PS
    Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet, 2019 06;181(2):155-165.
    PMID: 31050142 DOI: 10.1002/ajmg.c.31701
    Putting together the reports in this issue that come from a representation of the different countries in Asia presents an opportunity to share the unique story of the Asia Pacific Society of Human Genetics (APSHG), which has provided the authors of many of these articles. This paper, authored by the Past Presidents of the Society, shares glimpses of how medical genetics activities were first organized in the Asia Pacific region and provides interesting corollaries on how under-developed and developing countries in this part of the world had developed a unique network for exchange and sharing of expertise and resources. Although APSHG was formally registered as a Society in Singapore in 2006, the Society has its origins as far back as in the 1990s with members from different countries meeting informally, exchanging ideas, and collaborating. This treatise documents the story of the experiences of the Society and hopes it will provide inspiration on how members of a genetics community can foster and build a thriving environment to promote this field.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources
  7. Waikagul J
    Parasitol Int, 2006;55 Suppl:S297-300.
    PMID: 16326132
    The SEAMEO TROPMED Network is a regional cooperative network established in 1967 for education, training and research in tropical medicine and public health under the Southeast Asia Ministers of Education Organization. The Network operates through four Regional Centers with respective areas of specialization and host institutions: Community Nutrition/Tropmed Indonesia; Microbiology, Parasitology and Entomology/Tropmed Malaysia; Public Health/Tropmed Philippines; and Tropical Medicine/Tropmed Thailand. To train health workers, to support research on endemic and newly emerging diseases, and to advocate relevant health policies are the main functions of these centers. SEAMEO TROPMED Network in collaboration with the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University and other institutions has regularly organized the Seminar on Food-borne Parasitic Zoonoses every 3-5 years over the past 15 years. The Faculty of Tropical Medicine has organized the annual Joint International Tropical Medicine Meeting since 1996. Full papers of the presentations at these two meetings have been published as supplementary issues to the Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health, an in-house journal of SEAMEO TROPMED Network. Recently, the Parasitology Association of ASEAN Countries has rotated the hosting of the ASEAN Congress of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine. These institutional and conference networks will enable closer links, to promote the health of people in the Southeast Asian region.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources/organization & administration*
  8. Vikneswary Uvaraja, Lee, Lai Soon
    MyJurnal
    Urban Transit Network Design Problem (UTNDP) focuses on deriving useful set of
    routes, manageable timetabling for each transit route and transit scheduling based on
    available resources. UTNDP is commonly subdivided into Urban Transit Routing
    Problem (UTRP) and Urban Transit Scheduling Problem (UTSP), respectively. There are
    various approaches applied to solve the UTSP. The aim of this paper is to give a
    comprehensive list of studies on UTSP that deals with metaheuristic approaches such
    as Tabu Search, Simulated Annealing, Genetic Algorithm and their hybrid methods. This
    review also addressed possible gaps of the approaches and the limitations of the
    overall problem. It can be concluded that only some of the metaheuristic approaches
    and sub-problems are highly studied in UTSP. This review will be useful for researchers
    who are interested in expanding their knowledge and conduct research in UTSP using
    metaheuristic approaches.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources
  9. Thwala C, Carrera PM
    Health Aff (Millwood), 2016 08 01;35(8):1546.
    PMID: 27503987 DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0790
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources*
  10. Teoh SL, Chong HY, Abdul Aziz S, Chemi N, Othman AR, Md Zaki N, et al.
    Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat, 2017;13:1979-1987.
    PMID: 28814869 DOI: 10.2147/NDT.S137140
    INTRODUCTION: Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a highly debilitating disease despite its low prevalence. The economic burden associated with SCZ is substantial and mainly attributed to productivity loss. To improve the understanding of economic burden of SCZ in the low- and middle-income country regions, we aimed to determine the economic burden of SCZ in Malaysia.

    METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted using a prevalence-based approach from a societal perspective in Malaysia with a 1 year period from 2013. We used micro-costing technique with bottom-up method and included direct medical cost, direct non-medical cost, and indirect cost. The main data source was medical chart review which was conducted in Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL). The medical charts were identified electronically by matching the unique patient's identification number registered under the National Mental Health Schizophrenia Registry and the list of patients in HKL in 2013. Other data sources were government documents, literatures, and local websites. To ensure robustness of result, probabilistic sensitivity analysis was conducted.

    RESULTS: The total estimated number of treated SCZ cases in Malaysia in 2015 was 15,104 with the total economic burden of USD 100 million (M) which was equivalent to 0.04% of the national gross domestic product. On average, the mean cost per patient was USD 6,594. Of the total economic burden of SCZ, 72% was attributed to indirect cost, costing at USD 72M, followed by direct medical cost (26%), costing at USD 26M, and direct non-medical cost (2%), costing at USD 1.7M.

    CONCLUSION: This study highlights the magnitude of economic burden of SCZ and informs the policy-makers that there is an inadequate support for SCZ patients. More resources should be allocated to improve the condition of SCZ patients and to reduce the economic burden.

    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources
  11. Tengku Ariff, R.H., Mohd Nazi, M.Z., Mohd Rizam, M.Z., Mohd Shahriman, M.S., Zakaria, Y., Kamal Nazmir, K., et al.
    MyJurnal
    This study was conducted to determine the health status of aboriginal ("Orang Asli') children aged 0-12 years in Post Brooke, Gua Musang, Kelantan. This is done by appraising the environmental status, patterns of illnesses including communicable diseases and usage of health resources. Six villages were selected randomly from 12 villages in the area; 179 families were interviewed, 200 under-12-year-olds were examined and their blood samples taken for haemoglobin (HB) estimation as well as malarial screening. Water supply through Gravity Feed System (GFS) was used by 134 families (70.2%) whilst the rest obtained water direct from the river for the purpose. Only 63.6% of families boiled their drinking water 56.4% families threw rubbish indiscriminately, while 82.1% used the river as their toilets. Eighty-seven percent of the families saw the village medicine man first when ill. Forty (22.2%) children had had serious illnesses including malaria and 24 were admitted to hospitals. 15% of the children had never been immunized. A total of 102 (51%) children were pale and 90 (45%) had brown hair. Eighty nine (44.5%) of the children were anaemic (Hb < 10 gm/di). Sixty-nine children (34%) had dental caries. Forty-two (21%) had distended abdomen and 37 (18.5%) had hepatomegaly. Out of 84 stool samples examined, 67 (79.8%) had helminthic ova. Of all families, 47.1% gave a past history of at least one baby among their children who had died due to one reason or another. The health status of this community (especially children) was low that it warrants special attention.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources
  12. Teh YC, Tan GH, Taib NA, Rahmat K, Westerhout CJ, Fadzli F, et al.
    BMC Cancer, 2015;15:405.
    PMID: 25972043 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-015-1419-2
    Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women world-wide. In low and middle income countries, where there are no population-based mammographic screening programmes, late presentation is common, and because of inadequate access to optimal treatment, survival rates are poor. Mammographic screening is well-studied in high-income countries in western populations, and because it has been shown to reduce breast cancer mortality, it has become part of the healthcare systems in such countries. However the performance of mammographic screening in a developing country is largely unknown. This study aims to evaluate the performance of mammographic screening in Malaysia, a middle income country, and to compare the stage and surgical treatment of screen-detected and symptomatic breast cancer.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources*
  13. Tang R, Yang H, Choi JR, Gong Y, Hu J, Feng S, et al.
    Talanta, 2016 May 15;152:269-76.
    PMID: 26992520 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2016.02.017
    Lateral flow assays (LFAs) hold great promise for point-of-care testing, especially in resource-poor settings. However, the poor sensitivity of LFAs limits their widespread applications. To address this, we developed a novel device by integrating dialysis-based concentration method into LFAs. The device successfully achieved 10-fold signal enhancement in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) nucleic acid detection with a detection limit of 0.1nM and 4-fold signal enhancement in myoglobin (MYO) detection with a detection limit of 1.56ng/mL in less than 25min. This simple, low-cost and portable integrated device holds great potential for highly sensitive detection of various target analytes for medical diagnostics, food safety analysis and environmental monitoring.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources
  14. Taib NA, Yip CH, Ibrahim M, Ng CJ, Farizah H
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2007 Jan-Mar;8(1):141-5.
    PMID: 17477791
    The message that health care providers caring for patients with breast cancer would like to put forth, is that, not only early detection is crucial but early treatment too is important in ensuring survival. This paper examines the pattern of presentation at a single institution over a 10-year period from 1995 to 2005. In Malaysia, education outreach programmes are ongoing, with contributions not only from the public sector, but also private enterprise. Articles on breast cancer in local newspapers and women magazines and television are quite commonplace. However are our women getting the right message? Now is an appropriate time to bring the stakeholders together to formulate a way to reach all women in Malaysia, not excluding the fact that we are from different races, different education levels and backgrounds requiring differing ways of delivering health promotion messages. To answer the question of why women present late, we prospectively studied 25 women who presented with locally advanced disease. A quantitative, quasi-qualitative study was embarked upon, as a prelude to a more detailed study. Reasons for presenting late were recorded. We also looked at the pattern of presentation of breast lumps in women to our breast clinic in UMMC and in the surgical clinic in Hospital Kota Bharu, in the smaller capital of the state of Kelantan, in 2003. There is hope for the future, the government being a socially responsible one is currently making efforts towards mammographic screening in Malaysia. However understanding of the disease, acceptance of medical treatment and providing resources is imperative to ensure that health behaviour exhibited by our women is not self-destructive but self-preserving. Women are an integral part of not only the nation's workforce but the lifeline of the family - hopefully in the next decade we will see great improvement in the survival of Malaysian women with breast cancer.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources
  15. Suneja G, Brown D, Chang A, Erickson B, Fidarova E, Grover S, et al.
    Brachytherapy, 2017 Jan-Feb;16(1):85-94.
    PMID: 27919654 DOI: 10.1016/j.brachy.2016.10.007
    PURPOSE: Most cervix cancer cases occur in low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC), and outcomes are suboptimal, even for early stage disease. Brachytherapy plays a central role in the treatment paradigm, improving both local control and overall survival. The American Brachytherapy Society (ABS) aims to provide guidelines for brachytherapy delivery in resource-limited settings.

    METHODS AND MATERIALS: A panel of clinicians and physicists with expertise in brachytherapy administration in LMIC was convened. A survey was developed to identify practice patterns at the authors' institutions and was also extended to participants of the Cervix Cancer Research Network. The scientific literature was reviewed to identify consensus papers or review articles with a focus on treatment of locally advanced, unresected cervical cancer in LMIC.

    RESULTS: Of the 40 participants invited to respond to the survey, 32 responded (response rate 80%). Participants were practicing in 14 different countries including both high-income (China, Singapore, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and United States) and low-income or middle-income countries (Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam). Recommendations for modifications to existing ABS guidelines were reviewed by the panel members and are highlighted in this article.

    CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations for treatment of locally advanced, unresectable cervical cancer in LMIC are presented. The guidelines comment on staging, external beam radiotherapy, use of concurrent chemotherapy, overall treatment duration, use of anesthesia, applicator choice and placement verification, brachytherapy treatment planning including dose and prescription point, recommended reporting and documentation, physics support, and follow-up.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources
  16. Suleiman AB
    Stud Health Technol Inform, 2004;104:182-90.
    PMID: 15747978 DOI: 10.3233/978-1-60750-947-9-182
    Malaysia, like many other countries faces major challenges in meeting increasing demands with limited resources. Changes in demography, life-style diseases, increasing consumer expectations, new medical technologies and rapid economic growth all fuel demand for more healthcare services. There are problems related to the distribution and delivery of healthcare services, and there is inadequate integration of healthcare delivery and continuity of care is a major concern. Resources tend to be concentrated in the very expensive hospital sector, although services would be cost-effectively and conveniently delivered at primary care level. There is no ideal healthcare system, and how healthcare is supported and organized for service delivery influences the country's social, economic and political well-being. Like many other countries, Malaysia is undergoing health reform in meeting these challenges, and is becoming more reliant on telemedicine and telehealth.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources/economics; Health Resources/supply & distribution
  17. Sukeri S, Bakar RS, Othman A, Ibrahim MI
    J Taibah Univ Med Sci, 2017 Oct;12(5):424-429.
    PMID: 31435274 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtumed.2017.05.002
    Objectives: The present study aimed to determine the barriers that deter mothers of children with disabilities from attaining their unmet needs.

    Methods: In-depth interviews of 12 mothers of children with disabilities were conducted from November 2014 to January 2015 in Kelantan, Malaysia. The mothers were recruited by purposive sampling. Thematic analysis was used for identifying, analysing and reporting the data.

    Results: Barriers to the unmet needs among mothers of children with disabilities were found to stem from the mothers' expectation and further propagated by lack of support, the role of healthcare professionals in providing care, inappropriate policies and shortage of resources required for survival and maintaining care.

    Conclusions: Identification of the barriers to the attainment of unmet needs among mothers of disabled children is crucial for resolving the issue of unmet needs. Deeper understanding of these barriers may facilitate positive actions toward addressing the needs of these mothers and to alleviate the stress on mothers of disabled children. A concerted effort to coordinate services across all disciplines is required to dismantle these barriers by improving the provision of health care delivery and evaluation of welfare policies and services.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources
  18. Shakeel S, Ahmed Hassali MA, Abbas Naqvi A
    Malays J Med Sci, 2020 Mar;27(2):159-164.
    PMID: 32788851 MyJurnal DOI: 10.21315/mjms2020.27.2.16
    The World Health Organization (WHO) has termed the novel coronavirus infection a pandemic based on number of confirmed cases in more than 195 countries and with risk of further spread. The infection has had drastic impact on global trade and stock markets. The Malaysian authorities realised the need to ensure availability of health resources and facilities in the country so that the healthcare professionals could treat serious cases on priority basis. Steps have been taken to ensure that health facilities are not overwhelmed with cases and do not become the source of virus spread to other healthcare staff and patients.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources
  19. Shahruz Idzwan Azmi, Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh, Noor Hassim Ismail
    MyJurnal
    Occupational Related Chronic Low Back Pain (OCLBP) is a globally recognized illness that causes reduction in productivity and substantial economic burden to the countries. It requires a multidisclipinary approach involving employer, healthcare provider, compensatory and enforcement agencies. However there is no specific guideline or pathway that has integrated the roles of each responsible agency. The objective of this article is to highlight the need and to propose a coordinated approach through the concept of Integrated Care Pathway (ICP). Therefore, we reviewed international and local guidelines as well as published articles on chronic low back pain and care pathway. We believed that development of a pathway will be able to organize the role of management at every level, reducing the variations in the management, addressing issues of communicating the findings between the responsible stakeholders, fulfilling the requirements as the laws, allows effective and feasible approaches to take place in terms of cost and practicality, and increase the awareness on occupational diseases. Expected challenges such as limitation of resources, unawareness and lack of understanding on OCLBP from every level are issue that we agreed can be bridged through ICP.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources
  20. Schröeder SE, Pedrana A, Scott N, Wilson D, Kuschel C, Aufegger L, et al.
    Liver Int, 2019 10;39(10):1818-1836.
    PMID: 31433902 DOI: 10.1111/liv.14222
    Viral hepatitis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, but has long been neglected by national and international policymakers. Recent modelling studies suggest that investing in the global elimination of viral hepatitis is feasible and cost-effective. In 2016, all 194 member states of the World Health Organization endorsed the goal to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, but complex systemic and social realities hamper implementation efforts. This paper presents eight case studies from a diverse range of countries that have invested in responses to viral hepatitis and adopted innovative approaches to tackle their respective epidemics. Based on an investment framework developed to build a global investment case for the elimination of viral hepatitis by 2030, national activities and key enablers are highlighted that showcase the feasibility and impact of concerted hepatitis responses across a range of settings, with different levels of available resources and infrastructural development. These case studies demonstrate the utility of taking a multipronged, public health approach to: (a) evidence-gathering and planning; (b) implementation; and (c) integration of viral hepatitis services into the Agenda for Sustainable Development. They provide models for planning, investment and implementation strategies for other countries facing similar challenges and resource constraints.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Resources/statistics & numerical data*
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