The Physics Interviewing Project assists graduate physics departments in evaluating foreign applicants. Supported by some 20 universities, two interviewers, both working scientists, travel abroad and interview students individually for about 1 hour each. Prospective teaching assistants are rated on physics knowledge, problem-solving ability, and English language proficiency. Ratings on all interviewees are sent to all supporting schools and other schools as requested. The Project aids able students from countries that have no physics Ph.D. programs (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand) to obtain assistantships and Ph.D.'s abroad, assists in the technological development of those countries, and helps U.S. schools in selecting the most promising foreign candidates. A similar program should be beneficial in other sciences.
Analysis of World Fertility Survey data from five countries--Colombia, Costa Rica, Korea, Malaysia and Nepal--shows that the availability of contraceptive services and supplies is a major determinant of use. In Nepal, where few women know where to obtain supplies, only two percent are contracepting. In Costa Rica, where almost all married women know an outlet nearby, 53 percent use effective methods.
Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
This is a study of 110 married men as to their attitudes to family planning. Most of the respondents approved of family planning. There is a reluctance to plan families before the first child. more among the Malays than among the Indians. Majority of the respondents [81%] have discussed family planning with their wives, and are also willing to allow their wives to practise family planning. Induced abortion is not favoured by the respondents especially the Malays. Only half the respondents are practising family planning and it appears that the better educated approve as well as practise family planning more than those with less education. A large proportion [89%] of respondents are interested in learning more about family planning.
Study site: Army Garrison Hospital, Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
Realising that family planning is not making a sufficient impact on the rural people as it is on the urban people, it was decided that it would be interesting to study the knowledge and attitude of a rural community towards family planning, The study sample consisted of 200 Malay married women - 100 acceptors and 100 non-acceptors from the Kuala Pilah District, The study commenced on 4 December 1978 and ended on 22 December 1978. A healthy climate of knowledge and attitude exists among rural Malay women. Only 2 percent nonacceptors had not heard of any method of family planning, and 99 percent acceptors, and 85 percent non-acceptors discussed family planning with their husbands. There was also enough evidence to show that birth rate does decrease as literacy rate increases. On the other hand, however, only 19 percent respondents approved of family planning practice before the first child. Also there is a dearth of information on family planning in the rural areas and not much was being done in utilising the two popular forms of mass-media - the radio and the television as a means of disseminating information on family planning. The study concludes with a recommendation that there is a need for sustained effort at improving knowledge and disseminating information, and nursing and nurturing the right attitudes towards family planning, It suggests that community leaders, women's clubs and private organisations be mobilised to participate more
fully in promoting family planning,
Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
The importance of epidemiology and epidemilogical knowledge of plantation health and disease in the planning of health care & effective management of a plantation is highlighted. The results of the survey of endemic diseases in the estates in Peninsular Malaysia are presented and compared with national disease patterns. The disease patterns in the plantations are similar to those for the country in general. Differences that exist are due to differences in the ecology of the plantations. The health effects of ecological changes consequent on development and progress are referred to. Most of the endemic communicable diseases encountered in the plantations can be prevented and controlled through the improvement of the micro environment of the plantations and the utilisation of simple available appropriate technologies for health care and services.
Use of contraceptives by some selected characteristics was studied for married women in the reproductive age range (MWRA) in three south‐east Asian countries. The data were obtained from each country's national family planning/fertility survey conducted around the mid‐seventies. Only the gross relationship between each of the selected characteristics and contraceptive use was compared. The proportion of MWRA using contraceptives for Singapore was almost twice as high as the corresponding proportions for Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand. The pattern of contraceptive use was largely similar for Thailand and Malaysia but different from Singapore. The differences were largely attributed to the absence of a large rural population in Singapore, the apparently greater tendency of women in Singapore to use reversible contraceptive methods for birth spacing and the easier access by women to family planning information and services, particularly sterilisation, than in Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand.
Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
The study reported served 2 purposes: 1) to assess the amount of sexual information posessed by a sample of staff nurses working for the National Family Planning Board and the Public Health Dept., and 2) to gather local normative data on the Information Subtest of the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI). The subjects for the this study were 2 groups of staff nurses. 10 were employees of the National Family Planning Board currently working in 1 of its clinics and 25 were public health nurses who were at a 1 week training at the clinic. The research was a questionnaire type study. Each subject was given the DSFI. On the Information Subtest of the DSFI the subjects obtained a mean score of 12.7 with a standard deviation of 4.2. This score is much lower than the normative mean (American population) and the sexually dysfunctional women mean. The nurses had inadequate and inaccurate knowledge about anatomy, physiology and psychology of sexual relations. Error analysis revealed that as a group they had poor understanding about male sexuality, the effect of aging on sexuality fertility and menopause, and difficulty in accepting oral-genital sex and sexual fantasies. This study recommends that these nurses, in order to more effective in their work, should be trained in the area of human sexuality. This training must include not only the physiology of sex but also the human aspects of sexual union.
PIP: Knowledge about contraception was examined in relation to selected socioeconomic variables. A total of 2567 currently married women aged 15-49 years residing in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya were interviewed. The majority of the women knew of at least 1 contraceptive method. An index termed Contraceptive Knowledge Score (CKS) was used to measure the level of knowledge about contraception. The CKS achieved differed significantly by age, area of residence and ethnic group. The other socioeconomic variables significantly associated with CKS are schooling, occupation, income, childhood residence and age at marriage. These relationships persisted even after adjusting for differences in age, ethnicity and area of residence. Overall the CKS attained have a wide range and there is no significant difference of the mean CKS attained, between users and non-users of contraceptives.
Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*; Knowledge*
The figures for abortions performed under The Abortion Act, 1974 of Singapore in a private clinic over a period of 20 months were studied. Overall, an alarming proportion of repeat abortions were found, and this was true for all age groups suggesting that abortions are being used as a regular method of family planning in Singapore.
Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
This study compares the knowledge, attitudes and practice of mothers in two ethnic groups with regard to acute respiratory infections (ARI) in their child. Most had traditional beliefs as to the cause of ARI with only a minority knowing the causes. Most mothers were aware of the effect of frequent attacks of ARI on the health status of their child and of the importance of early treatment. Reasons for their becoming worried during an episode of ARI in their child indicated that problems of distance, transportation and arrangements for care of their other children predominate. A large proportion of the respondents felt that their present knowledge of ARI was inadequate and were thus interested in obtaining more information.
Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
An audit of diabetes care was done in a hospital to assess its effectiveness. The results revealed that diabetic patients received less than adequate care. Only 9% of the patients achieved good glycaemic control; 39% had hypertriglyceridemia and 65% had undesirable weight gain while on treatment. The average duration of diabetes in this group of young diabetic patients under study was only 4.5 years, yet 12% of them had evidence of diabetic retinopathy. Few patients possessed adequate knowledge and skills of diabetes self-care. No patients could draw up and mix insulin adequately. Only one patient could self-inject insulin correctly. Few understood the nature of hypoglycaemia, hence few took adequate precaution against it. Patients had frequent hypoglycaemia; 61% had at least one episode per week and 56% of the diabetic drivers admitted to occurrence of hypoglycaemia while driving. No patient understood the principle of diabetic diet therapy, nor did they carry out regular home-monitoring of their diabetes. Good diabetes care requires organisation with supportive patient education. The less than adequate standard of care achieved by the hospital under study is probably explained by the absence of both.
Study site: Outpatient clinic, Hospital Mentakab, Pahang, Malaysia
Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*