Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 35 in total

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  1. Al-Dubai SA, Ganasegeran K, Perianayagam W, Rampal KG
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2013;2013:137620.
    PMID: 24367238 DOI: 10.1155/2013/137620
    This study was the first to explore factors associated with emotional burnout (EB) among medical residents in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a universal sample of 205 medical residents in a Malaysian general hospital. The self-administered questionnaire used consisted of questions on sociodemographics and work characteristics, sources of job stress, professional fulfillment, engagement, and EB. EB was measured using the emotional exhaustion subscale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Mean (±SD) age of the respondents was 26.5 (±1.6). The most common source of job stress was "fear of making mistakes." Most of the participants were dissatisfied with the increase of residentship period from one year to two years. A high level of EB was reported by 36.6% of the respondents. In multivariate analysis, the most important correlates of EB were sources of job stress, professional fulfillment, and engagement. A high prevalence of EB was found among medical residents. Sociodemographic characteristics, performance pressure, and satisfaction with policies were significantly associated with EB. Although this study was limited by its cross-sectional design, its findings posit a sufficient foundation to relevant authorities to construct, amend, and amalgamate existing and future policies. Nothing will sustain you more potently than the power to recognize in your humdrum routine, as perhaps it may be thought, the true poetry of life-the poetry of the common place, of the common man, of the plain, toil-worn woman, with their loves and their joys, their sorrows and their grief.SirWilliam Osler, Aphorisms from the Student Life (Aequanimitas, 1952).
    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology
  2. Lee YY, Medford AR, Halim AS
    J R Coll Physicians Edinb, 2015;45(2):104-7.
    PMID: 26181523 DOI: 10.4997/JRCPE.2015.203
    Increasing numbers of doctors are experiencing burnout now more than ever before and the worrying part is that what we see is just the tip of the iceberg. Burnout, a state of mental exhaustion caused by the doctor's professional life, is characterised by emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and a reduced sense of accomplishment or success. Burnout has been largely ignored or under-recognised previously. This paper provides a perspective on burnout among doctors, including an overview of symptoms, the scale of the problem, the implications and causes of burnout and, finally, a strategic framework to provide a basis for managing it. Most importantly, professional bodies are urged to start taking steps to help troubled doctors. Medical Colleges should provide essential assistance, support and guidance as well as ensuring fair management and promotion policies.
    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology*
  3. Yaacob I, Abdullah ZA
    PMID: 8362301
    A study of the smoking habits and attitudes toward smoking among 120 doctors at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia was conducted between May to August 1991. Eighteen percent of the doctors were smokers, 13% ex-smokers and 69% had never smoked. All the smokers were male and all except one smoked only cigarettes. Three of the 32 female doctors were ex-smokers. Nineteen of the 21 smokers only smoked in areas where they could not be seen by the public. Most doctors (equally among smokers and non-smokers) had first-degree relatives (mostly males) who were smokers and 28% had relative with smoking-related disease. 81% non-smoking and 43% smoking doctors had advised healthy people to stop smoking. 92% non-smoking and 52% smoking doctors support the smoking-ban in the hospital. Seven of the 21 smokers had never attempted to quit smoking.
    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology*
  4. Sararaks S, Jamaluddin R
    Med J Malaysia, 1999 Sep;54(3):310-9.
    PMID: 11045056
    Motivation, especially on the relationship of remuneration of government doctors to it, has long been an issue of concern. This study sought to elucidate the demotivating factors in service and the perceived discrepancy in income. It was conducted amongst doctors serving in the Ministry of Health, Negeri Sembilan, using self-administered questionnaires. Factors considered demotivating were remuneration, workload and recognition given. Career development, promotion prospects, issues with superiors, resources and patient attitudes were other factors identified. On average, respondents expect an income of 1.63 times more than their current drawn salary and 87.2% cited rewards as a recommendation to improve their satisfaction in service. In-service training was desired by almost all. Though the medical profession has traditionally been viewed as altruistic in nature, doctors in service are voicing out their views and perception, and they should be heard.
    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology*
  5. Dharmalingam TK, Muniandy RK
    Med J Malaysia, 2020 01;75(1):68-73.
    PMID: 32008024
    INTRODUCTION: Doctors play an important role to assess and manage pain. Failing to do so properly, pain will affect the quality of life and increase the length of hospital stay for patients. In Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, pain assessment and management programs have been conducted on a regular basis. However, there has been no studies to assess the effectiveness of these programs.

    METHODOLOGY: This is a cross-sectional study to assess the knowledge and attitude on pain assessment and management among medical officers at QEH. A universal sampling technique was used, to represent medical officers from major clinical departments. The Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) questionnaire was used for this study.

    RESULTS: A total of 278 questionnaires were distributed to medical officers. The study sample consisted of 125 females (44.9%), and 153 males (55.1%). The age group of the participants ranged from 25 to 41 years old. A 116 respondents scored less than 60% on the knowledge of pain (41.7%). These findings show there was a deficit in their knowledge and attitude about pain. There was also a difference of scores between genders, where the male doctors performed better than the female doctors. There was a difference between scores among doctors from different departments. The highest mean score was from the department of Anaesthesia (80.2%). There was also a difference regarding pain knowledge based on the years of working as a doctor, where the highest passing rate was from doctors working for more than five years.

    CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that there is a lack of knowledge and attitude on pain assessment and management among QEH medical officers who responded to this study. This will support the plan on a more aggressive and continuous education programme to improve pain assessment and management among doctors in QEH.

    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology*
  6. Marnoch G, Lian PC
    Soc Sci Med, 2002 Mar;54(6):869-77.
    PMID: 11996021
    This paper considers the subject of managed care in Malaysia, providing a questionnaire-based analysis of the position adopted by private medical practitioners. Managed care is now seen as the dominant health care system in the United States, with many other countries around the world including Malaysia beginning to selectively use component parts to tackle particular health care problems. In this survey it was found that three out of four respondents have concerns regarding the implementation of managed care. The survey was used to identify and categorise these concerns. At the same time, three out of four respondents held the opinion that principles of managed care were already a reality or would be in the next 5 years. This group expressed an eagerness to be trained in managed care principles and be given the opportunity to be part of managed care organisations. It is argued that clinicians' knowledge and interest perceptions are an important influence on the implementation of managed care based systems. The survey-based evidence presented in this article is intended as a measure of current understandings and beliefs, in relation to clinical micro-management process associated with managed care.
    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology*
  7. Mazlina M, Julia PE
    Singapore Med J, 2011 Jun;52(6):421-7.
    PMID: 21731994
    Medical ethics issues encountered in rehabilitation medicine differ from those in an acute care setting due to the complex relationships among the parties involved in rehabilitative care. The study examined the attitudes of Malaysian rehabilitation doctors toward medical ethics issues commonly encountered during patient care.
    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology*
  8. Loh LC
    Respirology, 2018 12;23(12):1198-1199.
    PMID: 30084515 DOI: 10.1111/resp.13382
    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology*
  9. Ngim CF, Lai NM, Ibrahim H
    Prenat Diagn, 2013 Dec;33(13):1226-32.
    PMID: 24014379 DOI: 10.1002/pd.4233
    OBJECTIVE: Genetic counseling for thalassemia carriers is conducted by nongeneticist health care workers (HCWs) in many countries. The aim of the study was to assess Malaysian HCWs' genetic counseling practices with regards to discussing prenatal diagnosis (PND) and termination of pregnancy (TOP) when counseling thalassemia carriers.
    METHOD: A total of 118 Malaysian HCWs (52 doctors and 66 nurses) completed a structured questionnaire that enquired if they would discuss PND and TOP when counseling couples with thalassemia traits, and reasons for their responses were explored.
    RESULTS: All the nurses and 50 (96.1%) doctors were in favor of discussing PND. Only 29 (58%) doctors and 33 (50%) nurses were agreeable to discuss about the option of TOP. Main reasons given for declining to discuss TOP were views that "the condition was not serious enough" (54.9%), TOP is not permissible by their religion (17.6%) and abortion for this indication was illegal (13.7%).
    CONCLUSION: The results showed that HCWs in Malaysia lacked the comprehensive information and necessary skills required when counseling thalassemia carriers. When nongeneticist HCWs are tasked with such responsibilities, their practices and attitudes should be regularly evaluated so that areas of deficiencies could be identified and addressed.
    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology
  10. Samsiah A, Othman N, Jamshed S, Hassali MA
    PLoS One, 2016;11(12):e0166114.
    PMID: 27906960 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166114
    OBJECTIVE: To explore and understand participants' perceptions and attitudes towards the reporting of medication errors (MEs).

    METHODS: A qualitative study using in-depth interviews of 31 healthcare practitioners from nine publicly funded, primary care clinics in three states in peninsular Malaysia was conducted for this study. The participants included family medicine specialists, doctors, pharmacists, pharmacist assistants, nurses and assistant medical officers. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Analysis of the data was guided by the framework approach.

    RESULTS: Six themes and 28 codes were identified. Despite the availability of a reporting system, most of the participants agreed that MEs were underreported. The nature of the error plays an important role in determining the reporting. The reporting system, organisational factors, provider factors, reporter's burden and benefit of reporting also were identified.

    CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare practitioners in primary care clinics understood the importance of reporting MEs to improve patient safety. Their perceptions and attitudes towards reporting of MEs were influenced by many factors which affect the decision-making process of whether or not to report. Although the process is complex, it primarily is determined by the severity of the outcome of the errors. The participants voluntarily report the errors if they are familiar with the reporting system, what error to report, when to report and what form to use.
    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology
  11. Mohd Fauzi MF, Mohd Yusoff H, Mat Saruan NA, Muhamad Robat R
    PLoS One, 2020;15(11):e0241577.
    PMID: 33206663 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241577
    Work-related activities during non-work time may influence the intershift recovery of post-work fatigue. Currently there is no valid and reliable scale available to measure the frequency for such activities among doctors. Therefore, this study aims to develop and validate 'Work-Related Activities during Non-Work Time Scale' (WANTS) that measure the frequency of work-related activities during non-work time for doctors. This was a scale development and validation study among doctors involving item generation, content and construct validation, and reliability assessment. 23-item seven-point Likert-type scale was developed through deductive (literature search) and inductive (interview with source population, authors' experiences, and expert opinion) methods. The content-validated scale was pre-tested, and the improved scale was subsequently administered to randomly-selected 460 doctors working at public hospital setting. Response rate was 77.76% (n = 382). Initial exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with principal axis factoring (PAF) using varimax rotation revealed unstable six-factor structure consisting of 17 variables; thus, we tested one- to six-factor model, and found that four-factor model is the most stable. Further analysis with principal component analysis (PCA) with a single component on each factor found that 17-variables four-factor model is stable. These factors were labelled as 'work-related thought', 'work-to-home conversation', 'task spillover' and 'superior-subordinate communication'. It showed good internal consistency with overall alpha value of 0.837. The scale is thus valid and reliable for measuring the frequency of each construct of work-related activities during non-work time among doctors.
    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology
  12. Fathelrahman AI, Awang R, Bashir AA, Taha IA, Ibrahim HM
    Pharm World Sci, 2008 Dec;30(6):759-63.
    PMID: 18704750 DOI: 10.1007/s11096-008-9245-0
    OBJECTIVE: The services of the Ministry of Health Drug Information Center--Khartoum State were evaluated by assessing users' satisfaction.

    METHOD: Four hundred and twenty-three subjects were recruited from center records using a systematic random sampling technique. Subjects who consented were interviewed by telephone using a specially designed semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive as well as comparative analyses were carried out. Differences between groups were tested using the Chi-square test when applicable.

    RESULTS: The majority of users surveyed (89.6%) had called the center from within Khartoum State and 10.4% of users had called from other states. Of the enquiries, 36.1% were from pharmacists, 29.5% from physicians, and 22.3% from laypersons. The vast majority (93.1%) of respondents were educated to degree level or higher. Approximately one fifth, one half, and one third of the users surveyed had consulted the center >5 times, 2-5 times, and once, respectively. More than 90% of users rated the services provided as good to excellent and 94.7% declared their probable intention to continue utilizing the center in the future.

    CONCLUSION: The center succeeded in satisfying and retaining its users by providing an acceptable quality of service.

    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology
  13. Thinh DHQ, Sriraj W, Mansor M, Tan KH, Irawan C, Kurnianda J, et al.
    Pain Res Manag, 2018;2018:2193710.
    PMID: 29849841 DOI: 10.1155/2018/2193710
    Aim: The aim of this study was to examine patients' and physicians' satisfaction, and concordance of patient-physician satisfaction with patients' pain control status.

    Methods: This cross-sectional observational study involved 465 adults prescribed analgesics for cancer-related pain from 22 sites across Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Pain intensity, pain control satisfaction, and adequacy of analgesics for pain control were documented using questionnaires.

    Results: Most patients (84.4%) had stage III or IV cancer. On a scale of 0 (no pain) to 10 (worse pain), patients' mean worst pain intensity over 24 hours was 4.76 (SD 2.47). More physicians (19.0%) than patients (8.0%) reported dissatisfaction with patient's pain control. Concordance of patient-physician satisfaction was low (weighted kappa 0.36; 95% CI 0.03-0.24). Most physicians (71.2%) found analgesics to be adequate for pain control. Patients' and physicians' satisfaction with pain control and physician-assessed analgesic adequacy were significantly different across countries (P < 0.001 for all).

    Conclusions: Despite pain-related problems with sleep and quality of life, patients were generally satisfied with their pain control status. Interestingly, physicians were more likely to be dissatisfied with patients' pain control. Enhanced patient-physician communication, physicians' proactivity in managing opioid-induced adverse effects, and accessibility of analgesics have been identified to be crucial for successful cancer pain management. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier NCT02664987).

    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology*
  14. Brouwer E, Driessen E, Mamat NH, Nadarajah VD, Somodi K, Frambach J
    Med Teach, 2020 02;42(2):221-227.
    PMID: 31630598 DOI: 10.1080/0142159X.2019.1676885
    Introduction: Medical schools increasingly offer curricula that specifically aim to prepare students for an international medical career. This is challenging as well as controversial: curriculum designers must balance specific local healthcare requirements with global health competencies doctors need in our globalised world. By investigating how international medical programme designers experience this balancing act, this study aims to contribute insights to the debate on local versus global medical education.Methods: We conducted a multi-centre instrumental case study across three universities with international medical programmes in three countries. The study involved 26 semi-structured interviews with key curriculum designers recruited through purposive sampling. Additionally, we performed a curriculum document analysis. Data were thematically analysed within a multidisciplinary team.Results: Participants described two profiles of international medical programme graduates: 'a global physician', equipped with specific competencies for international practice, and 'a universal professional', an overall high-level graduate fit for future practice anywhere. These perspectives presented different curriculum design challenges.Conclusions: International medical programmes teach us how we can rethink graduate profiles in a globalising world. Yet, educational standardisation poses risks and securing equity in global health education is challenging, as is preparing students to be adaptable to the requirements of a rapidly changing future local healthcare context.
    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology*
  15. Shahabudin SH, Edariah AB
    Med Educ, 1991 Sep;25(5):430-7.
    PMID: 1758320 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2923.1991.tb00091.x
    A random survey of 400 doctors was carried out over a period of 3 months to determine the factors that would facilitate or inhibit the participation of doctors in continuing medical education (CME) in Malaysia. Regular participation in CME was defined as participation in any activity (self-directed reading or attending organized activities) at least once a month during the past year. It was found that 78% of doctors regularly participated in CME. Working in a hospital environment and being members of the Malaysian Medical Association and at least one specialty organization appeared to be important facilitatory factors in CME participation. These doctors also read the local medical journals regularly and subscribed to other journals. In addition, they were more likely to possess postgraduate qualifications and would have teaching, research, diagnostic or clinical responsibilities as major components of their work. They were more likely to practise in the big cities and would tend to be active in at least one voluntary or social organization. If they were in the Government sector, they were more likely to work in the Universities or in the Hospital Division of the Ministry of Health. The 22% who were less likely to participate in CME were general practitioners in the private sector. They worked long hours with day, evening and/or night shifts every day. If the doctors were in the Government sector, they were more likely to be in the Health Division, working in administration and public health, or they were in the armed forces and other organizations such as local councils. They worked in the smaller towns or in the districts.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology*
  16. Vijay A, Earnshaw VA, Tee YC, Pillai V, White Hughto JM, Clark K, et al.
    LGBT Health, 2018 01;5(1):61-68.
    PMID: 29227183 DOI: 10.1089/lgbt.2017.0092
    PURPOSE: Transgender people are frequent targets of discrimination. Discrimination against transgender people in the context of healthcare can lead to poor health outcomes and facilitate the growth of health disparities. This study explores factors associated with medical doctors' intentions to discriminate against transgender people in Malaysia.

    METHODS: A total of 436 physicians at two major university medical centers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, completed an online survey. Sociodemographic characteristics, stigma-related constructs, and intentions to discriminate against transgender people were measured. Bivariate and multivariate linear regression were used to evaluate independent covariates of discrimination intent.

    RESULTS: Medical doctors who felt more fearful of transgender people and more personal shame associated with transgender people expressed greater intention to discriminate against transgender people, whereas doctors who endorsed the belief that transgender people deserve good care reported lower discrimination intent. Stigma-related constructs accounted for 42% of the variance and 8% was accounted for by sociodemographic characteristics.

    CONCLUSIONS: Constructs associated with transgender stigma play an important role in medical doctors' intentions to discriminate against transgender patients. Development of interventions to improve medical doctors' knowledge about and attitudes toward transgender people are necessary to reduce discriminatory intent in healthcare settings.

    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology*
  17. Al-Dubai SA, Rampal KG
    J Occup Health, 2010;52(1):58-65.
    PMID: 19907108
    OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the level and factors contributing to burnout among doctors in Sana'a City, Yemen and to determine the relationship between burnout and psychological morbidity.

    METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of 563 working doctors in the four main hospitals in Sana'a City, Yemen. The 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) was used as a measure of psychological morbidity and the 22-item Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used to measure emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Sources of job stress were determined using a 37-item scale questionnaire. The questionnaire elicited information about socio-demographic and work characteristics.

    RESULTS: On the MBI, 356 doctors showed high emotional exhaustion (63.2%), 109 showed high depersonalization (19.4%) and 186 showed low personal accomplishment (33.0%). Sixty six doctors (11.7%) were identified as experiencing a high degree of burnout (high emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and low personal accomplishment). The prevalence of high degree of burnout was significantly higher in those with duration of work or=40 h/wk (OR=2.1, 95% CI 1.25-3.62) and in those who had psychological morbidity (OR=5.3, 95% CI 2.22-12.39). Thirteen out of 37 sources of stress were significantly associated with high degree of burnout. In multivariate analysis, the significant predictors of high burnout were: dealing with patient's psychosocial problems, feeling of isolation, disturbance of home/family life by work, not chewing khat, long working hours and psychological morbidity.

    CONCLUSION: The prevalence of high degree of burnout as well as emotional exhaustion in Yemeni doctors was higher than those reported internationally and was associated with psychological morbidity and many important sources of job stress.
    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology*
  18. Wong LP, Edib Z, Alias H, Mohamad Shakir SM, Raja Muhammad Yusoff RNA, Sam IC, et al.
    J Obstet Gynaecol, 2017 Oct;37(7):937-943.
    PMID: 28641049 DOI: 10.1080/01443615.2017.1317239
    Assessing physicians' experiences in HPV vaccine recommendation and delivery to adolescent boys is essential to providing an understanding of the issues of vaccine acceptance and an insight for policymakers to enhance HPV vaccinations among adolescent boys. Between January and April 2014 a mail survey was conducted using physicians in Malaysia known to provide either one or both HPV vaccine (Gardasil and Cervarix) immunisation services. A total of 357 completed questionnaires were received (response rate 22.5%). Of these, 335 physicians see adolescent boys aged 11 to 18 years old in their practice. Only 26.3% (n = 88) recommended the HPV vaccine to these boys. A total of 46.6% (n = 41) have successfully given the HPV vaccine to adolescent boys. A lack of proper guidelines from the health authorities regarding the recommendation of HPV vaccine to the boys (37.2%) and a lack of awareness of the availability of the vaccine for boys (32.8%) were the most commonly cited reasons for non-recommendation. Impact statement Recommending the HPV vaccine for adolescent boys remains a challenge for physicians. Our study provides evidence of challenges and barriers faced by Malaysian physicians who recommend the HPV vaccines (Gardasil and Cervarix) in their practices. In this study, physicians reported HPV vaccine uptake by adolescent boys was very poor. A lack of proper guidelines from the health authorities regarding the recommendation of HPV vaccine to boys and a lack of awareness of the availability of the vaccine for boys were the most commonly cited reasons for non-recommendation. Physicians viewed that support and encouragement from the health authorities are needed to promote the recommendation of the HPV vaccine to adolescent boys. Physicians were also of the opinion that the lay public should be educated about the availability of the HPV vaccine for boys, and its benefits, safety and efficacy, and the high susceptibility of boys to getting HPV infections. The findings provide insights that could be helpful to policymakers or high-level decision-makers of the potential strategies to enhance HPV uptake among adolescent boys.
    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology*
  19. Lian PC, Marnoch G
    J Manag Med, 1999;13(2-3):178-89.
    PMID: 10747449
    This paper describes a study of the knowledge and attitudes of a sample of private medical practitioners in Malaysia in relation to questions posed on guidelines-based medicine. The study was conducted through a postal questionnaire sent to a sample of 2,000 private practitioners. Placing the research in context, a description of Malaysia and its health-care system is provided. Issues surrounding guidelines-based medicine in the Malaysian context are discussed. An analysis of the sample population's personal and professional characteristics is presented. Key research findings include identifying a substantial knowledge deficit--less than half of the respondents claimed to understand "guidelines". A majority of doctors (64 per cent) think guidelines are useful. Only 29 per cent of respondents knew where to find guidelines, with 22 per cent claiming to have used guidelines. The paper concludes with a discussion of issues in the implementation of guidelines-based medicine in Malaysia based on the study's findings.
    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology*
  20. Nantha YS
    J Health Organ Manag, 2013;27(2):266-72.
    PMID: 23802402
    In the light of an increasing healthcare burden, this paper seeks to offer insight about how intrinsic motivation could play a pivotal role in improving the pre-existing healthcare service delivery systems by altering clinician behaviour. The paper argues the case for four salient dimensions worth exploring through the lens of intrinsic motivation--non-financial incentives, positive affective states, organizational culture and prescribing quality.
    Matched MeSH terms: Physicians/psychology*
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