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  1. Pocock NS, Tadee R, Tharawan K, Rongrongmuang W, Dickson B, Suos S, et al.
    Global Health, 2018 05 09;14(1):45.
    PMID: 29739433 DOI: 10.1186/s12992-018-0361-x
    BACKGROUND: Human trafficking in the fishing industry or "sea slavery" in the Greater Mekong Subregion is reported to involve some of the most extreme forms of exploitation and abuse. A largely unregulated sector, commercial fishing boats operate in international waters far from shore and outside of national jurisdiction, where workers are commonly subjected to life-threatening risks. Yet, research on the health needs of trafficked fishermen is sparse. This paper describes abuses, occupational hazards, physical and mental health and post-trafficking well-being among a systematic consecutive sample of 275 trafficked fishermen using post-trafficking services in Thailand and Cambodia. These findings are complemented by qualitative interview data collected with 20 key informants working with fishermen or on issues related to their welfare in Thailand.

    RESULTS: Men and boys trafficked for fishing (aged 12-55) were mainly from Cambodia (n = 217) and Myanmar (n = 55). Common physical health problems included dizzy spells (30.2%), exhaustion (29.5%), headaches (28.4%) and memory problems (24.0%). Nearly one-third (29.1%) reported pain in three or more areas of their body and one-quarter (26.9%) reported being in "poor" health. Physical health symptoms were strongly associated with: severe violence; injuries; engagement in long-haul fishing; immigration detention or symptoms of mental health disorders. Survivors were exposed to multiple work hazards and were perceived as disposable when disabled by illness or injuries. Employers struggled to apply internationally recommended Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) practices in Thailand. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) encountered challenges when trying to obtain healthcare for uninsured fishermen. Challenges included fee payment, service provision in native languages and officials siding with employers in disputes over treatment costs and accident compensation. Survivors' post-trafficking concerns included: money problems (75.9%); guilt and shame (33.5%); physical health (33.5%) and mental health (15.3%).

    CONCLUSION: Fishermen in this region are exposed to very serious risks to their health and safety, and their illnesses and injuries often go untreated. Men who enter the fishing industry in Thailand, especially migrant workers, require safe working conditions and targeted protections from human trafficking. Survivors of the crime of sea slavery must be provided with the compensation they deserve and the care they need, especially psychological support.

    Matched MeSH terms: Transients and Migrants/psychology*; Survivors/psychology*
  2. Lachman JM, Juhari R, Stuer F, Zinser P, Han Q, Gardner F, et al.
    BMC Public Health, 2023 Feb 04;23(1):241.
    PMID: 36737719 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-15065-4
    BACKGROUND: Despite impressive strides in health, social protection, and education, children continue to experience high rates of child maltreatment in Malaysia. This mixed-methods study assessed the feasibility of a five-session, social learning-based parenting program delivered by government staff in a community setting to reduce violence against children.

    METHODS: Parents of children from birth to 17 years were recruited from two communities near Kuala Lumpur to participate in the government-run program called the Naungan Kasih Positive Parenting Program ("Protecting through Love" in Bahasa Melayu). Quantitative data from female caregivers (N = 74) and children ages 10-17 (N = 26) were collected along with qualitative interviews and focus groups with parents, children, and facilitators. The primary outcome was child maltreatment with secondary outcomes including neglect, positive parenting, acceptability of corporal punishment, harsh parenting, positive discipline, and child behavior problems. Multilevel Poisson regression and multilevel linear regression were conducted to compare baseline and post-test outcomes. Qualitative interviews and focus groups examined how participants experienced the program utilizing a thematic analysis approach.

    RESULTS: Quantitative analyses found pre-post reductions in overall child maltreatment, physical abuse, emotional abuse, attitudes supporting corporal punishment, parent sense of inefficacy, and child behavior problems. There were no reported changes on positive and harsh parenting, parental mental health, and marital satisfaction, nor were there any other significant changes reported by children. Qualitative findings suggested that the program had tangible benefits for female caregivers involved in the program, with the benefits extending to their family members.

    CONCLUSIONS: This feasibility study is one of the few studies in Southeast Asia that examined the feasibility and initial program impact of a parenting program delivered by government staff to families with children across the developmental spectrum from birth to 17 years. Promising results suggest that the program may reduce child maltreatment across a range of child ages. Findings also indicate areas for program improvement prior to further delivery and testing, including additional training and content on sexual and reproductive health, parenting children with disabilities, and online child protection.

    Matched MeSH terms: Parents/psychology
  3. Nakahira M
    Crit Asian Stud, 2001;33(4):581-89.
    PMID: 21046839 DOI: 10.1080/146727101760107442
    Matched MeSH terms: Rape/psychology; Sexual Behavior/psychology; War Crimes/psychology
  4. Root R
    Med Anthropol, 2008 Oct-Dec;27(4):405-34.
    PMID: 18958787 DOI: 10.1080/01459740802427737
    Since the early 1990s, the Malaysian government has identified factories as high risk for HIV and AIDS. Signaling epidemiological concerns over the rising rates of HIV among factory workers, a significant proportion of whom are women, the label also appeared to reconstitute stereotypes of factory women as dangerously sexual and of factories as immoral spaces. Drawing on ethnographic research in the export processing zones of Penang, Malaysia in the mid-1990s, I examine the meanings and experiences of HIV risk among factory women themselves. Data were analyzed using discourse and grounded theory methods, the former to identify women's multiple modes of rationalizing HIV risks, and the latter to theorize the sources and significance of women's HIV risk assemblages. The heuristic of assemblages as localized knowledge spaces helped to show that biomedical and socioreligious risk lexica operated not as fixed epistemological categories but as situational resources in women's risk scripts. Overall, women desired multiple risk knowledges to help them "control themselves by themselves," a project of reflexive self-shaping mediated by the diverse and discordant discourses of gender, ethnicity, and modernity in Malaysia that shaped how HIV risks were engendered and experienced.
    Matched MeSH terms: Sexual Behavior/psychology; Women, Working/psychology*; HIV Infections/psychology*; Workplace/psychology*
  5. Saimon R, Choo WY, Bulgiba A
    Asia Pac J Public Health, 2015 Mar;27(2):NP2079-92.
    PMID: 23513006 DOI: 10.1177/1010539513480229
    Understanding the factors influencing physical activity (PA) in the Asia-Pacific region is critical, given the high prevalence of inactivity in this area. The photovoice technique explores the types of PA and factors influencing PA among adolescents in Kuching, Sarawak. A total of 160 photographs were collected from participants (adolescents, n = 22, mean age = 14.27 ± 0.7 years, and parents, n = 8, mean age = 48 ± 6.8 years). Data analysis used constant comparison methods of a grounded theory. The Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity was used to categorize PA factors. Study findings were centered on the concept of safety, facilities, parental restriction, friends, cultural traits, media, community cohesiveness, and weather. The central theme was "feeling unsafe" when being outdoors. To promote PA behavior, provision of PA facilities needs to be supported by other programs that build on peer support, crime prevention, and traffic safety, together with other educational campaigns.
    Matched MeSH terms: Parents/psychology
  6. Edhborg M, Nasreen HE, Kabir ZN
    PMID: 25595913 DOI: 10.3402/qhw.v10.26226
    Over recent years, researchers have found evidence which indicates that the prevalence of postpartum depressive symptoms crosses cultural boundaries and is reported to be at least as high in non-Western countries as in Western countries. However, qualitative studies about new mothers' experiences from non-Western countries, such as Bangladesh, are rare, particularly in rural areas. This study aims to describe the experiences and concerns of rural Bangladeshi mothers with postpartum depressive symptoms. Open narrative interviews were conducted with 21 mothers with depressive symptoms 2-3 months postpartum, consecutively selected from a longitudinal study about prevalence and risk factors of perinatal depressive symptoms. Inductive content analysis was used to analyse data and three themes emerged: family dynamics, living at the limits of survival, and role of the cultural context after childbirth. These themes were based on six categories and 15 subcategories. The findings show that troublesome family relationships, including intimate partner violence and violence in the family, influenced the mothers' mental well-being. They and their families lived at the limit of survival and the mothers expressed fear and worries about their insecure situation regarding economic difficulties and health problems. They felt sorry for being unable to give their infants a good start in life and sad because they could not always follow the traditional norms related to childbirth. Thus, it is important to focus on the depressive symptoms among new mothers and offer counselling to those showing depressive symptoms, as the cultural traditions do not always alleviate these symptoms in the changing Bangladeshi society today.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mothers/psychology*; Depression, Postpartum/psychology*
  7. Colombini M, Mayhew S, Ali SH, Shuib R, Watts C
    BMC Health Serv Res, 2013;13:65.
    PMID: 23419141 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6963-13-65
    This study explores the views and attitudes of health providers in Malaysia towards intimate partner violence (IPV) and abused women and considers whether and how their views affect the provision or quality of services. The impact of provider attitudes on the provision of services for women experiencing violence is particularly important to understand since there is a need to ensure that these women are not re-victimised by the health sector, but are treated sensitively.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel/psychology*
  8. Razali S, Fisher J, Kirkman M
    Arch Womens Ment Health, 2019 02;22(1):151-158.
    PMID: 29569042 DOI: 10.1007/s00737-018-0832-3
    Although filicide is of serious concern, it is poorly understood in Malaysia. Our interviews with health and policy professionals revealed that they attribute responsibility for filicide to women's failure to comply with social norms and religious teachings. This research sought to understand the meaning of and background to filicide from the perspectives of women who have been convicted of filicide in Malaysia. In-depth interviews were conducted in person with all eligible and consenting women convicted of filicide and incarcerated in prisons or forensic psychiatric institutions. Women's accounts were translated into English and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis and interpreted using narrative theory. Interviews with nine women convicted of filicide yielded evidence that others were implicated in the crime but punished less severely, if at all, and that the women had experienced lifelong gender-based violence and marginalisation with minimal access to health and social care. These findings illuminate an inadequately understood phenomenon in Malaysia and reveal why existing strategies to reduce filicide, which reflect key stakeholders' views, have had little impact. They reveal the pervasive harm of violence against women and children and its link to filicide.
    Matched MeSH terms: Homicide/psychology*; Infanticide/psychology*; Mothers/psychology*; Domestic Violence/psychology
  9. Zainur RZ, Loh KY
    Med J Malaysia, 2006 Dec;61(5):651-6.
    PMID: 17623974
    Postpartum is a crucial period for a mother. During this period a mother is going through the physiological process of uterine involution and at the same time adapting to her new role in the family. Many postpartum complications occur during this period. Among the important obstetric morbidities are postpartum hemorrhage, pregnancy related hypertension, pulmonary embolism and puerperal sepsis. Common surgical complications are wound breakdown, breast abscess and urinary fecal incontinence. Medical conditions such as anemia, headache, backache, constipation and sexual problems may also be present. Unrecognized postpartum disorders can lead to physical discomfort, psychological distress and a poor quality of life for the mothers. Providing quality postnatal care including earlier identification of the problems (correction) and proper intervention will help the mother to achieve full recovery and restore her functional status back to the pre-pregnancy state sooner.
    Matched MeSH terms: Postpartum Period/psychology
  10. Hamid TA, Pakgohar M, Ibrahim R, Dastjerdi MV
    Arch Gerontol Geriatr, 2015 May-Jun;60(3):514-21.
    PMID: 25662038 DOI: 10.1016/j.archger.2015.01.003
    UI is a worldwide chronic condition among postmenopausal women. Little is known about the meaning of lived experiences of urinary incontinence of these women's viewpoints in their context.
    Matched MeSH terms: Quality of Life/psychology*; Urinary Incontinence/psychology*; Postmenopause/psychology*
  11. Longhurst P, Aspell J, Todd J, Swami V
    Body Image, 2024 Mar;48:101655.
    PMID: 38042087 DOI: 10.1016/j.bodyim.2023.101655
    While scholars have investigated positive body image across diverse populations, extant theory largely excludes those with differing socio-cognitive experiences, such as autistic individuals. Using constructivist grounded theory, this study sought to develop a grounded theory of positive body image in autistic individuals. One-to-one interviews with photo-elicitation were conducted with 20 autistic adults (7 women, 8 men, 5 non-binary/agender; aged 18-53 years) from the United Kingdom. Through a process of open, axial, and focused coding, a grounded theory was developed around a core category of positive body image in autistic adults and was found to comprise six themes: body connection, body acceptance, appreciating body functionality and neurodivergent strengths, having a body-positive protective filter, taking care of the body, and body and appearance neutrality. Our findings suggest that some aspects of positive body image in autistic individuals are consistent with those found in neurotypical adults. However, positive body image in autistic individuals further encompasses both the sensory (i.e., how the body is felt) and aesthetic (i.e., how the body is seen) body. These findings may stimulate research aimed at improving positive body image in autistic populations.
    Matched MeSH terms: Body Image/psychology
  12. Choudhry FR, Park MS, Golden K, Bokharey IZ
    Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being, 2017 Dec;12(1):1267344.
    PMID: 28452608 DOI: 10.1080/17482631.2016.1267344
    The Kalasha are a marginalized ethnic and religious minority group in northern Pakistan. The Kalasha minority is known for their divergent polytheistic beliefs, and represents the outliers of the collectively monotheistic Muslim population of Pakistan. This study aimed to explore the psychological resilience beliefs and lived experiences of the Kalasha and to identify cultural protective factors and indigenous beliefs that help them maintain psychological wellbeing and resilience. Seven semi-structured interviews and two focus-group discussions were conducted. The total sample consisted of 6 women and 8 men, aged 20-58 years (Mage = 36.29, SD = 12.58). The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis qualitative method was chosen. Study findings identified that factors contributing to the wellbeing, happiness and resilience enhancement beliefs of Kalasha included five main themes, all influenced by their unique spirituality: contentment, pride in social identity, tolerance, gender collaboration and gratitude. The study also revealed the Kalasha's perception of their marginalization related to challenges and threats. The Kalasha emphasized bringing these resilience enhancement beliefs into practice, as a mean to buffer against challenges. In conclusion, this study revealed Kalasha's wellbeing and resilience enhancement factors, which they believed in and practiced as an element of their indigenous culture and religion.
    Matched MeSH terms: Ethnic Groups/psychology*
  13. Davenport C, Swami V
    Issues Ment Health Nurs, 2023 Dec;44(12):1188-1199.
    PMID: 37819864 DOI: 10.1080/01612840.2023.2262574
    Understandings of paternal postnatal depression (PND) in fathers from the United Kingdom (UK) have received limited attention, particularly in view of changing dynamics of contemporary parenthood. To rectify this, eight UK fathers with PND took part in one-to-one interviews, with Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis used to understand their lived experiences. Our findings demonstrate that UK fathers with PND experienced extremely distressing emotions, including anger and misery, after their babies are born. Their working practices were highly relevant to their fatherhood, with working considered a key responsibility and a source of stress, but also a "legitimate" escape from the home. Fathers' relationships with their partners were experienced as less intimate and conflicted. Fathers often hid their feelings to protect their partners, but also reported their partners as being aware of their challenging and difficult emotions. Healthcare providers should be professionally curious about fathers' mental health and consider the assistance of mothers in identifying cases of paternal PND.
    Matched MeSH terms: Fathers/psychology; Parturition/psychology
  14. Lim SH, Brown SE, Shaw SA, Kamarulzaman A, Altice FL, Beyrer C
    J Homosex, 2020;67(1):104-126.
    PMID: 30307803 DOI: 10.1080/00918369.2018.1525946
    Malay-Muslim men who have sex with men (MSM) are marginalized and hidden in Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country in southeast Asia. We explored the policy, network, community, and individual factors related to HIV infection among Malay-Muslim MSM through 26 in-depth interviews and one focus group discussion (n = 5) conducted in Kuala Lumpur and Kota Bharu between October 2013 and January 2014. As religion plays an important role in their lives, participants viewed homosexuality as a sin. Low risk perception and misconceptions about HIV/AIDS were common, and most participants expressed reluctance to consult a doctor unless they had symptoms. Additionally, buying condoms was embarrassing and anxiety-producing. Fear of discrimination by health care providers and community hindered participants from disclosing sexual behaviors and accessing health services. Homophobic comments and policies by the government and religious leaders were concerns of participants. A safe and enabling environment is needed to reduce HIV risks among Malay-Muslim MSM.
    Matched MeSH terms: HIV Infections/psychology*; Sexual Minorities/psychology*
  15. Gribble KD
    Breastfeed Rev, 2014 Mar;22(1):11-21.
    PMID: 24804519
    The process by which women came to use internet-facilitated peer-to-peer shared milk was explored via a written questionnaire administered to 41 peer milk recipients from five countries. Respondents were universally unable to provide some or all of the milk their infants required. Twenty-nine dyads had a medical condition that could have affected their ability to breastfeed. Many respondents had had great difficulty in finding health workers who could assist them with their breastfeeding challenges. Before obtaining peer-shared milk, respondents had tried to increase their own milk supply, used infant formula or sought donor milk from personal contacts. Health workers dealing with breastfeeding women require greater training in the recognition and treatment of conditions that adversely affect breastfeeding including a physiological incapacity to fully breastfeed. Peer-to-peer milk recipients appear to be very satisfied with the solution milk sharing provides to their problem of being unable to fully breastfeed their infants.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mothers/psychology*
  16. Provencher R
    Soc Sci Med, 1984;18(2):139-46.
    PMID: 6701558 DOI: 10.1016/0277-9536(84)90034-0
    Details of curing rituals symbolize social traumas. Western based psychiatrists are often not very successful in treating Malay patients because of the difficulty of understanding the ritual signs. This paper focusses upon cultural details as they relate to a curer. The paper begins by discussing 'medical pluralism' and proceeds to a consideration of one local healer.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mental Disorders/psychology
  17. Chandra Sekaran V, Bailey A, Kamath VG, Ashok L, Ravindran SK, Kamath A, et al.
    PLoS One, 2021;16(10):e0258306.
    PMID: 34618867 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258306
    BACKGROUND: Exploring the cultural context of intergenerational continuity of warm and harsh parenting informs parents motivations to adopt specific parenting behaviours.

    OBJECTIVE: Parents' perceptions of being parented in the past and their current parenting as well as adolescents' perceptions of current parenting were explored applying a multi-method approach.

    METHODS: Following written informed consent, a total of 24 interviews with 10 families (dyads of 14 parents and ten adolescents) from Udupi taluk in southern India was conducted. In the first stage, in-depth interviews were conducted with parent participants (Generation 1 (G1)) and in the second stage, adolescents (Generation 2 (G2)) participated in the photovoice component. Multiple forms of data including photographs, journals and interviews facilitated using the SHOWeD model were collected and were analysed thematically using ATLAS.ti(v.8).

    RESULTS: Subtle changes in reinforcing culture-specific gender norms between generations were elicited. Differences in communication, granting autonomy to female adolescents, and in disciplining methods between G1 and G2 were observed. Warm parenting was transmitted between generations while harsh parenting in G1 in the presence of external social support was discarded in favor of warm parenting in G2.

    CONCLUSION: We provide evidence for perceptions of parenting and adolescent behaviors across two generations. Transmission of warm parenting and interruption in the cycle of harsh parenting in the presence of external social support were significant findings. Related theoretical and methodological applications are discussed.

    Matched MeSH terms: Parents/psychology
  18. Al Ramiah A, Hewstone M
    Br J Soc Psychol, 2012 Jun;51(2):239-56.
    PMID: 21793860 DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8309.2011.02041.x
    A longitudinal study evaluated the success of a contact-based nation-building intervention (the Malaysian National Service Programme) in promoting various facets of national unity. The study assessed how post-test measures of quality of intergroup contact, outgroup evaluations, and levels of identification changed compared to their respective pre-test levels, for both National Service and control group participants. The intervention did not lead to a worsening of any of the constructs related to intergroup relations, which is noteworthy given the novelty for many participants of mixing in a multi-ethnic setting. Furthermore, all rater groups (Malays, Chinese, and Indians) maintained their ethnic identity, even in the presence of high levels of national identity, which we discuss with respect to past research on the effects of positive intergroup contact on minority group identification. However, the changes associated with the intervention yielded only small effect sizes, and, on the whole, National Service participants did not show significantly greater improvement than that experienced by control participants. We discuss the value of intergroup contact in this novel setting, considering various features of this programme that may have limited its effectiveness and discuss how such interventions can more successfully meet their goals.
    Matched MeSH terms: Ethnic Groups/psychology*
  19. Moyer CA, Adongo PB, Aborigo RA, Hodgson A, Engmann CM
    Midwifery, 2014 Feb;30(2):262-8.
    PMID: 23790959 DOI: 10.1016/j.midw.2013.05.006
    to explore community and health-care provider attitudes towards maltreatment during delivery in rural northern Ghana, and compare findings against The White Ribbon Alliance's seven fundamental rights of childbearing women.
    Matched MeSH terms: Parturition/psychology*
  20. Matsuda I, Kubo T, Tuuga A, Higashi S
    Am. J. Phys. Anthropol., 2010 Jun;142(2):235-45.
    PMID: 20091847 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21218
    To understand the effects of environmental factors on a social system with multilevel society in proboscis monkey units, the temporal change of the local density of sleeping sites of monkeys was investigated along the Menanggul river from May 2005 to 2006 in Malaysia. Proboscis monkeys typically return to riverside trees for night sleeping. The sleeping site locations of a one-male unit (BE-unit) were recorded and the locations of other one-male and all-male units within 500 m of the BE-unit were verified. In addition, environmental factors (food availability, the water level of the river, and the river width) and copulation frequency of BE-unit were recorded. From the analyses of the distance from the BE-unit to the nearest neighbor unit, no spatial clumping of the sleeping sites of monkey units on a smaller scale was detected. The results of a Bayesian analysis suggest that the conditional local density around the BE-unit can be predicted by the spatial heterogeneity along the river and by the temporal change of food availability, that is, the local density of monkey units might increase due to better sleeping sites with regard to predator attacks and clumped food sources; proboscis monkeys might not exhibit high-level social organization previously reported. In addition, this study shows the importance of data analysis that considers the effects of temporal autocorrelation, because the daily measurements of longitudinal data on monkeys are not independent of each other.
    Matched MeSH terms: Colobinae/psychology*
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