MyMedR

Displaying publications 341 - 360 of 523 in total

Abstract:

Sort:

A seroepidemiologic study of hepatitis A in Malaysia

Tan DS, Fang R, Collett D, Ooi BG

Southeast Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Health, 1986 Jun;17(2):201-4.
PMID: 3538434

Sera from 494 non-icteric patients admitted with illnesses other than overt hepatitis into the various hospitals in rural and urban Malaysia were tested for IgG antibody to hepatitis A virus. The overall antibody prevalence rate was 67.0% with rates increasing steadily from childhood 10 years old and under (39.4%) to middle-age and above (96.0%). No significant differences were noted between males (68.4%) and females (65.3%). The highest rate was in the Indians (80.6%), the lowest in the Chinese (55.9%) with Malays occupying intermediate position (70.3%). The rate in the rural patients (74.7%) was higher than that in the urban patients (65.5%) especially in the 21 to 40 year age-group where the rural patients had a rate of 96.7% compared with that in urban patients (61.1%). A comparison of antibody prevalence rates in different countries was made.

Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
Reliability of retrospective survey data on infant feeding

Haaga JG

Demography, 1988 May;25(2):307-14.
PMID: 3396753

This article examines retest reliability and digit preference in retrospective survey data on breastfeeding duration and type of supplementary food, covering three decades and reported by more than 1200 Malaysian women. Women with little or no education, rural residents, and those of Malay ethnicity are found to give less reliable data. In a logistic regression analysis, these respondent characteristics are more important determinants of data quality than the length of the recall period.

Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
Fulltext Health status and differential use of medical resources: a survey sample in Kuala Lumpur

Armstrong RW

Med J Malaysia, 1984 Dec;39(4):257-63.
PMID: 6544930
Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
Fulltext Tetanus and immunization: a six-year study

Miranda AF, Miranda S

Med J Malaysia, 1986 Dec;41(4):305-9.
PMID: 3670152

There is a high incidence of tetanus in the Malaysian state of Kelantan. Out of 162 reported cases of tetanus in Peninsular Malaysia during 1979 - 1984, 62 cases were from Kelantan, i.e. 38% of the total reported cases in Peninsular Malaysia. Thus a retrospective study was carried out to analyse the possible factors responsible for this high incidence. 62 cases of tetanus admitted to the General Hospital, Kota Bharu, over a period of 1979 - 1984 were studied.
Neonatal tetanus, though still existing, had been considerably reduced compared to the preceding five-year period (1975-1979). There was notable absence of cases in the two months to four-year age group, 24% of the cases occurred in the 10 - 20 years, and 29% in the age group 25 - 40 years. Since tetanus is a disease preventable by active immunization. l every effort must be taken to improve immunization coverage and increase the public awareness to prevent unnecessary loss of lives.

Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
Social background and attitudes towards drugs as predictors of drug use among Malaysian students

Spencer C, Navaratnam V

Drug Alcohol Depend, 1980 Jun;5(6):411-9.
PMID: 7379697

Those Malaysian secondary schoolchildren who have ever used an illicit drug do not differ significantly in terms of social class background, ethnicity or rural/urban location, from the majority of their contemporaries who have not used drugs. The cross-sectional data show a rapid secular trend towards the sexes being equally involved in drug use. Significant differences between ever and never users are, however, found in their attitudes towards drug taking and their beliefs about the properties of drugs, although both groups share the same rather negative image of the typical drug user. Thus, drug users have accepted some of the attitudes towards drug issues which are normative in the non-user group, whilst developing other attitudes which are consistent with their continuing use. It is argued that adolescent drug abuse in Malaysia is not to be linked specifically with social deprivation, but should be seen as being part of the life style of particular groups in all strata of society.

Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
Infant feeding practices in Kenya, Mexico and Malaysia. The rarity of the exclusively breast-fed infant

Dimond HJ, Ashworth A

Hum Nutr Appl Nutr, 1987 Feb;41(1):51-64.
PMID: 3558008

Infant feeding practices of 6149 mothers in Kenya, Mexico and Malaysia are reported. A high proportion of mothers initiated breast-feeding in each country regardless of social class. Most Kenyan mothers continued to breast-feed for at least 12 months. In Mexico and Malaysia, however, breast-feeding was discontinued relatively early, especially among urban mothers. Early supplementation of breast-fed infants with milk and/or other food was a common practice in each of the three countries. Among breast-fed infants below 4 months of age, the percentages who were exclusively breast-fed in the urban elite, urban poor and rural groups respectively were 6, 14 and 21 per cent in Kenya, 8, 19 and 31 per cent in Mexico, and 11, 9 and 11 per cent in Malaysia. Supplementation of breast-fed infants in the first two months of life was more likely to be with infant formula than with any other milk or food. At three months of age, however, nonmilk foods were the most common supplements in all population groups with the exception of those in urban Kenya. The policy implications are discussed.

Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
Food beliefs of rural Malay women of Trengganu

Chen PC, Noordin RA, Ngor LY

Med J Malaysia, 1979 Dec;34(2):100-7.
PMID: 548710
Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
Antigenic analysis by direct immunofluorescence of 114 isolates of Rickettsia tsutsugamushi recovered from febrile patients in rural Malaysia

Shirai A, Robinson DM, Brown GW, Gan E, Huxsoll DL

Jpn. J. Med. Sci. Biol., 1979 Dec;32(6):337-44.
PMID: 120901

One hundred and fourteen Rickettsia tsutsugamushi isolates, recovered from febrile patients in central Peninsular Malaysia, were antigenically analyzed by direct immunofluorescence using eight prototype strains. Twenty-nine antigenic types were detected. The TA763, TA716, Karp and TA686 strains were the most common and occurred singly or in combination with each other or other strains in 86% of the isolates.

Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
A transcultural view of sibling rank and mental disorder

Hartog J

Acta Psychiatr Scand, 1974;50(1):33-49.
PMID: 4826849
Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
The differential use of medical resources in developing countries

Colson AC

J Health Soc Behav, 1971 Sep;12(3):226-37.
PMID: 5110300
Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
Indigenous concepts of causation and methods of prevention of childhood diseases in a rural Malay community

Chen PC

J Trop Pediatr (1967), 1970 Jun;16(2):33-42.
PMID: 5005749
Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
Fulltext Prevalence of obesity, hypertension, and hyperglycemia among the rural community of Inanam sub-district in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia: a health screening program findings

Khairul Anwar Zarkasi, Nur Zuliani Ramli, Vennila Gopal, Sadia Choudhury Shimmi, Anne Lolita Miranda, Wan Salman Wan Saudi, et al.

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2019;15(106):93-93.
MyJurnal

Introduction:Malaysia has the highest prevalence of obesity among the Southeast Asian nations which increases the risk for non-communicable diseases such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Since rural communities regularly face challenges in receiving medical services, regular health screening programs targeting these communities are necessary for early diagnosis and intervention to prevent complications as well as preserve the patients’ quality of life. Methods: A community health screening program was performed in the Inanam sub-district of Kota Kinabalu, Sa-bah, Malaysia. A total of 50 participants via convenience sampling were examined for body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) to determine their general and central obesity status. Estimation of body fat percentage (Fat%) and body fat mass was conducted by using bioelectrical impedance analysis. Addition-ally, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and capillary blood glucose were also measured. Results: The participants had a median age of 39.50 years. The prevalence of general obesity was 28%, while the prevalence of central obesity was 78% (based on WC) and 74% (according to WHR). Hypertension and hyperglyce-mia prevalence was reported at 24% and 20%, respectively. BIA showed that both Fat% and fat mass had positive associations with BMI (r=0.656, p=0.001 for Fat%; r=0.868, p=0.001 for fat mass) and WC (r=0.505, p=0.001 for Fat%; r=0.761, p=0.001 for fat mass). The DBP had positive associations with the BMI (r=0.390, p=0.005), WC (r=0.467, p=0.001), and WHR (r=0.331, p=0.019), while the SBP had a positive association with the WC alone (r=0.341, p=0.015). Conversely, there were no significant associations between capillary blood glucose and BMI, WC, or WHR. Conclusion: The rural community of Inanam sub-district had a higher prevalence of central obesity than the national level. This should raise concern among healthcare professionals regarding future hypertension and hyperglycemia risk in this community.

Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
Fulltext Focus group discussions on female genital cutting

Siti Nur Afiqah Zahari, Yufu Iguchi, Abdul Rashid

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2019;15(104):18-18.
MyJurnal

Introduction: Female Genital Cutting (FGC) is a sensitive issue as this topic is always associated with religion and culture in Malaysia. In the past, FGC is performed by the traditional midwives. However, this practice has been med-icalized nowadays. This study aimed to understand the reasons of performing FGC, the decision making, the practice and the future of FGC among rural community in Northern Malaysia. Methods: Focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted on three groups of young women aged 18-45, older women aged 45 and above and a group of married adult men. All of them were Malay Muslims who were conveniently selected from a rural village in Northern Malay-sia. A semi-structured interview guide was used to conduct the FGD focusing on the reasons, decision making, the practice and the future of FGC. Data was collected until saturation of information was achieved. These participants were chosen based on their willingness to take part in the discussion and also based on their personality of being talkative and able to give feedback to the questions. Results: The result of the interviews revealed that religion is the reason of practicing FGC. All of the participants from each FGD prefer to go to the doctor in the clinic compared to the traditional midwives. The men in this FGD mentioned that they rarely involved in the decision making of the FGC and only the mother or the grandmother to take the responsibility to decide. Conclusion: Generally, majority Malay Muslims community from the rural areas in Northern Malaysia believed that FGC is compulsory in Islam and they prefer to go to the doctors to perform FGC.

Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
Fulltext Socio-Economic Factors Related to Drinking Water Source and Sanitation in Malaysia

Kong YL, Anis-Syakira J, Fun WH, Balqis-Ali NZ, Shakirah MS, Sararaks S

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2020 10 29;17(21).
PMID: 33137998 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17217933

Access to improved water and sanitation is essential. We describe these practices in Malaysia using data from a nationwide community survey and used logistic regression to assess the determinants. Of the 7978 living quarters (LQs), 58.3% were in urban areas. About 2.4%, 0.5% and 27.4% of LQs had non-improved water sources, non-improved toilet types and improper domestic waste disposal, respectively. Open burning was practiced by 26.1%. Water source was a problem for long houses (10.5%), squatters (8.5%) and shared houses (4.0%). Non-improved toilet types were 11.9% for squatters and 4.8% for shared houses. Improper domestic waste disposal practices were higher for occupants of village houses (64.2%), long houses (54.4%), single houses (45.8%) and squatters (35.6%). An increase in education or income level was associated with a decrease in improper domestic waste disposal methods. House type significantly affected water and sanitation after adjusting for the effects of other variables. Lower household income was associated with non-improved toilet types and improper domestic waste disposal. Lower education and rural location influenced domestic waste disposal. The water and toilet facilities in Malaysia were generally good, while domestic waste management practices could be improved. There remain pockets of communities with environmental challenges for the nation.

Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
Universal Coverage of Hypertension Treatment Services in Malaysia Is Still an Elusive Goal

Ng CW, Shahari MR, Mariapun J, Hairi NNM, Rampal S, Mahal A

Health Syst Reform, 2017 Jul 03;3(3):159-170.
PMID: 31514671 DOI: 10.1080/23288604.2017.1342746

An analysis of population coverage of hypertension treatment services can be used to make inferences about the performance of primary care services within health systems. Malaysia, an upper middle-income country, has a well-established primary care system but one that favors rural populations and provision of services for maternal and child health and infectious diseases. Demographic factors including rapid aging, urbanization, as well as lifestyle changes characteristic of a modernizing society have led to an increase in noncommunicable diseases, including hypertension. In this article, we used data from a nationally representative household health survey to develop service coverage indicators for hypertension screening and treatment services. The age-standardized prevalence of hypertension was estimated to be 33.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 33.9, 33.9). Only 39.0% (95% CI, 37.5, 40.6) of adults with hypertension had been diagnosed by a medical practitioner, 35.7% had been on treatment, and 9.6% had blood pressure controlled under treatment. The diagnosis, treatment, and controlled treatment coverage were higher for older persons compared to younger persons. There were no differences in the diagnosis and treatment coverage between urban and rural areas and between ethnic groups. However, controlled treatment coverage was higher among Chinese and those living in urban areas. Our findings suggest that primary care services in Malaysia may need to intensify health education activities to promote screening services. There is also a need to reprioritize activities to provide regular community health screening of adults and increase access to affordable primary care services, especially in the urban areas.

Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
The burden and epidemiology of polyparasitism among rural communities in Kano State, Nigeria

Dawaki S, Al-Mekhlafi HM, Ithoi I

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg, 2019 04 01;113(4):169-182.
PMID: 30551211 DOI: 10.1093/trstmh/try128

BACKGROUND: Parasitic infections constitute a major public health problem worldwide, particularly among underprivileged communities in developing countries including Nigeria. The present study aimed to determine the epidemiology of polyparasitism (multiple parasitic infections) among rural communities in Kano State, North Central Nigeria.
METHODS: A total of 551 individuals were screened for the presence of intestinal, urogenital and blood parasites by using different diagnostic techniques. Demographic, socioeconomic, household and behavioural characteristics were collected using a pre-tested questionnaire.
RESULTS: Overall, 84.0% (463/551) of the participants were found to be infected with at least one parasite species, with 51.2% (282/551) of them having polyparasitism. The most prevalent parasites were Plasmodium falciparum (60.6%) followed by Blastocystis sp. (29.2%) and hookworm (15.4%). No significant association was found between malaria and helminth infections (p>0.05). Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that the presence of other family members who had intestinal polyparasitism (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=4.12; 95% CI=2.72, 6.24), walking barefoot outside (AOR=1.70; 95% CI=1.09, 2.63) and being male (AOR=1.74; 95% CI=1.14, 2.66) were the significant risk factors of intestinal polyparasitism among the population studied.
CONCLUSION: Polyparasitism is highly prevalent among rural communities in Kano State. Therefore, effective, sustainable and integrated control measures should be identified and implemented to significantly reduce the burden and consequences of these infections in rural Nigeria.

Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
Fulltext Geospatial analysis of distribution of community pharmacies and other health care facilities providing minor ailments services in Malaysia

Tew MM, Hatah E, Arif F, Abdul Wahid MA, Makmor-Bakry M, Abdul Maulad KN

J Pharm Policy Pract, 2021 Feb 24;14(1):24.
PMID: 33627199 DOI: 10.1186/s40545-021-00308-9

BACKGROUND: Minor ailments are defined as common, self-limiting, or uncomplicated conditions that may be diagnosed and managed without a medical intervention. Previous studies reported that pharmacists were able to help patients self-manage minor ailments that led to a reduction of health care burden in other facilities. Nevertheless, public access to community pharmacy and other health care facilities offering services for minor ailments has not yet been explored in Malaysia. Hence, this study aims to determine population access to the above-mentioned services.
METHOD: According to the reported practice address in 2018, the spatial distribution of health care facilities was mapped and explored using the GIS mapping techniques. The density of health care facilities was analyzed using thematic maps with hot spot analysis. Population to facility ratio was calculated using the projection of the population growth based on 2010 census data, which was the latest available in the year of analysis.
RESULTS: The study included geographical mapping of 7051 general practitioner clinics (GPC), 3084 community pharmacies (CP), 139 public general hospitals (GHs) and 990 public primary health clinics (PHC). The health care facilities were found to be highly dense in urban areas than in the rural ones. There were six districts that had no CP, 2 had no GPC, and 11 did not have both. The overall ratio of GPC, CP, GH, and PHC to the population was 1:4228, 1:10,200, 1:223,619 and 1:31,397, respectively. Should the coverage for minor ailment services in public health care clinics be extended to community pharmacies, the ratio of facilities to population for each district would be better with 1:4000-8000.
CONCLUSIONS: The distribution of health care facilities for minor ailment management in Malaysia is relatively good. However, if the scheme for minor ailments were available to community pharmacies, then the patients' access to minor ailments services would be further improved.

Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
Fulltext Carriage of upper respiratory tract pathogens in rural communities of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

Morris DE, McNeil H, Hocknell RE, Anderson R, Tuck AC, Tricarico S, et al.

Pneumonia (Nathan), 2021 Apr 25;13(1):6.
PMID: 33894778 DOI: 10.1186/s41479-021-00084-9

INTRODUCTION: Pneumonia is a leading cause of death in Malaysia. Whilst many studies have reported the aetiology of pneumonia in Western countries, the epidemiology of pneumonia in Malaysia remains poorly understood. As carriage is a prerequisite for disease, we sought to improve our understanding of the carriage and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of respiratory tract pathogens in Malaysia. The rural communities of Sarawak are an understudied part of the Malaysian population and were the focus of this study, allowing us to gain a better understanding of bacterial epidemiology in this population.
METHODS: A population-based survey of bacterial carriage was undertaken in participants of all ages from rural communities in Sarawak, Malaysia. Nasopharyngeal, nasal, mouth and oropharyngeal swabs were taken. Bacteria were isolated from each swab and identified by culture-based methods and antimicrobial susceptibility testing conducted by disk diffusion or E test.
RESULTS: 140 participants were recruited from five rural communities. Klebsiella pneumoniae was most commonly isolated from participants (30.0%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (20.7%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (10.7%), Haemophilus influenzae (9.3%), Moraxella catarrhalis (6.4%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (6.4%) and Neisseria meningitidis (5.0%). Of the 21 S. pneumoniae isolated, 33.3 and 14.3% were serotypes included in the 13 valent PCV (PCV13) and 10 valent PCV (PCV10) respectively. 33.8% of all species were resistant to at least one antibiotic, however all bacterial species except S. pneumoniae were susceptible to at least one type of antibiotic.
CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first bacterial carriage study undertaken in East Malaysia. We provide valuable and timely data regarding the epidemiology and AMR of respiratory pathogens commonly associated with pneumonia. Further surveillance in Malaysia is necessary to monitor changes in the carriage prevalence of upper respiratory tract pathogens and the emergence of AMR, particularly as PCV is added to the National Immunisation Programme (NIP).

Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
Fulltext Medicines Availability among Hypertensive Patients in Primary Health Care Facilities in a Rural Province in South Africa: Findings and Implications

Rampamba EM, Meyer JC, Helberg E, Godman B

J Res Pharm Pract, 2021 01 11;9(4):181-185.
PMID: 33912500 DOI: 10.4103/jrpp.JRPP_20_49

Objective: Controlling blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive patients is a challenge, with the lack of antihypertensive medicines negatively impacting on BP control. Consequently, we assessed the availability of prescribed antihypertensives among patients with chronic hypertension attending primary health care (PHC) facilities in a rural province of South Africa and explored any association between medicines availability, the number of prescribed antihypertensive medicines and BP control.
Methods: Secondary data that included patients' demographics, BP, and data on medicines availability of the intervention group from a 3 months' operational study conducted in rural PHC facilities in South Africa were analyzed. The association between medicines availability, the number of antihypertensive medicines, and BP control was explored.
Findings: Fifty-five African patients (89.1% females) with a mean age of 61.3 years were included. Two-thirds (67.2%) received all their medicines during their monthly visits, 25.5% received some, and for 7.3%, there was no record of whether medicines were dispensed or not. Patients with controlled BP (60.0%) were more likely to have been prescribed only one antihypertensive medicine compared to patients with uncontrolled BP (20.7%) (P = 0.017; odds ratio: 5.75; 95% confidence interval: 1.46, 22.61).
Conclusion: It is concerning that one-third of patients went home without all of their antihypertensive medicines from PHC facilities in this Province of South Africa where there is evidence of use of herbal medicines and uncontrolled BP contributing to high morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases. Additional studies are needed to fully explore the association between medicines availability, their use, and BP control among patients.

Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population
Fulltext Predictors of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers attending rural health clinics in Hulu Langat District

Farahana Mohamad Pilus, Norliza Ahmad, Nor Afiah Mohd Zulkefli

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2019;15(203):15-21.
MyJurnal

Introduction: Even though exclusive breastfeeding prevalence has increased from 19.3% in 2006 to 47.1% in 2016, this practice was slightly higher in urban areas (48.3%) compared to rural area (45.1%) in Malaysia. National Plan of Action for Nutrition of Malaysia III has set an indicator to achieve at least 70% exclusive breastfeeding by 2025. Therefore this study is to identify predictors that influenced exclusive breastfeeding practice in rural areas. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in six rural health clinics in Hulu Langat District, Selangor among moth- ers with youngest child aged 6-48 months old. Respondents were selected through systematic random sampling. Validated self-administered questionnaire was used to assess sociodemographic factors, maternal factors, external factors and child’s factors. Mother’s height and weight was measured and body mass index was calculated. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the predictors for ex- clusive breastfeeding practice. Results: Response rate was 96% with a total of 311 mothers participated in this study. More than half of the mothers exclusively breastfed (52.4%). The predictors for exclusive breastfeeding were Malay ethnicity (AOR=3.951, 95% CI: 1.374-11.358), having tertiary education (AOR=2.401, 95% CI: 1.100-5.241) and positive attitude toward breastfeeding (AOR=7.755, 95% CI: 1.382-43.502). Conclusion: Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was higher in this study than the national level. Programme planners should pay special attention to Chinese and Indian ethnicities, mothers with lower level of education and negative attitude in order to improve breastfeeding practice among rural mothers.

Matched MeSH terms: Rural Population

Filters

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links