Aim: This study evaluated the QoL and its influencing factors among HCWs residing in the Arab countries.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using a self-administered online questionnaire based on the World Health Organization QoL-BREF instrument with additional questions related to COVID-19. The study was conducted in three different languages (Arabic, English, and French) across 19 Arab countries between February 22 and March 24, 2022.
Results: A total of 3,170 HCWs were included in the survey. The majority were females (75.3%), aged 18-40 years (76.4%), urban residents (90.4%), married (54.5%), and were living in middle-income countries (72.0%). The mean scores of general health and general QoL were 3.7 ± 1.0 and 3.7 ± 0.9, respectively. Those who attained average physical, psychological, social, and environmental QoL were 40.8, 15.4, 26.2, and 22.3%, respectively. The income per capita and country income affected the mean scores of all QoL domains. Previous COVID-19 infection, having relatives who died of COVID-19, and being vaccinated against COVID-19 significantly affected the mean scores of different domains.
Conclusion: A large proportion of the Arab HCWs evaluated in this study had an overall poor QoL. More attention should be directed to this vulnerable group to ensure their productivity and service provision.
METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of the Malaysian Elders Longitudinal Research (MELoR) study involving community-dwelling individuals aged >55 years was conducted. Information on sociodemographic factors, medical history, and lifestyle were obtained by computer-assisted interviews in participants' homes. Cognitive performance was assessed with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) tool during subsequent hospital-based health checks. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were conducted with continuous MoCA scores as the dependent variable.
RESULTS: Data were available for 1,140 participants, mean (standard deviation [SD]) = 68.48 (7.23) years, comprising 377 (33.1%) ethnic Malays, 414 (36.3%) Chinese, and 349 (30.6%) Indians. Mean (SD) MoCA scores were 20.44 (4.92), 23.97 (4.03), and 22.04 (4.83) for Malays, Chinese, and Indians, respectively (p = 0.01). Age >75 years, <12 years of education, and low functional ability were common risk factors for low cognitive performance across all three ethnic groups. Cognitive performance was positively associated with social engagement among the ethnic Chinese (β [95% CI] = 0.06 [0.01, 0.11]) and Indians (β [95% CI] = 0.16 [0.09, 0.23]) and with lower depression scores (β [(95% CI] = -0.08 [-0.15, -0.01]) among the ethnic Indians.
CONCLUSION: Common factors associated with cognitive performance include age, education, and functional ability, and ethnic-specific factors were social engagement and depression. Interethnic comparisons of risk factors may form the basis for identification of ethnic-specific modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline and provision of culturally acceptable prevention measures.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted amongst all government pharmacists in Perak. We excluded those who did not consent or were unreachable electronically. The researchers provided an online link that was forwarded to all heads of departments in Perak via social media. The respondents answered their demographic details, questions assessing their knowledge of NSI transmissible diseases, needle-stick handling practices, detail experiences of them suffering an NSI (all self-developed questionnaires), and their barriers in reporting an NSI (validated questionnaire). All responses were auto-tabulated in an excel sheet. A sample size of 516 pharmacists was needed for this study. A respondent was deemed to have inadequate knowledge when they answered any question wrongly about NSI knowledge-related questions and inappropriate practice in needle handling when respondents answered any questions wrongly for questions assessing practices.
RESULTS: A total of 524 pharmacists participated. The overall prevalence of NSI was 23.1% (n=121), of which, those with contaminated NSI were 10.3% (n=54, 95%CI: 7.9-13.30). Twothirds of the participants (66.6%) had inadequate knowledge and nearly all of them were unable to describe the appropriate needle-handling practices (94.7%). Amongst the reported barriers were "not knowing whose duty it was to report an NSI" (45.5%) and "busy schedules" (44.7%).
CONCLUSION: One in every five pharmacists in the state of Perak had a history of NSI, and 1 in every 10 had sustained a contaminated NSI. The barriers to reporting a NSI were mainly due to uncertainty about whose responsibility to report the incident and being too busy to report it.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted across four health clinics from February 2022 to May 2022. As part of the study, self-administered questionnaires were completed to determine symptoms related to SBS. An indoor air quality (IAQ) assessment was conducted four times daily for fifteen minutes at five areas in each clinic (laboratory, lobby, emergency room, pharmacy, and examination room).
RESULT: Most of the areas illustrated poor air movement (<0.15 m/s), except for the laboratory. The total bacterial count (TBC) was above the standard limit in both the lobby and emergency room (>500 CFU/m3). The prevalence of SBS was 24.84% (77) among the healthcare workers at the health clinics. A significant association with SBS was noted for those working in the examination room (COR = 2.86; 95% CI = 1.31; 6.27) and those experiencing high temperature sometimes (COR = 0.25; 95% CI = 0.11; 0.55), varying temperature sometimes (COR = 0.31; 95% CI = 0.003), stuffy air sometimes (COR = 0.17; 95% CI = 0.005; 0.64), dry air sometimes (COR = 0.20; 95% CI = 0.007; 0.64), and dust sometimes (COR = 0.25; 95% CI = 0.11; 0.60) and everyday (COR = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.14; 0.81). Only healthcare workers in the examination room (AOR = 3.17; 95% CI = 1.35; 7.41) were found to have a significant risk of SBS when controlling for other variables.
CONCLUSION: SBS is prevalent among healthcare workers at health clinics.
METHOD: A retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out by assessing the data of COVID-19-infected HCWs in Sabah, Malaysia, from 1st March 2021 until 30th September 2021. Logistic regression analysis was used in this study.
RESULTS: Three thousand and forty HCWs were diagnosed with COVID-19 from 1st March 2021 until 30th September 2021. Of the 3040 HCWs, 2948 (97.0%) HCWs were mild, whereas 92 (3.0%) were severe. The multivariate logistic regression model showed that severe COVID-19 among HCWs in Sabah was associated with those do not receive any COVID-19 vaccination (aOR 6.061, 95% CI 3.408 - 10.780), underlying co-morbidity (aOR 3.335, 95% CI 2.183 - 5.096), and female (aOR 1.833, 95% CI 1.090 - 3.081).
CONCLUSION: HCWs should strictly adhere to preventive measures, including vaccination, personal protective equipment, and early referral to a physician upon identifying severe COVID-19 infection. Early screening and aggressive co-morbidity treatment among HCWs are essential for public health practitioners to prevent severe COVID-19 disease. Regardless of co-morbidity status, HCWs should stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccination, including booster doses.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was employed involving 239 ambulances from selected hospitals and clinics. Ambulance service utilization was based on the number of trips, distance and duration of travel obtained from travel logbooks. A mixed top-down and activity-based costing approach was used to estimate the monthly cost of ambulance services. This constituted personnel, maintenance, fuel, overhead, consumables, ambulance, and medical equipment costs. The utilization and costs of ambulance services were further compared between settings and geographical locations.
RESULTS: The average total cost of ambulance services was MYR 11,410.44 (US$ 2,756.14) for hospitals and MYR 9,574.39 (US$ 2,312.65) for clinics, albeit not significantly different. Personnel cost was found to be the main contributor to the total cost, at around 44% and 42% in hospitals and clinics, respectively. There was however a significant difference in the total cost in terms of the type and age of ambulances, in addition to their location. In terms of service utilization, the median number of trips and duration of ambulance usage was significantly higher in clinics (31.88 trips and 58.58 hours) compared to hospitals (16.25 trips and 39.25 hours).
CONCLUSIONS: The total cost of ambulance services was higher in hospitals compared to clinics, while its utilization showed a converse trend. The current findings evidence that despite the ambulance services being all under the MOH, their operating process and utilization reflected an inherent difference by setting.
SETTING: In this study, a multinational survey was developed and administered to obtain experience, attitude, and promotion information with regard to the international use of TC&AM among nine countries: Germany, United States, Japan, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Russia, Kazakhstan, and United Arab Emirates (UAE). The survey was administered via online to members of SurveyMonkey Audience, a proprietary panel of respondents who were recruited from a diverse population worldwide.
RESULTS: A total of 1071 participants has completed the survey. The participants were in favor of the treatments and therapies as well as expressed positive attitudes and also have used herbal medicine treatment more than acupuncture therapy and also used the modalities to promote metabolism rather than treating musculoskeletal diseases. Moreover, participants mentioned that TC&AM should be applied for treating and managing infectious diseases, such as COVID-19. Additionally, participants recommended using Facebook channel to promote its treatments and therapies.
CONCLUSION: Based on the results, this study provides initial insights on TC&AM that may influence the non-users globally and perhaps inspire a need for further research including more countries in different continents.