METHODS: A total of 250 children (9-12 years of age) and their parents participated in this cross-sectional study. Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children and Neighbourhood Environmental Walkability Scale as well as questions on constrained behaviours (avoidance and defensive behaviours) were used to assess the children's physical activity and parental perception of neighbourhood environment and safety, respectively.
RESULTS: More than one-third (36.0%) of the children were physically inactive compared with only a small percentage (4.8%) who were physically active, with boys achieving higher physical activity levels than girls (t = 2.564, P = 0.011). For the environmental scale, parents' perception of land-use mix (access) (r = 0.173, P = 0.006), traffic hazards (r = -0.152, P = 0.016) and defensive behaviour (r = -0.024, P = 0.143) correlated significantly with children's physical activity. In multiple linear regression analysis, child's gender (β = -0.226; P = 0.003), parent's education (β = 0.140; P = 0.001), household income (β = 0.151; P = 0.024), land-use mix (access) (β = 0.134; P = 0.011) and defensive behaviour (β = -0.017; P = 0.038) were significantly associated with physical activity in children (R = 0.349, F = 6.760; P
METHODS: The questionnaire was translated into Mandarin. Upon enrollment, caregivers completed the Mandarin PEDS and answered four questions about its acceptability and usefulness, and its ease of understanding and completion. The Mandarin PEDS was independently evaluated by a pediatrician and a community nurse, and classified as high risk (≥two predictive concerns), medium risk (one predictive concern), low risk (any non-predictive concerns) or no risk (if no concern) for developmental delays. The caregivers repeated Mandarin PEDS at a 2 week interval for test-retest reliability, while the children underwent testing for accuracy using a developmental assessment test.
RESULTS: The majority (≥85%) of the 73 caregivers perceived the Mandarin PEDS as acceptable and useful, as well as easy to understand and complete. Fifteen (20.5%) and 24 responses (33.9%) were classified as high and moderate risk, respectively. The test-retest and inter-rater reliabilities were excellent, with an intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.812 (95% CI: 0.701-0.881, P
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mean SF-36 scores were calculated for 24 population subgroups (categorised by age, gender, ethnicity and questionnaire language) and for subjects with self-reported co-morbid conditions using data from a community-based survey in Singapore.
RESULTS: The English and Chinese SF-36 was completed by 4122 and 1381 subjects, respectively, 58% (n = 3188) of whom had self-reported co-morbid conditions. SF-36 scores varied in subgroups differing in age, gender and ethnicity. In general, subjects with self-reported co-morbid conditions had lower SF-36 scores than those without these conditions, the magnitude of which exceeded 20 points in several instances. A method for calculation of SF-36 scores adjusted for age, gender, ethnicity and questionnaire language is described.
CONCLUSION: We present norms for English and Chinese SF-36 versions in Singapore and describe potential uses for these data in assessing HRQOL in Singapore.
DESIGN: This qualitative study employed an interpretive descriptive approach. Two trained researchers conducted in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) using a semi-structured topic guide, which was developed based on literature review and behavioural theories. All IDIs and FGDs were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Two researchers analysed the data independently using a thematic approach.
PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Men working in a banking institution in Kuala Lumpur were recruited to the study. They were purposively sampled according to their ethnicity, job position, age and screening status in order to achieve maximal variation.
RESULTS: Eight IDIs and five FGDs were conducted (n=31) and six themes emerged from the analysis. (1) Young men did not consider screening as part of prevention and had low risk perception. (2) The younger generation was more receptive to health screening due to their exposure to health information through the internet. (3) Health screening was not a priority in young men except for those who were married. (4) Young men had limited income and would rather invest in health insurance than screening. (5) Young men tended to follow doctors' advice when it comes to screening and preferred doctors of the same gender and ethnicity. (6) Medical overuse was also raised where young men wanted more screening tests while doctors tended to promote unnecessary screening tests to them.
CONCLUSIONS: This study identified important factors that influenced young men's screening behaviour. Health authorities should address young men's misperceptions, promote the importance of early detection and develop a reasonable health screening strategy for them. Appropriate measures must be put in place to reduce low value screening practices.
PATIENT AND METHODS: Patients were part of a prospective multicentre observational study recruiting patients with NMIBC for a urine biomarker study (DETECT II; ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02781428). A mixed-methods approach comprising: (i) the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Brief-IPQ) and (ii) semi-structured interviews to explore patients' experience of having haematuria, and initial and subsequent experience with a NMIBC diagnosis. Both assessments were completed at 6 months after NMIBC diagnosis.
RESULTS: A total of 213 patients completed the Brief-IPQ. Patients felt that they had minimal symptoms (median [interquartile range, IQR] score 2 [0-5]) and were not particularly affected emotionally (median [IQR] score 3 [1-6]) with a minimal effect to their daily life (median [IQR] score 2 [0-5]). However, they remained concerned about their cancer diagnosis (median [IQR] score 5 [3-8]) and felt that they had no personal control over the cancer (median [IQR] score 2 [2-5]) and believed that their illness would affect them for some time (median [IQR] score 6 [3-10]). A significant association with a lower personal control of the disease (P 70 years. Many patients were uncertain about the cause of bladder cancer. Qualitative analysis found that at initial presentation of haematuria, most patients were not aware of the risk of bladder cancer. Patients were most anxious and psychologically affected between the interval of cystoscopy diagnosis and transurethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT). Following TURBT, most patients were positive about their cancer prognosis.
CONCLUSION: Patients with NMIBC have a poor perception of disease control and believe that their disease will continue over a prolonged period of time. This is particularly more pertinent in the elderly. Patients are most psychologically affected during the interval between cancer diagnosis following cystoscopy and TURBT. Health awareness about bladder cancer remained poor with a significant number of patients unaware of the causes of bladder cancer. Psychological support and prompt TURBT following bladder cancer diagnosis would help improve the mental health of patients with NMIBC.
METHODS: A qualitative methodology was used whereby face-to-face interviews were conducted with 12 patients who collected partial medicine supplies from government pharmacies. Participants were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling method in the state of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Interviews were audio-recorded. Verbatim transcription and thematic content analysis were performed on the data.
RESULTS: Thematic content analysis yielded five major themes: (i) attitudes towards using VAS, (ii) subjective norms, (iii) perceived behavioural control, (iv) lack of knowledge and understanding of VAS and (v) expectations towards VAS.
CONCLUSION: The interviews explored and informed new information about salient beliefs towards pharmacy VAS. The findings suggest that VAS is still in its infancy and a more robust and effective advertising and marketing campaign is needed to boost the adoption rate. Behavioural attitudes, subjective norms and perceived control elements were discussed and serve as important variables of interest in future study. Expectations towards VAS serve as an important guideline to further improve patient-oriented services.