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  1. Fulltext A qualitative exploration of Malaysian doctors' perceptions towards complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) [Abstract]
    Farooqui M, Othman CN, Hassali AA, Saleem F, Ul Haq N, Sadeeqa S
    Value Health, 2014 Nov;17(7):A789.
    PMID: 27202944 DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2014.08.425
    Objectives: The study aims to assess doctors’ perceptions towards Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) in their medical practice, factors that affect the referral of CAM and suggestions to improve CAM in medical practice.
    Methods: A qualitative research approach was adopted to gain a better understanding of the current perceptions and practice held by doctors’ within their medical professions. In order to gain a wide perspective of the issue, eleven doctors were purposively selected who were working in academics, hospitals and in the community health clinics. Participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. A saturation point was reached after the 10th interview, and no new information emerged with the subsequent interviews. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed by means of a standard content analysis framework.
    Results: The doctors expressed a range of views on CAM that can be divided into two major themes: doctors’ knowledge and understanding towards CAM and doctors’ viewpoint on CAM in their professional practice. A key factor which affected doctor’s perspectives on CAM was the lack of scientific evidences. The attitudes on CAM were basically shaped based on their personal CAM use rather than knowledge gained during an academic course. Lack of knowledge on CAM was also attributing to the doctors’ reluctance in CAM discussion with their patients. Though addition of CAM courses into the medical curriculum was proposed by some of the doctors; the practical implication was criticized as some found medical curriculum heavily packed with the biomedical courses.
    Conclusions: Majority of the doctors in this study were skeptical and uncertain about CAM due to lack of scientific evidence. Doctor-patient communication on CAM can only be improved when doctors’ knowledge on CAM can be improved by providing necessary training on CAM.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  2. Developing and validating a new tool: physicians' barriers, attitudes and practices towards applying smoking cessation interventions in their clinics. [Abstract]
    Albaroodi KA, Syed Sulaiman SA, Awaisu A, Shafie AA, Lajis R, Abo-Maali MF
    Value Health, 2015 Nov;18(7):A714.
    PMID: 26533997 DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2015.09.2692
    Objectives
    Endocrinologists and other clinicians who provide care to diabetic patients have ideal teaching opportunities to connect and deliver tobacco cessation interventions in diabetes care. This study aimed to develop, validate and measure the reliability of a new tool that would be used to evaluate physicians’ attitudes and practices regarding tobacco cessation counselling in patients with diabetes, as well as barriers to deliver tobacco cessation counselling in their clinics.

    Methods
    This study was conducted from March till December 2012 in the endocrine clinic at Hospital Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. A standardised, 22-item, self-administered questionnaire was developed to determine (i) physicians’ attitudes and practices regarding tobacco cessation counselling in patients with diabetes, and (ii) barriers in delivering tobacco cessation counselling in their clinics. Face and content validity were assessed. Six pharmacists, whom were faculty members with experience and expertise in research and in the development of surveys, reviewed the questionnaire to assess its content validity.Reliability test was run along to check whether the new tool questions are correlated with one another adequatly or no.

    Results
    Reliability test for the tool was pretested on a sample of 25 physicians physicians who ran the endocrine clinic at Hospital Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. Reliability analyses for the attitude domain and practice domain were 0.710 and 0.720, respectively.

    Conclusions
    The questionnaire was valid and reliable to be use for the evaluation of physician’s barriers, attitude and practice regarding tobacco cessation counselling in the diabetics clinics.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  3. Association between knowledge and medication adherence in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Pakistan. [Abstract]
    Nazir SU, Hassali MA, Saleem F, Bashir S, Aljadhey H
    Value Health, 2015 Nov;18(7):A613.
    PMID: 26533439 DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2015.09.2128
    Objectives: Diabetes mellitus is a serious health problem. Medication adherence is a key determinant of therapeutic success in patients with diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was to assess medication adherence and its potential association with diabetes related knowledge in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
    Methods: This study was carried out at the outpatient clinics of a public sector teaching hospital in Sargodha, Pakistan. Besides demographic and disease-related questions, previously validated questionnaires, Morisky Medication Adherence Scale and Michigan diabetes knowledge test was used to assess the medication adherence and diabetes related knowledge, respectively. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the demographic and disease characteristics of the patients while Spearman rank correlation was employed to measure the association between medication adherence and knowledge.
    Results: Three hundred and ninety two patients were interviewed. Out of 392 patients, 245 (62.5%) of the patients had average knowledge about diabetes while 282 (71.9 %) were categorized as poor adherent. Only 13 patients (3.3 %) were considered as good adherent in the study. The correlation coefficient between total scores of knowledge and total medication adherence score was 0.036 (p< 0.05), indicating a weak correlation between knowledge scores and adherence level.
    Conclusions: Knowledge of diabetes mellitus among these patients was average; however, adherence to drug therapy was also poor. Patients’ knowledge about diabetes had positive association with medication adherence. Improving diabetes knowledge of people can result in better adherence, which may result in better control of diabetes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  4. A pilot study measuring knowledge and attitudes towards diabetes mellitus In Kedah, Malaysia [Abstract]
    Saleem F, Hassali MA, Verma AK, Aljadhey H
    Value Health, 2015 Nov;18(7):A614-5.
    PMID: 26533446 DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2015.09.2138
    Objectives: An adequate disease-related knowledge is important in treatment and management of ailments. Within this context, patients are needed to have correct knowledge and positive attitude especially when they are faced with an emergence of chronic diseases. The aim of this study therefore is to assess the level of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) awareness and disease related attitude among general population at Bujang Valley, Merbok, Kedah, Malaysia.
    Methods: A questionnaire based, cross sectional study was conducted. The Diabetes Attitude Scale was used to assess the knowledge and attitude of respondents towards T2DM. Data was described descriptively and SPSS v.22 was used for data analysis.
    Results: Out of three hundred and seventy seven respondents, majority of the respondents (n=156, 41.4%) were in age group of more than 40 years old and the cohort was dominated by Malay ethnic group. Females subjugated over males (n=229, 60.7%) and the highest number of respondents were working as businessman (n=115, 30.5%). Corresponding to the marital status, majority of the respondent were married (n=247, 65.5%). Majority of the respondents (n=274, 72.7%) were reported as healthy with no chronic disease. The respondents reported certain misapprehensions where they believed that T2DM have lesser complications, blood glucose control is needed for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus only and the emotional effects of T2DM are minor.
    Conclusions: The study reported insufficient level of knowledge among the respondents in management of T2DM. General population needs to have good collaboration with healthcare professionals to get more education and knowledge related to T2DM for their empowerment.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
  5. Factors influencing the uptake of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine in a multiethnic Asian population
    Wong LP, Sam IC
    Vaccine, 2010 Jun 17;28(28):4499-505.
    PMID: 20451639 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2010.04.043
    The study aimed to determine factors influencing the uptake of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine in a multiethnic Asian population. Population-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted between October and December 2009. Approximately 70% of overall participants indicated willingness to be vaccinated against the 2009 H1N1 influenza. Participants who indicated positive intention to vaccinate against 2009 H1N1 influenza were more likely to have favorable attitudes toward the 2009 H1N1 vaccine. A halal (acceptable to Muslims) vaccine was the main factor that determined Malay participants' decision to accept vaccination, whereas safety of the vaccine was the main factor that influenced vaccination decision for Chinese and Indian participants. The study highlights the challenges in promoting the 2009 H1N1 vaccine. Ethnic-sensitive efforts are needed to maximize acceptance of H1N1 vaccines in countries with diverse ethnic communities and religious practices.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  6. Knowledge, attitudes, and communication around human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination amongst urban Asian mothers and physicians
    Chow SN, Soon R, Park JS, Pancharoen C, Qiao YL, Basu P, et al.
    Vaccine, 2010 May 14;28(22):3809-17.
    PMID: 20347631 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2010.03.027
    To determine why HPV vaccination uptake is low in Asia, we surveyed attitudes, knowledge and communication about cervical cancer and HPV vaccination amongst 480 physicians and 1617 randomly selected urban mothers who could afford HPV vaccines in Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand. HPV vaccine rejection by mothers was linked with poor knowledge and low perceptions of self-relevance. Physicians' likelihood of raising the subject and/or recommending vaccination was linked to how proactively they advocate preventive health, their attitude to the subject's sensitivity and their knowledge levels. Because most Asian mothers seek doctors' advice and prefer them to take the initiative, physicians should be more proactive in discussing and recommending HPV vaccination.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
  7. HPV information needs, educational messages and channel of delivery preferences: views from developing country with multiethnic populations
    Wong LP
    Vaccine, 2009 Feb 25;27(9):1410-5.
    PMID: 19150379 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2008.12.045
    This qualitative study used focus group discussions (FGDs) to evaluate information needed in order to make informed human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination decision, opinion on the most acceptable public education messages, and channel of delivery in a multiethnic, multicultural and multireligion country. A total of 19 FGDs were conducted among mothers of eligible vaccinees, young women eligible for the vaccine, and men. Messages that carry accurate information about HPV-cervical cancer link, the HPV preventive vaccines and at the same time minimize the stigma of a sexually transmitted infection (STI) vaccine were preferred. Educational messages for future HPV educational intervention were developed and methods to effectively convey to the public the need for HPV vaccination were identified. The findings serve as a basis for future intervention to develop research-based communication materials and strategies.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  8. Influenza as an issue on the agenda of health care workers: what can we do? What do we need?
    Vaccine, 2006 Nov 10;24(44-46):6791-2.
    PMID: 17167887
    ESWI recommends that the 25 European Union nations strive to vaccinate one-third of their collective population every year by 2010. This translates into an annual vaccine usage of 150 million doses for a population of 455 million. However, the current vaccine usage in Europe is 79 million doses, meaning that only 40% of ESWI's recommended target population is being vaccinated in the EU-25. Indeed, the EU's current risk groups equal about 28% of its population, but it is estimated that less than 62% are being vaccinated with the current vaccine supply--the equivalent of 17% of the total population. Clearly, as ESWI noted in its concluding position paper at the Malta conference, "a large proportion of those traditionally assumed to be at most risk from influenza are not being vaccinated." How to change this and minimize the consequences of a pandemic? "It's very interesting how the arithmetic works, given the goal of immunizing 75 percent of Europe's high-risk group, " said Dr K.Nichol of the University of Minnesota Medical Center who chaired the session. "If you go from a trivalent vaccine to a monovalent one, then you triple the number of doses you can manufacture. Thus, you could produce enough doses for the entire population of the EU." However, there is no coordinated approach in Europe, meaning such an optimistic scenario is unlikely in the medium-term. For the time being, emphasis must be on raising public awareness and raising vaccination rates at the local level, starting with health care workers themselves. Here the role and attitude of health policy officials and--critically--health care workers are crucial. These front-line policy and healthcare professionals constitute both the problem and the solution to a more effective influenza vaccine effort in Europe: they know first-hand the institutional obstacles blocking progress--i.e., lack of resources, poorly focused public information campaigns, etc.--but their own work practices and attitudes can be misdirected, too. To identify the issues and help the participants produce a set of recommendations, ESWI brought in Penny Lawson from to facilitate Dr.K. Nichol to steer this session's workshop debate. The participants were a diverse group of 35 health care workers from Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  9. Challenges to health workers and their opinions about parents' refusal of oral polio vaccination in the Khyber Pakhtoon Khawa (KPK) province, Pakistan
    Khan TM, Sahibzada MU
    Vaccine, 2016 Apr 19;34(18):2074-81.
    PMID: 26993330 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.03.008
    A qualitative study design was adapted to explore the challenges faced by health workers (HWs) during the polio health campaign. In addition, HWs' opinions about the factors causing parents to refuse oral polio vaccination (OPV) were also explored. Four focus group discussions (FGDs) were held (from 1st January 2015-31st March 2015) with the HWs who participated in the OPV campaigns in the polio red zones of Khyber Pakhtoon Khawa (KPK) province of Pakistan, namely Kohat (FG 1), Domel and Bannu (FG 2), Hangoo (FG 3), and Peshawar (FG 4). A total of N=42 HWs (10-11 in each FG) agreed to participate in this study. Overall, HWs disclosed that public attitude and harsh behaviour towards the HWs and security threats are the two main challenges they face. Common issues hindering parents' willingness to vaccinate their children against OPV are: OPV is seen as haram and not permitted in Islam, it is said to contain the blood of pigs (Khinzir) and monkeys, and parents are afraid that it is done to induce sterility among their children. HWs also shared that parents have a strong belief in the conspiracies that are associated with OPV, i.e. the USA and CIA, are spying on us and our government is helping them to achieve their agenda. Furthermore, HWs revealed that frequent visits may further strengthen parents' perceptions and make them more resistant to OPV. The common side effects of OPV reported by parents were mainly gastro-intestinal problems and in some cases mild to moderate fever with some respiratory symptoms. There is a great need to improve the logistics and facilities for HWs assisting in vaccination programmes. Furthermore, it is necessary to improve education, so people understand the basic concept of revaccination and booster doses, thereby assisting in creating a basic understanding of vaccinations, which may trigger changes in attitudes and make people believe in the benefits of OPV rather than following the conspiracies that lead them to refuse it.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  10. Vaccine hesitancy towards childhood immunisation amongst urban pregnant mothers in Malaysia
    Kalok A, Loh SYE, Chew KT, Abdul Aziz NH, Shah SA, Ahmad S, et al.
    Vaccine, 2020 02 24;38(9):2183-2189.
    PMID: 32001070 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.01.043
    BACKGROUND: Vaccine hesitancy is a complex behaviour which involves various degrees of indecision about specific vaccines or vaccination uptake. Access to antenatal care had been associated with positive vaccine behavior.

    OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy towards childhood immunisation amongst urban pregnant mothers and the associated socio-demographic factors.

    METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1081 women who received antenatal care at a teaching hospital in Kuala Lumpur. Vaccine hesitancy was assessed using the Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccines (PACV) Survey in both English and validated Malay versions. The sociodemographic data of the mothers and their partners, source of vaccine information and reasons for hesitancy were analysed.

    RESULTS: Eighty-six (8.0%) pregnant mothers were vaccine hesitant. Ethnicity, religion, number of children, educational level and employment status were significantly associated with vaccine hesitancy. Multivariable analysis showed that a low level of education was the most significant risk factor (p 

    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  11. Vaccine hesitancy among parents in a multi-ethnic country, Malaysia
    Mohd Azizi FS, Kew Y, Moy FM
    Vaccine, 2017 05 19;35(22):2955-2961.
    PMID: 28434687 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.04.010
    BACKGROUND: Vaccine hesitancy is a threat in combating vaccine-preventable diseases. It has been studied extensively in the Western countries but not so among Asian countries.

    OBJECTIVES: To assess the test-retest reliability of the Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccines (PACV) questionnaire in Malay language; to determine the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy among parents and its associations with parents' socio-demographic characteristics.

    METHODS: Forward and backward translation of PACV in Malay language was carried out. The reliability of the Malay-PACV questionnaire was tested among parents with children. The same questionnaire was used to study vaccine hesitancy among parents in a tertiary hospital in Kuala Lumpur. Information pertaining to socio-demographic characteristics, sources of information regarding vaccination and vaccine hesitancy were collected. Associations between vaccine hesitancy with socio-demographic factors were tested using Multivariable Logistic Regression.

    RESULTS: The Spearman correlation coefficient and Cronbach alpha for total PACV was 0.79 (p<0.001) and 0.79 respectively. The intra-class correlation coefficients of the subscales ranged from 0.54 to 0.90 demonstrating fair to excellent reliability. A total of 63 (11.6%) parents were noted to be vaccine hesitant. In the univariate analyses, vaccine hesitancy was associated with unemployed parents, parents who were younger, had fewer children and non-Muslim. In the multivariate model, pregnant mothers expecting their first child were four times more likely to be vaccine hesitant compared to those who already had one or more children (aOR: 3.91, 95% CI: 1.74-8.79) and unemployed parents were also more likely to be vaccine hesitant (aOR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.08-3.59). The internet (65.6%) was the main source of information on vaccination followed by brochures (56.9%).

    CONCLUSION: The Malay-PACV questionnaire is reliable to be used. The prevalence of vaccine hesitancy among the multi-ethnic Malaysians was comparable with other populations. Pregnant mothers expecting their first child and unemployed parents were found to be more vaccine hesitant.

    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
  12. Influenza in the Asia-Pacific region: Findings and recommendations from the Global Influenza Initiative
    Cowling BJ, Caini S, Chotpitayasunondh T, Djauzi S, Gatchalian SR, Huang QS, et al.
    Vaccine, 2017 Feb 07;35(6):856-864.
    PMID: 28081970 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.12.064
    The fourth roundtable meeting of the Global Influenza Initiative (GII) was held in Hong Kong, China, in July 2015. An objective of this meeting was to gain a broader understanding of the epidemiology, surveillance, vaccination policies and programs, and obstacles to vaccination of influenza in the Asia-Pacific region through presentations of data from Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. As well as a need for improved levels of surveillance in some areas, a range of factors were identified that act as barriers to vaccination in some countries, including differences in climate and geography, logistical challenges, funding, lack of vaccine awareness and education, safety concerns, perceived lack of vaccine effectiveness, and lack of inclusion in national guidelines. From the presentations at the meeting, the GII discussed a number of recommendations for easing the burden of influenza and overcoming the current challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. These recommendations encompass the need to improve surveillance and availability of epidemiological data; the development and publication of national guidelines, where not currently available and/or that are in line with those proposed by the World Health Organization; the requirement for optimal timing of vaccination programs according to local or country-specific epidemiology; and calls for advocacy and government support of vaccination programs in order to improve availability and uptake and coverage. In conclusion, in addition to the varied epidemiology of seasonal influenza across this diverse region, there are a number of logistical and resourcing issues that present a challenge to the development of optimally effective vaccination strategies and that need to be overcome to improve access to and uptake of seasonal influenza vaccines. The GII has developed a number of recommendations to address these challenges and improve the control of influenza.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  13. Attitudes towards Zika screening and vaccination acceptability among pregnant women in Malaysia
    Wong LP, Alias H, Hassan J, AbuBakar S
    Vaccine, 2017 10 13;35(43):5912-5917.
    PMID: 28886944 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.08.074
    The aim of this study was to examine the willingness of pregnant women to have prenatal screening for the Zika virus (ZIKV). Secondly, the study also assessed the acceptability of a hypothetical Zika vaccination and its association with the health belief model (HBM) constructs. A cross-sectional study was conducted from 4th October to 11th November 2016, among pregnant women who attended antenatal care at the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The majority (81.8%) was willing to be tested for ZIKV and 78% felt that their spouse would be willing to be tested for ZIKV. A total of 94% expressed a willingness to receive a Zika vaccination if available. The participants expressed high perceived benefits of a ZIKV vaccination. Although many have a high perception of the severity of ZIKV, the proportion with a strong perception of their susceptibility to ZIKV was low. In the multivariate analysis of all the HBM constructs, cue-to-action, namely physician recommendation (odds ratio [OR]=2.288; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.093-4.793) and recommendation from friends or relatives (OR=4.030; 95% CI 1.694-9.587), were significantly associated with a willingness to be vaccinated against ZIKV. The favourable response to a Zika vaccination implies that more research attention has to be given to develop a vaccine against ZIKV. Should the vaccine be available in the future, publicity and healthcare providers would play a vital role in ensuring vaccine uptake among pregnant women.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  14. Determinants of Willingness to Become Organ Donors among Dialysis Patients' Family Members
    Tumin M, Mohd Satar NH, Zakaria RH, Raja Ariffin RN, Soo-Kun L, Kok-Peng N, et al.
    Urol J, 2015 Sep 04;12(4):2245-50.
    PMID: 26341766
    PURPOSE: This study explores the factors affecting the willingness of dialysis patients' family members to become involved in living and deceased organ donation.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: We utilize cross sectional data on 350 family members of dialysis patients collected through self-administered survey from June to October 2013. The factors affecting willingness to become deceased and living organ donors among respondents were identified by running logistic regressions.

    RESULTS: The findings reveal that ethnicity, education and role in family are significant factors explaining will­ingness for living donation, while ethnicity, knowledge of organ donation and donor age drive willingness for deceased donation. We also find that the reasons of respondents being unwilling to donate center on the lack of information and family objections for deceased donation, while being medically unfit, scared of surgery and family objections are the reasons for unwillingness to donate living organs.

    CONCLUSION: In light of our findings, educational efforts are suggested to decrease the reluctance to become in­volved in living and deceased donation.

    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  15. Prostate cancer screening perspective, Malaysia
    Sothilingam S, Sundram M, Malek R, Sahabuddin RM
    Urol Oncol, 2010;28(6):670-2.
    PMID: 21062649 DOI: 10.1016/j.urolonc.2009.12.014
    The incidence of prostate cancer in Malaysia is still low compared to the west. This may be due to a true low incidence or lower detection rates. Prostate Awareness Campaigns are held on a yearly basis to educate and encourage males over the age of 50 years to have their prostate examined. Such a campaign was organized in 2005 at the national level involving 12 district hospitals. A total of 2770 participants attended the campaign. 38.7% had no urinary symptoms and attended out of curiosity. Among the symptomatic patients, nocturia was the most bothersome in the majority. 84.6% of the participants also had some degree of erectile dysfunction based on the IIEF questionnaire. 10.4% of participants had a PSA > 4 ng/mL. Malay participants had the highest mean PSA level (2.32 ng/mL) and Indian participants the lowest (1.30 ng/mL). 408 participants were called back for biopsy but only 183 agreed to the biopsy. 30 cancers were detected. At present Malaysia will benefit most by continuing to conduct these awareness programmes to educate the public on prostate disease and hopefully in future patients will be less reluctant to have prostate biopsies taken when indicated.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
  16. Prostatitis-like symptoms: diagnosis and management in a Malaysian primary care population
    Lee SW, Liong ML, Yuen KH, Leong WS, Khan N, Cheah PY, et al.
    Urol Int, 2009;82(1):32-7.
    PMID: 19172094 DOI: 10.1159/000176022
    BACKGROUND: Little is known about how primary care physicians (PCPs) in Asia diagnose and manage prostatitis-like symptoms. This study investigated the clinical diagnosis of and care provided for prostatitis-like symptoms by PCPs in a Malaysian population, and compared these findings to reports from other areas.
    METHODS: All members of the Penang Private Medical Practitioners' Society were asked to complete a self-administered survey. Nonresponders were contacted after 3 weeks and received a telephone request after 6 weeks.
    RESULTS: Of the 786 practitioners contacted, 669 considered themselves to be PCPs, including 279 (42%) who responded to the survey. Adult males with prostatitis-like symptoms typically constitute <1% of the patients seen by PCPs. Most PCPs (72%) believe that prostatitis-like symptoms are caused by bacterial infection. 61% of PCPs base their diagnosis of prostatitis-like symptoms on clinical history, a physical examination and dipstick urinalysis. Standard management was to prescribe 1 or 2 courses of antimicrobials.
    CONCLUSIONS: Despite the 8.7% prevalence found in a previous survey in this population, prostatitis remains underdiagnosed in Malaysia. In contrast to many other clinical settings, urologists in Malaysia see a large proportion of newly diagnosed and treatment-naive prostatitis patients, providing an opportunity for clinical diagnostic and treatment studies.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  17. Fulltext Tobacco use, knowledge and attitude among Malaysians age 18 and above
    Lim KH, Sumarni MG, Amal NM, Hanjeet K, Wan Rozita WM, Norhamimah A
    Trop Biomed, 2009 Apr;26(1):92-9.
    PMID: 19696733 MyJurnal
    This study aims to determine the level of knowledge and to understand their attitude towards smoking and secondly to determine how sociodemographic background, smoking status and knowledge on the health risks of smoking contribute toward the development of such attitude. A total of 10,545 respondents age 18 years and above across Malaysia were interviewed. Results indicated that level of knowledge and attitude varied by gender, education level, smoking status, age, ethnicity and smoker category. Smokers' low education, poor knowledge on the dangers of smoking and being males had more positive or greater impact on their attitudes towards smoking. Formulation and implementation of a holistic programme aimed at increasing knowledge and attitude change that accounts for sociodemographic background of the population is recommended in order to bring down smoking rates and thus reduce smoking related health problems in this country.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
  18. Fulltext Preliminary evaluation of STRIDE programme in primary schools of Malaysia
    Hanjeet K, Wan Rozita WM, How TB, Santhana Raj L, Baharudin O
    Trop Biomed, 2007 Dec;24(2):15-21.
    PMID: 18209703 MyJurnal
    The Students' Resilience and Interpersonal Skills Development Education (STRIDE) is a preventive drug education programme. The rational of this programme is that preventive drug education has to begin early in age, before the development of social attitudes and behaviour of students. A pre and a post intervention surveys were performed to evaluate the impact of this programme. Nine schools from three states were identified to participate in the intervention. These schools were selected based on their locations in high-drug-use areas (where the prevalence of drug use exceeds 0.5% of the student population). The new intervention curriculum was put into practice for three months in the nine schools. The overall scores obtained by each respondent to assess their knowledge on drugs and its implications were analysed. The results showed that the programme made a positive impact from the pre to post intervention programme by using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test (p < 0.05). A high percentage of the questions showed significant evidence through the McNemar matched pair Chi-Squared test with Bonferonni correction that there were positive shifts in the answers by comparing the pre and post intervention results (p < 0.05). Recommendations have been discussed with the Ministry of Education to integrate this programme into the national primary school curriculum.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  19. The health burden of malaria and household choices regarding treatment and prevention in Pakistan
    Khan M, Mahmood HZ, Noureen S, Muhmood K, Husnain MIU, Hameed Khaliq I
    Trop Biomed, 2019 Sep 01;36(3):664-676.
    PMID: 33597488
    The extent of the economic burden of malaria and its imposed mechanisms are both relevant to public policy. This paper investigates the economic burden of malaria and household behaviour in relation to the treatment and prevention of the illness in Pakistan. In this regard, data were collected from a randomly selected sample of 360 households using structured questionnaires. The survey results indicate that 23.4% of household members contracted malaria during the three-month reference period. The average per person cost of malaria is estimated at 3116 Pakistani rupees (PKR) (USD 32). The estimated cost of the illness was found to be equivalent to, on average, 6.7% of monthly household income. Although high-income households face a higher financial burden due to better preventive and mitigation measures, the negative consequences hit low-income households harder due to liquidity constraints and poor access to effective treatment. We recommend that malaria control policies be integrated into development and poverty reduction programs.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  20. Knowledge, attitude and health seeking practice on bats-borne diseases among residents of Tioman Island, Malaysia
    Mohamed NA, Said MH, Mohd Rani MD, Ramli S, Isahak I
    Trop Biomed, 2019 Sep 01;36(3):709-717.
    PMID: 33597493
    Bats are slowly gaining recognition as a potential reservoir for viruses harmful to human (Smith and Wang, 2013). Bats are reservoir to viruses causing Ebola virus diseases (EBV) (Leroy et al., 2005), Nipah Encephalitis (NiV) (Chua et al., 2002), SARS(Li et al., 2005) and MERS-CoV (Yang et al., 2015) being the latest one making headlines. About 18 years ago, a major outbreak of Nipah virus encephalitis occurred in Peninsular Malaysia resulted in the deaths of 105 persons and the slaughter of approximately 1.1 million pigs. In 2006, a novel bat orthoreovirus was found to be associated with acute respiratory syndrome in Malaysia. Following that incidents, many studies have been done on bats, particularly to determine their species, behaviour, and antibody level and there were also studies in human on antibody prevalence to batsrelated viruses e.g. Nipah and Hendra and PRV. Humans may become infected with viruses from bats through intermediate host (swine, horse) or through aerosol or direct contact with bats. Communities living adjacent to bat roosts should aware of possible risk of infection transmission from bats. An earlier study in Guatemala demonstrated that risk of exposure to bats in communities near bats roosts was common, but recognition of the potential for disease transmission from bats was low (Moran et al., 2015). Surprisingly, there is no local published data on public awareness towards bats-related infection despite potential risk of getting the infection. This study aimed to determine knowledge and awareness on bat-related infections, attitudes towards bats and practices related to health-seeking behaviours following exposure to bats.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
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