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Fulltext Stigmatizing attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) among primary health care providers in Kinta District, Perak

Chan YC, Binti Mawardi M, Ismail Daud AH

Malays Fam Physician, 2021 Mar 25;16(1):31-38.
PMID: 33948140 DOI: 10.51866/oa0001

Background: Stigmatizing attitudes expressed by health care providers prevent some members of at-risk populations from accessing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening and care. This attitude contributes to the continuity of the infection dissemination within our community, which gives an impact on the healthcare service and the curtailment of the global HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) pandemic.
Objective: This study was conducted to identify stigmatizing attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and their determinants among primary health care providers in Kinta District, Perak.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 36 primary care clinics in Kinta District, Perak. Using stratified random sampling, 365 primary health care providers were recruited into the study. A validated self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain sociodemographic data as well as information on the healthcare experiences of healthcare providers, their knowledge of HIV/AIDS, and attitudes toward PLWHA. Determinants were identified using multiple linear regression.
Results: More than half of the respondents (54.1%) had never provided care to HIV/AIDS patients. A minority (29.9%) had received training on HIV/AIDS. This study shows that doctors (Coef.= -9.50, 95% CI: -18.93, -0.07, p= 0.048), respondents with HIV-positive relatives, (Coef.= -5.61, 95% CI: -10.57, -0.65, p= 0.027), those who had provided care to HIV/AIDS patients (Coef.= -2.38, 95% CI: -4.31, -0.45, p= 0.016), and those with a higher knowledge score on HIV/AIDS (Coef.= -0.86, 95% CI: -1.59, -0.13, p= 0.021) were less likely to show stigmatizing attitudes toward PLWHA.
Conclusion: The issue of stigmatizing attitudes toward PLWHA among primary health care providers needs to be addressed. This study finds that knowledge, profession, experiences with caring for PLWHA, gender, and having HIV-positive relatives are significant predictors of stigmatizing attitudes toward PLWHA among primary health care providers in Kinta District, Perak. Interventional programs to improve knowledge and awareness, as well as decrease stigma toward PLWHA, should be implemented among all health care providers, especially those who have no opportunity to provide direct care.

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians
Fulltext Perceptions, Expectations, and Experience of Physicians About Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Care Services in Pakistan: Findings and Implications

Hayat K, Mustafa ZU, Godman B, Arshed M, Zhang J, Khan FU, et al.

Front Pharmacol, 2021;12:650137.
PMID: 34054528 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.650137

Background: Optimal collaboration between pharmacists and other healthcare professionals such as physicians is integral in implementing pharmaceutical care. However, there are concerns regarding the role of pharmacists, especially among low- and middle-income countries. This study explored the perceptions, expectations, and experience of physicians working in various hospital settings of Punjab, Pakistan, about pharmacists and their roles. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire consisting of four sections was administered from October to December 2020. Descriptive and inferential statistics such as Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used for data analysis using SPSS. Results: Six hundred and seventy-eight physicians participated in this study with a response rate of 77.9%. Most of the physicians reported minimal to no interaction with pharmacists (n = 521, 76.8%). However, more than three-quarters of physicians (n = 660, 97.3%) accepted pharmacists as evidence-based sources of drug information. In addition, many physicians (n = 574, 84.7%) strongly agreed that pharmacists should attend patient care rounds to respond promptly to questions related to patient medication. A limited number of physicians (n = 124, 18.3%) assumed that pharmacists were advising their patients regarding the judicial use of their drugs. Median expectation and experience score had a significant association with age, experience, and education of physicians (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The perception of physicians was positive toward certain roles of pharmacists, coupled with high expectations. However, their experience was low, with most of the activities of pharmacists due to inadequate interprofessional coordination.

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians
Fulltext Validity and reliability of an adapted questionnaire measuring knowledge, awareness and practice regarding familial hypercholesterolaemia among primary care physicians in Malaysia

Azraii AB, Ramli AS, Ismail Z, Abdul-Razak S, Badlishah-Sham SF, Mohd-Kasim NA, et al.

BMC Cardiovasc Disord, 2021 01 19;21(1):39.
PMID: 33468051 DOI: 10.1186/s12872-020-01845-y

BACKGROUND: Primary care physicians (PCP) play an important role in detecting Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) early. However, knowledge, awareness and practice (KAP) regarding FH among Malaysian PCP are not well established, and there was no validated tool to assess their FH KAP. Thus, the aim of this study was to adapt an FH KAP questionnaire and determine its validity and reliability among Malaysian PCP.
METHODS: This cross-sectional validation study involved Malaysian PCP with ≥ 1-year work experience in the primary care settings. In Phase 1, the original 19-item FH KAP questionnaire underwent content validation and adaptation by 7 experts. The questionnaire was then converted into an online survey instrument and was face validated by 10 PCP. In Phase 2, the adapted questionnaire was disseminated through e-mail to 1500 PCP. Data were collected on their KAP, demography, qualification and work experience. The construct validity was tested using known-groups validation method. The hypothesis was PCP holding postgraduate qualification (PCP-PG-Qual) would have better FH KAP compared with PCP without postgraduate qualification (PCP-noPG-Qual). Internal consistency reliability was calculated using Kuder Richardson formula-20 (KR-20) and test-retest reliability was tested on 26 PCP using kappa statistics.
RESULTS: During content validation and adaptation, 10 items remained unchanged, 8 items were modified, 1 item was moved to demography and 7 items were added. The adapted questionnaire consisted of 25 items (11 knowledge, 5 awareness and 9 practice items). A total of 130 out of 1500 PCP (response rate: 8.7%) completed the questionnaire. The mean percentage knowledge score was found to be significantly higher in PCP-PG-Qual compared with PCP-noPG-Qual (53.5, SD ± 13.9 vs. 35.9, SD ± 11.79), t(128) = 6.90, p

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians, Primary Care
Fulltext Knowledge, attitude and practice of evidence-based medicine among primary care practitioners in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

Zanaridah MN, Norhayati MN, Rosnani Z

BMJ Open, 2021 Jun 01;11(6):e044372.
PMID: 34078635 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044372

OBJECTIVES: To determine the level of knowledge and practice of evidence-based medicine (EBM) and the attitudes towards it and to identify the factors associated with its practice among primary care practitioners in Selangor, Malaysia.
SETTING: This cross-sectional study was conducted in randomly selected health clinics in Selangor. Data were collected from primary care physicians using self-administered questionnaires on knowledge, practice and attitudes regarding EBM.
PARTICIPANTS: The study included 225 respondents working in either government or private clinics. It excluded house officers and those working in public and private universities or who were retired from practice.
RESULTS: A total of 32.9% had a high level of EBM knowledge, 12% had a positive attitude towards EBM and 0.4% had a good level of its practice. The factors significantly associated with EBM practice were ethnicity, attitude, length of work experience as a primary care practitioner and quick access to online reference applications on mobile phones.
CONCLUSIONS: Although many physicians have suboptimal knowledge of EBM and low levels of practising it, majority of them have a neutral attitude towards EBM practice. Extensive experience as a primary care practitioner, quick access to online references on a mobile phone and good attitude towards EBM were associated with its practice.

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians, Primary Care
Fulltext A qualitative study on malnutrition in children from the perspectives of health workers in Tumpat, Kelantan

Cheah WL, Wan Manan WM, Zabidi-Hussin ZM, Chang KH

Malays J Nutr, 2007 Mar;13(1):19-28.
PMID: 22692186 MyJurnal

Underlying causes of most nutrition related problems are diverse, including biological, social, cultural, and economic factors. Qualitative approaches complement quantitative methods in identifying the underlying meanings and patterns of relationships involved in managing malnutrition. This study examined perceptions regarding malnutrition among health workers from 7 clinics (community and health clinics) in Tumpat, Kelantan. A total of 18 nurses and 2 doctors, who were involved in monitoring child health and nutrition, were included in the study. These health workers were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire adapted from Sastry's framework on malnutrition (Sastry, 1996). The questionnaire included biological, behavioral and environmental factors that influence child health and nutrition. All the health workers perceived that mothers/caregivers play the main role in improving the health of malnourished children. The quality of childcare was rated as moderately satisfactory by the health workers. Most of the affected families who were given the Food Baskets did not fully use all the items for the malnourished child. Child feeding practice was based on the needs of the whole family rather than according to the target child's needs. Most of the mothers preferred processed cereals than rice porridge because the former is easier to prepare for the child. Although they were from a low socioeconomic background, most of the mothers were not earning additional income for the family. The qualitative methodology provided information that can be used as a basis for the designing of quantitative questionnaires to assess malnutrition among children. The induction characteristic of qualitative methods was used to gain an understanding of the underlying reasons or phenomena such as behaviours that are directly observable.
Study site: Klinik kesihatan, Tumpat, Kelantan, Malaysia

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians
Fulltext Treatment satisfaction and its influencing factors among fixed orthodontic patients in UiTM

Shamsul,Fadzil,S,S,, Ahmad,Khalil,A,I,, Noviaranny,I,Y,, Abdullah,Al-Jaf,N,M,, Kazi,J,A,

Compendium of Oral Science, 2020;7(1):21-29.
MyJurnal

Abstract
Objectives: The aims of this study were to evaluate patient’s satisfaction regarding the orthodontic treatment
provided by the Faculty of Dentistry Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and to determine the factors that
affected their satisfaction level.
Methods: : A cross-sectional study was conducted among the patients treated with full fixed appliances in the
faculty’s orthodontic clinic using a validated questionnaire.
Results: : The final sample consisted of 105 subjects (response rate 76%) which comprises of 26 males and 79
females were chose with 97% of the respondents are Malay. Most subjects had orthodontic treatment duration
of more than 1.5 years (100%) and were still wearing fixed appliances (89%). Items included in the
questionnaire: reasons for seeking orthodontic treatment, questions relevant to satisfaction with orthodontic
treatment, doctor-patient relationship and pain experience during orthodontic treatment. Concerning the doctor
patient relationship, 91% of the respondents were contented with their orthodontist. Respondents answered
‘Yes’ to the treatment plan explained prior to the procedure (91.4%), questions answered promptly (94.3%),
gentleness of the orthodontist (91.4%) and dental assistant (88.6%), orthodontist honesty about treatment
duration (90.5%) and cost (97.1%), and recommendation to others (90.5%).
Conclusion: Generally, patients who had received orthodontic treatment from the orthodontic clinic in Faculty
of Dentistry UiTM were satisfied with the overall treatment outcomes. However, there were still some aspects of
the service that can be improved in the future in order to provide a better healthcare services specifically in
orthodontic treatment.

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians
Fulltext Awareness, knowledge and views of off-label prescribing in children: a systematic review

Balan S, Hassali MA, Mak VS

Br J Clin Pharmacol, 2015 Dec;80(6):1269-80.
PMID: 26314841 DOI: 10.1111/bcp.12750

AIM: The aim of this review was to provide an updated overview of awareness, knowledge and views of off-label prescribing in children.
METHOD: A literature search using electronic databases including PubMed, Medline, Scopus, Science Direct, Springer Link, Proquest, Ebsco Host and Google Scholar was conducted. Additional articles were identified by reviewing the bibliography of retrieved articles. The articles were searched with any of the following medical subject headings (MeSH) terms in the title: attitude, awareness, knowledge, experience, view, off-label, pediatric, paediatric and children. The inclusion criteria were full text articles published in English between January 2004 and February 2015 and reported outcome related to awareness, knowledge and views regarding off-label prescribing in children. Editorials, reviews, notes, conference proceedings, letters and studies reporting prevalence of off-label prescribing were excluded. The articles were scrutinized using thematic analysis.
RESULTS: Eleven studies conducted among doctors, community pharmacists, paediatric nurses, parents and children met the inclusion criteria. Nine themes were developed through document analysis which included main domains such as knowledge, awareness and views on off-label drug use in children, choice of information sources, reasons and suggestions to reduce off-label prescribing, concern regarding obtaining consent and participation in clinical trials.
CONCLUSION: The studies reviewed reported that the majority of doctors and community pharmacists were familiar with the term off-label prescribing but knowledge among parents was low. Awareness on off-label prescribing in children remains low among all study participants. There is a mismatch between views on off-label prescribing in children of study participants and the finding of previous studies.

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians
Fulltext End-of-life attitudes in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) amongst final year medical students at International Medical University, Malaysia

Sangeetha Poovaneswaran, Anuradha Poovaneswaran, Thiruselvi Subramaniam

International e-Journal of Science, Medicine & Education, 2014;8(1):32-33.
MyJurnal

With recent medical advances and the availability of newer sophisticated technologies, critically ill patients tend to survive longer. Thus, decisions to forgo life-sustaining medical treatment generate challenging issues that all doctors must face. The aim of this pilot study was to assess attitudes towards end-of-life care in ICU which included futile therapy (withholding and withdrawing therapy) among final year medical students who had received the same degree of clinical exposure and training in medical school. The results revealed varying attitudes and views towards end-of-life care in ICU suggesting other factors such as religion, ethnicity and culture may influence decision making.

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians
Fulltext Haematinics for anaemia in the elderly

Khoo SB

Malays Fam Physician, 2011;6(1):7-14.
MyJurnal

Anaemia is the most common haematological problem in the elderly population. Using WHO criteria for anaemia (Hb of <12 g/dL in women and <13 g/dL in men), the prevalence of anaemia in the elderly has been found to range from 8-44% with the highest prevalence in men 85 years and older. Anaemia must not be considered simply as part of ageing because in 80% of cases, there is an underlying cause for Hb
levels of <12 g/dL in the elderly. Anaemia has negative impacts on the quality of life for the elderly and there is evidence of improved morbidity and
mortality after correction of anaemia. Chronic disease and thalassaemia may also cause microcytic anaemia besides iron deficiency and not all vitamin B12 and folate deficiency present with macrocytic megaloblastic anaemia. Nutritional deficiency anaemias are common, easily diagnosed, treatments are simple, inexpensive and effective. Tests for nutritional anaemia have to be given priority in the assessment before a patient is subjected to invasive tests to look for less common causes of anaemia. Serum ferritin which is the best non-invasive test for the diagnosis of iron deficiency anaemia may be increased in the elderly while serum iron and transferrin decrease with ageing. Serum methylmalonic acid (MMA) and homocysteine (HC) levels are sensitive for detecting subclinical vitamin B12 and folate deficiency. Routine iron therapy in non-anaemic elderly or in those without iron deficiency anaemia is of no use and may be detrimental to their health. Folate therapy may improve anaemia but may mask the signs and symptoms of neurological damage due to concomitant
vitamin B12 deficiency. Blood transfusion offers prompt symptom relief of anaemia in patients with terminal malignancy irrespective of the causes for the anaemia.

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians, Family
Fulltext Palliative care for a child: role of a primary care doctor

Tan CE, Md Radzniwan R, Khairani O, Ednin H

Malays Fam Physician, 2011;6(1):26-28.
PMID: 25606216 MyJurnal

A 7-year-old boy with a diagnosis of advanced medulloblastoma refractory to treatment was discharged from hospital for further palliative care at home. During this short and eventful period, the child developed spinal cord compression with progressive weakness of upper and lower limbs, neck pain, faecal and urinary incontinence. This case highlights the important roles of a primary care doctor in the provision of palliative care for a child in the community.

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians
Fulltext A descriptive cross sectional study on patient satisfaction in a private hospital in Selangor

Narimah, A.H.H., Shahril Rizwan, O., N Nadhrah, N.R., Adlina, S., Hakimi, Z.A., Nuraliza, A.S.

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2006;6(2):6-12.
MyJurnal

This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted to assess patient's satisfaction by evaluating the waiting time experienced by 27 (54%) inpatients and 23 (46%) outpatients who sought treatment at a private hospital in Selangor from 15th of May 2006 until 3rd of]une 2006. Majority of the patients (78%) were in the range between Z 1 - 40 years old and well»educated. Almost half (48%) were in the human resources employment category, 20% were in administration and marketing and 10% were professionals. Majority of them earned from RM1000-1999 (34%) and RMZ000-3999 (32%). Almost all of them (96%) agreed that the medical care that they had been receiving in the hospital was just about perfect. 98% agreed that the doctors treated them in a very friendly and courteous manner and 96% rated the care given by nurses as g0od/ excellent. 88% to 92% said that their communication with the doctors, nurses and other staff were good/ excellent. 80% waited less than 15 minutes at the registration counter, 52% waited less than 15 minutes to see the doctor and 44% waited less than 15 minutes at other places such as pharmacy and x-ray. Overall, 94% rated the level of services in the hospital as good/ excellent, Almost all (90%) would like to recommend the hospital to their friends and relatives. Our study demonstrated that the majority of the patients were satisfied with the doctors, nurses and environment of the private hospital. The average waiting time of patient before being attended to by a doctor was less than 30 minutes.

Study site: Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM)

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians
Fulltext The gap between knowledge and perception on education in traditional and complementary medicine among medical staff in Malaysia

Abuduli, Maihebureti, Zaleha Md Isa, Syed Mohamed Aljunid

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2015;15(1):0-0.
MyJurnal

Although the Ministry of Health Malaysia has been encouraging the practice of Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T&CM)1, 2 , 3, 4 but patients/clients has not been able to apply it for their need of medical treatments and sometimes it leads to negative outcomes due to lack of knowledge on T&CM and its safe applications5,6’ 7,8 Most of the western-trained physicians are ignorant of risk and benefits of T&CM9,10,11 . This study was aimed to determine the gap between knowledge regarding T&CM and perception on education in T&CM among the medical staffs in five selected hospitals in Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was done at five public hospitals among medical staff in Malaysia by using quantitative methods. A total of 477 medical staffs were involved in this study. The study showed that the overall knowledge of T&CM among the medical staffs were poor (61.2%). Having good knowledge regarding T&CM were significantly higher in Hospital Duchess of Kent (52%, p=0.001), among the non-Malays (44%, p=0.047) and pharmacists (47.2%, p=0.030). Positive perception on health education in T&CM among medical staffs were high (85.3%) especially among females (88.1%, p=0.002) and pharmacists (93.7%, p< 0.001). The use of T&CM among the general population is relatively high in Malaysia and many patients increasingly seek the information on T&CM therapies from medical staffs. Knowledge regarding T&CM was poor in this study because most of the medical staffs have not been exposed to T&CM education. This interesting scenario between poor knowledge and high positive perception on health education in T&CM shows the demand of urgent intervention in educating the medical staffs. We recommend that medical staffs must have some basic education and knowledge about T&CM before they could offer advice to their patients. Doctors are of the utmost important in this regard because they play a very important role in patient care. Providing T&CM education to medical staff may help to integrate T&CM into the mainstream medicine.

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians
Fulltext An adolescent with anorexia nervosa - a case report

Khairani O, Majmin SH, Saharuddin A, Loh SF, Noor Azimah M, Hizlinda T

Malays Fam Physician, 2011;6(2):79-81.
PMID: 25606230 MyJurnal

This case report illustrates an adolescent with clinical presentation of moderate anorexia nervosa with no significant co-morbidities. It highlights the management of anorexia nervosa in the outpatient setting by a multi-disciplinary health care team which includes a family physician, a dietician, a psychologist and a child psychiatrist.

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians, Family
Fulltext Implementing standard setting into the Conjoint MAFP/FRACGP Part 1 examination - Process and issues

Chan SC, Mohd Amin S, Lee TW

Malays Fam Physician, 2016;11(2-3):2-8.
PMID: 28461851

BACKGROUND: The College of General Practitioners of Malaysia and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners held the first Conjoint Member of the College of General Practitioners (MCGP)/Fellow of Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (FRACGP) examination in 1982, later renamed the Conjoint MAFP/FRACGP examinations. The examination assesses competency for safe independent general practice and as family medicine specialists in Malaysia. Therefore, a defensible standard set pass mark is imperative to separate the competent from the incompetent.

OBJECTIVE: This paper discusses the process and issues encountered in implementing standard setting to the Conjoint Part 1 examination.

DISCUSSION: Critical to success in standard setting were judges' understanding of the process of the modified Angoff method, defining the borderline candidate's characteristics and the composition of judges. These were overcome by repeated hands-on training, provision of detailed guidelines and careful selection of judges. In December 2013, 16 judges successfully standard set the Part 1 Conjoint examinations, with high inter-rater reliability: Cronbach's alpha coefficient 0.926 (Applied Knowledge Test), 0.921 (Key Feature Problems).

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians, Family
Fulltext Spotted bone disease (osteopoikilosis)

Omar M, Abdul Rahman AA, Mohd Hussein AM, Mustafa N

Family Physician, 2005;13(3):15-15.
MyJurnal

Osteopoikilosis is a rare bone dysplasia which is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait with a prevalence of less than 0.1 per million.1 It is characterised by dense ovoid or circular spots in cancellous bone which may appear at birth or during skeletal growth. It is usually found in the metaphyseal and epiphyseal regions of long bones, the carpals and tarsals, the end of large turbular bones and around the acetabula. It is clinically asymptomatic and occasionally associated with hereditary multiple exostosis and dermatofibrosis lenticularis disseminata. It is not associated with spontaneous fractures and treatment is unnecessary. However a case of osteosarcoma developing in a man with osteopoikilosis has been reported. The first case of osteopoikilosis was reported in Malaysia four years ago in a 25 years old lady who is also of Indian descent. It would be interesting to know if these two patients are related. Since the bone lesions could easily be mistaken for metastatic disease, it is important that family physicians be aware of the benign nature of this condition.

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians, Family
Fulltext Can I give food or drink to my terminally ill child?

Taufiq Hidayat, Zahoor Iqbal, Ariffin Nasir, Norsarwany Mohamad, Fahisham Taib

Education in Medicine Journal, 2015;7(3):73-78.
MyJurnal

Food is considered as a social responsibility of caregivers to their children. It has cultural connotation for all races notwithstanding their background and religious belief; that social responsibility should not be separated even in terminally ill patients. We recorded a case scenario of a terminally ill child who faced difficult end of life with inability to take oral fluids or food due to mechanical obstruction of duodenum by the pelvic rhabdomyosarcoma. From cultural context, the physical act of giving food and fluids to a sick person is considered “a display of one’s affection”. It is understandable that, once the dying phase has reached, and the body starts to shut down, administering fluids may not be useful despite it is deemed necessary from cultural point of view. This case illustrates an ethical dilemma in managing a child with end stage metastatic disease with multiple systemic complications, compounded with futility of medical care and complex social circumstances. It is quite challenging for physicians and relatives to provide good end of life care to patients in palliative care setting. Ensuring good quality of care, quality of life and quality of death are paramount to avoid suffering and distress among the patients and family members.

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians
Fulltext Patients’ satisfaction in antenatal clinic Hospital University Kebangsaan Malaysia

Dyah Pitaloka, S., Rizal, A.M.

Malaysian Journal of Community Health, 2006;12(1):0-0.
MyJurnal

Background: A cross sectional study was carried out to identify the level and factors associated with patients’ satisfaction in antenatal clinic at Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Methods: A total of 150 respondents were selected by using convenience sampling method. Data was collected via structured questionnaire with face to face interview. The obtained data was analyzed by using SPSS version 11.5.
Results: Majority of the respondents were Malay (72%), while Chinese (18%) and Indian (10%).
Age of the respondents around 19 to 40 years old with tertiary education level (50.7%) and most of them are working (76.4%). More than half of the respondents were satisfied with the service that they received (56.7%), while the others (43.3%) not satisfied. Generally, most of the respondents were satisfied with interpersonal aspects from the staff (62%), technical quality of the doctors (79.3%), efficacy (78%), availability (50.7%), and the financial aspect (70%). Meanwhile, the respondents were not satisfied with the several aspects i.e. accessibility (61.3%), convenience (51.3%), and continuity of care (81.3%). In bivariate analysis, the result of this study showed that there were only two factors significantly related with level of satisfaction (p

Study site: Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM)

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians
Fulltext Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of USM Emotional Quotient Inventory (USMEQ-i) among medical degree program applicants in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)

Wan Nor Arifin, Muhamad Saiful Bahri Yusoff, Nyi Nyi Naing

Education in Medicine Journal, 2012;4(2):26-44.
MyJurnal

Introduction: Emotional intelligence (EI) is deemed an important aspect of being good medical doctors. Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Emotional Quotient Inventory (USMEQ-i) is an EI inventory in Malay language developed primarily as medical student selection tool in USM. Although it was already validated by exploratory factor analysis (EFA), EFA is considered insufficient evidence of construct validity, thus confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted. Objectives: To determine measurement model validity and construct validity of USMEQ-i among medical degree program applicants in USM by CFA. Methods: USMEQ-i data file for medical degree program applicants in USM for year 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 academic sessions were obtained from Medical Education Department in USM. A random sample of 512 cases was drawn from the data file. Of the sample, only 453 cases were valid study sample after preliminary data screening and assumption checking. CFA was conducted on the sample using maximum likelihood (ML) estimation with bootstrapping technique due to violation of multivariate normality assumption. USMEQ-i measurement model was proposed as a second-order EI factor with seven first-order factors of EI and a Faking Index (FI) factor, with correlation between second-order EI factor and FI factor. Results: The proposed model could not be fit into the study sample data. EI factors and FI factor had to be analyzed separately due to non-positive definite problem. After modifications to the model, CFA of EI factors were suggestive of two-factor model instead of the proposed seven-factor model. Consciousness, Maturity and Control (CoMaCt). CFA of FI factor maintained one-factor model and also valid in term of construct. Conclusion: The modified USMEQ-i, which consisted of separate EI and FI models, was proven to have valid measurement models and reliable constructs. It is considered to be suitable for use among applicants to medical degree program in USM. However, its use as medical student selection tool may require further research, especially how predictive USMEQ-i scores with real performance of medical students, generalizability of the inventory and its stability over time.

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians
Fulltext Building professional qualities through a community placement programme for medical students

Mat Pa MN, Ab Rahman A, Abdul Rahim AF, Yusoff MSB, Yaacob NA

Education in Medicine Journal, 2011;3(1):60-62.
MyJurnal

The community placement programme was first introduced to our medical students in 2007. The objectives of this community service programme are to enable students to explore and understand the importance of various skills such as leadership, teamwork and interest towards community services, as well as to improve their skills in those areas for becoming better students and future doctors. The first year medical students were tasked to plan, organize and implement activities in selected communities such as disabled people, orphans, neglected elderly, the poor, HIV positive single mothers and children. Amongst the activities conducted were sharing experiences and thoughts, games, donation and ‘gotong-royong’. The objective of this study was to evaluate the students’ perception on the successfulness of the community placement programme in building their professional qualities. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the first year medical students using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of 5 elements of professional qualities such as leadership and team work skills, interest towards community services, volunteerism and empathy. Self-reflection sessions were also held to explore the learning points gained. A total of 147 students answered the questionnaires. The students rated the overall programme as highly useful (80.6%) and as achieving the objectives (80.1%). They perceived that this programme helped them to improve their personal and professional skills such as leadership (70.0%), team work (71.4%), interest towards community services (87.1%), volunteerism (85.0%), and empathy (89.1%). Self-reflection revealed that the programme made them realize the role of doctors in a community, appreciate the spirit of teamwork and helped them to understand the need of vulnerable groups. As a conclusion, this programme was well-accepted and perceived as assisting medical students to build professional qualities to become caring and competent doctors.

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians
Late diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism : the case for newborn screening

Tan, Kah Kee, Kaur, Pyar

Malaysian Journal of Child Health, 1994;6(1):36-39.
MyJurnal

26 cases of congenital hypothyroidism were diagnosed at the Penang General Hospital from 1979 to 1993. Therewere 19 femalesand7males, thefemaletomaleratiowas2 .7 : 1. All three main ethnic groups were almost equally afflicted (10 Chinese,8Malays,8 Indians). The mean age at diagnosis was 15.8 months (range 21 days — 9 years) and only 11 (42.3%) patients were diagnosed within thefirst three months of life. 19 (73.7%) patients were diagnosed within thefirstyear and 7 (26.3%) after the firstyear. The correct referral diagnosis was made in less than half (n = 11) of the patients, with a mean of 2.3 doctors being consulted prior to the diagnosis. The five most common clinical features were coarse facies (n = 22), dry skin (n = 22), macroglossia (n = 21), lethargy (n = 20) and constipation (n = 19). The develop-ment quotient was appropriate for chronologi-cal age in less than one third (n = 8) of patients while the school performance was at least average in only less than one third (n = 5) of school-goers (n = 16). The mean (SD) T4 at diagnosis was 23.7 (12.2) nmollL while the mean (SD) TSH at diagnosis was 72.7 (37.0) mUIL. In the light of these clinical findings, screening for congenital hypothyroidism with a view to early diagnosis and prompt treatment are strongly recommended.

Matched MeSH terms: Physicians

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