Displaying publications 541 - 560 of 1013 in total

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  1. Shaiful Ehsan Shalihin, Mohd Aznan MA, Mohamad Haniki NM
    MyJurnal
    Number of active smokers in Malaysia is increasing despite availability of stop smoking clinics and smoking cessation medications. Thus, the practice of the healthcare professionals involved in providing smoking cessation intervention using evidence-based guidelines needs to be assessed using validated assessment tool. Newly invented reliable and valid questionnaire locally is needed. This study aimed to develop and validate a newly modified questionnaire to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of medical doctors based on national smoking cessation guidelines and factors contributing to the score. The 22 items consists of true/false questions and Likert scaling response based on domain of 5A’s (ask, assess, advice, assist, arrange) and 5R’s (relevant, risks, rewards, roadblocks, repetitions) of the national stop-smoking guideline. Sample size is calculated based on five respondents to one item ratio. The questionnaires were distributed to 131 primary care doctors. Reliability was determined using Cronbach’s alpha for internal consistency while construct validity was assessed using factor analysis. A high degree of internal consistency was observed (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.87), with good knowledge subscale (0.72), attitude subscale (0.58) and practice subscale (0.92). Factor analysis showed three meaningful finalized components (knowledge, attitude and practice) which represent the smoking cessation framework. This study indicates that this revised questionnaire is more reliable and valid tool to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice on stop smoking guidelines compared to previous questionnaire.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
  2. Muhammad Darwiis Abdullah, Aiman Faiz Ahmad Fuad, Hafiz Ilmie Rahman, Mark Tan Kiak Min
    MyJurnal
    Mental illness is expected to become the second biggest health problem affecting Malaysians by 2020. Doctors and medical students are more prone to mental illness compared to the general population. However, they are often reluctant to and resist seeking help because of stigma and a (strong) sense of shame. This can lead to detrimental consequences for themselves and their patients. That said, a doctor with a mental illness receiving appropriate treatment and who is in a stable condition may still be permitted to practise provided patient safety is not compromised. Determining this is a key responsibility of a healthcare regulator like the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC). Using some prominent cases to illustrate this point, this article reviews the MMC guideline on ‘Managing Impaired Registered Medical Practitioners’. In the absence of similar local guidelines for medical students, we also allude to the UK General Medical Council’s guideline on ‘Supporting Medical Students with Mental Health Conditions’. The article recommends that doctors and medical students with mental illness should seek help; outlines a number of factors to consider in deciding whether a doctor should continue practising; and explores alternative career paths in instances where they should not. The article concludes that appropriate support goes a long way for doctors and medical students who grapple with mental health issues in that there is hope and a way through a seemingly devastating situation.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
  3. Nor Firdous Mohamed, Nor Azwany Yaacob, Aizai Azan Abdul Rahim, Oteh Maskon, Mohamed Hatta Shaharom, Othman Lebar
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: Heart failure (HF) prevalence is increasing in Malaysia and brings about significant poor outcomes especially on the patients’ wellbeing. Despite the devastating physical symptoms of HF experienced by patients, other social consequences on patients are often not discussed by their health care professionals. Hence, this qual- itative study aims to explore and understand the quality of life (QOL) for patients in Malaysia of various ethnicity who have been diagnosed with heart failure. Methods: Nineteen (n = 19) patients with recurrent HF were recruited via purposive sampling. One-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted after patients’ informed consent was obtained. The aforementioned sessions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Finally, the transcribed data was analysed through Braun and Clarke’s framework for thematic analysis. Results: The findings revealed that Malaysians with HF reported either positive or negative experiences related with QOL which had an effect on their well-being. Four main themes emerged included physical, psychological, social, and spirituality. Interestingly, cul- tural and beliefs consideration were important to understand these QOL themes of HF patients as a whole, especially in Malaysia’s multi-ethnic communities. Conclusion: Informants were able to give vivid descriptions of living with HF experiences and the way it affected their QOL due to the disruptive and uncertain nature of HF in four major themes. However, the individual themes of QOL in HF patients need to be comprehended in detail including the local cultural perspectives, particularly by health professionals who deal with HF patients of minority ethnicities, in order to improve treatment and health outcomes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
  4. Vicknasingam B, Mohd Salleh NA, Chooi WT, Singh D, Mohd Zaharim N, Kamarulzaman A, et al.
    Front Psychiatry, 2021;12:630730.
    PMID: 33854449 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.630730
    Background: Restrictive orders and temporary programmatic or ad hoc changes within healthcare and other supportive systems that were implemented in response to the COVID-19 epidemic in Malaysia may have created hindrances to accessing healthcare and/or receiving other supportive services for people who use drugs (PWUDs). Design: A primarily qualitative study has been conducted to evaluate how service providers and recipients were adapting and coping during the initial periods of the COVID-19 response. Settings: The study engaged several healthcare and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the peninsular states of Penang, Kelantan, Selangor, and Melaka. Participants: Medical personnel of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) programs (n = 2) and HIV clinics (n = 3), staff of NGO services (n = 4), and MMT patients (n = 9) were interviewed using a semi-structured format. Results: Interviewed participants reported significant organizational, programmatic, and treatment protocols related changes implemented within the healthcare and support services in addition to nationally imposed Movement Control Orders (MCOs). Changes aimed to reduce patient flow and concentration at the on-site services locations, including less frequent in-person visits, increased use of telemedicine resources, and greater reliance on telecommunication methods to maintain contacts with patients and clients; changes in medication dispensing protocols, including increased take-home doses and relaxed rules for obtaining them, or delivery of medications to patients' homes or locations near their homes were reported by the majority of study participants. No significant rates of COVID-19 infections among PWUDs, including among those with HIV have been reported at the study sites. Conclusions: Although the reported changes presented new challenges for both services providers and recipients and resulted in some degree of initial disruption, generally, all participants reported successful implementation and high levels of compliance with the newly introduced restrictions, regulations, and protocols, resulting in relatively low rates of treatment disruption or discontinuation at the study sites.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
  5. Khoo, Erwin Jiayuan, Kutzsche, Stefan
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: Training of all health personnel involved in paediatric care is a key determinant of successful outcome during paediatric emergencies. We aimed to identify the need for paediatric Mock Code Blue skills training among non-paediatricians in a pre-hospital setting through checklist assessment of their performance. Methods: A paediatric septic shock and cardiac arrest Mock Code Blue pre-hospital scenarios were presented for non-paediatricians during a National Clinical Skills Conference. Eight medical student assessors and four clinical facilitators were involved in this training. Participants were expected to be able to demonstrate the skills and teamwork necessary to managepaediatric emergencies according to the learning outcomes. Results: A total of 97 delegates participated in a facilitated paediatric Mock Code Blue for multidisciplinary groups of health personnel. Outcome measures showed a significant lack of communication and team work skills, and weakness in “closing the loop” as barriers to successful resuscitation. Conclusion: We recommend Mock Code Blue simulation training to be offered regularly to all groups of healthcare providers involved in paediatric and neonatal care while not overlooking the emphasis on non-technical skills.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
  6. Ahmad Sofian, Shminan, Rehman, Ullah Khan, Wan Norizan, Wan Hashim, Iswandy, Jamaludin
    MyJurnal
    The world has suffered from a critical shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) (Riva et al., 2007) during the pandemic of Covid-19 for medical staffs, the front liners. Like the whole world, Malaysia also imposed the stay-at-home and Movement Control Order (MCO) to break the chain of infections and flatten the curve of cases. The supply of PPE became a challenge during the lock down. There have been joined efforts from various parties stepping up, with different ways to help the production process of these key equipment but mostly focus on PPTs for male. Another challenge was face mask for Muslim lady health workers who wear hijab. This paper is about how to overcome these challenges and designed a novel face mask clip for hijab, using 3D printing. The face mask clip is for wearing a mask over hijab and is designed by generating a 3D digital file using computer-aided design (Hourcade, Bullock-Rest, & Hansen, 2012) software. Then the 3D design was converted to Standard Tessellation Language (STL) format, for the use of 3D printing systems. Then the design was split into layers for precise printing. The clips were tested by the staff in faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. Feedbacks were collected by an online survey using the modified System Usability Scale. The participants reported that the clips are very comfortable and easy to use.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
  7. Ghazali WAHW, Nallaluthan P, Hasan RZ, Adlan AS, Boon NK
    Gynecol Minim Invasive Ther, 2020 10 15;9(4):185-189.
    PMID: 33312860 DOI: 10.4103/GMIT.GMIT_109_20
    Objectives: While the issue of aerosolization of virus from the blood occurs during usage of energy sources scare practitioners, there have been no reported instances of healthcare workers (HCWs) being infected. COVID-19 virus is primarily transmitted via respiratory droplets and contact routes. Therefore, the ultimate decision for surgery, should be based on which is the safest, quickest route and concurrently ensuring that HCWs are protected during these surgeries. During the time of crisis, HCWs need to concentrate and channel resources to the care of those affected by the coronavirus hence judicious allocation of resources is mandatory. We present the guidelines and recommendations on gynecological laparoscopic surgery during this COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia.

    Materials and Methods: Thorough search of articles and recommendations were done to look into the characteristics of the virus in terms of transmission and risks during surgery. Smoke plume characteristics, composition and risk of viral transmission were also studied. Search includes The WHO Library, Cochrane Library and electronic databases (PubMed, Google scholar and Science Direct).

    Conclusion: We concluded that there is no scientific basis of shunning laparoscopic approach in surgical intervention. Ultimately, the guiding principles would be of reducing the anesthetic and surgical duration, the availability of full protective gear for HCWs during the surgery and the status of the patient. It is mandatory for viral swab tests to be done within the shortest window period possible, for all cases planned for surgery.

    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
  8. Mohd Safwan Ibrahim, Ahmad Azuhairi Ariffin, Sri Ganesh Muthiah
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: Workers in health sector are exposed 5 times more workplace violence as compared to workers in other sectors. Their consequences can range from mild to severe, affecting the victim, quality of services and orga-nization. The objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of educational intervention on workplace violence among healthcare workers in health clinics. Methods: This study is a single blinded cluster randomized trial to see the ef-fectiveness of education intervention on coping with workplace violence involving 10 cluster clinics with total 82 respondents in each control and intervention group. Data was collected using pretested questionnaire at baseline, 1-month and 6-months post intervention. The analysis used were descriptive, compared mean at baseline, repeated measures of variance and Mixed Model. Results: Response rate 94% at 1-month due to loss to follow up. Majority of the respondents were female (82.3%), and Malays (83.5%). The prevalence of workplace violence was 27.4% and mostly involved psychological violence (95.6%). There were no significant different between control and interven-tion group characteristic at baseline. Repeated measures MANOVA test was conducted to test intervention effect on dependent variables. The results until 1-month time showed significant difference between intervention and control group on combination of the dependent variables over time in coping (F(1,162)=9.51, p=0.002, and η2=0.06), knowledge (F(1,162)=10.47, p=0.001, and η2=0.061) and confidence (F(1,162)=15.65, p
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
  9. Ahmad Faizul Abd Rahman Sazli, Ahmad Azuhairi Ariffin
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: Low job satisfaction among healthcare workers may lead to high turnover intention, poor job perfor-mance, high absenteeism, and low patient satisfaction. Global and local needs for health workforce are increasing in trend to meet current health demands. Addressing job satisfaction of the healthcare workers is a practical way to uti-lise the available human resources optimally. The main aim of this study is to determine job satisfaction level and its associated factors among healthcare workers in health clinics under the Petaling District Health Office jurisdiction in Selangor, Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare workers in ten health clinics in Petaling District from April until May 2019. Simple random sampling method proportionate to the number of staffs from each health clinics was done. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used. Results: The response rate was 93%. Majority of the respondent were female (83%), married (82%), diploma holder (41%), nurses (33%) and working in health clinics with specialists (93%). The job satisfaction mean score for the studied population was 4.46 (SD = 0.72). Self-rated physical health and mental stress status were significantly associated with job satisfaction (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The job satisfaction level of the studied population was comparable to other local studies and higher than studies from Iran, Ethiopia and China. Extra attention should be given to healthcare workers with poor physical health and poor mental stress. More objective study on physical health and mental stress is required.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
  10. O'Holohan DR
    Family Practitioner, 1982;5:13-21.
    Malaria is still a very real threat to health in S.E. Asia including Malaysia. While there has been a dramatic fall in the number of cases and also the number of deaths from the disease in Malaysia cases are still occurring and there has actually been a rise in the number of deaths in the past year. Parts of Perak and the East Coast states are still high risk areas in Peninsular Malaysia. While 95 percent of the population of Peninsular Malaysia is now malaria-free there has also been a concomitant loss of herd immunity which means that if a non-immune person contracts falciparum malaria he stands a greater chance of a fatal outcome. Doctors and other health personnel should be more malaria conscious and make a practice of making blood films of all cases of fever. This is especially important in the rural areas and Estate Hospital Assistants must be encouraged to look for malaria parasites in their fever patients. The younger generation of EHAs have little experience of malaria and a definite policy of education to bring them up to date in antimalarial work and microscopic detection of the parasite should be under taken by the industry. Some problems of chemotherapy and drug resistance are discussed.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
  11. Tan CE, Jaffar A, Tohit N, Hamzah Z, Hashim SM
    Perspect Med Educ, 2017 Jun;6(3):182-188.
    PMID: 28386758 DOI: 10.1007/s40037-017-0353-1
    INTRODUCTION: Direct contact with patients for medical education is essential in healthcare professional training. Patients who were recruited for a medical education home visit program in Malaysia did so on a voluntary basis without remuneration. This paper aims to explore their reasons for participation in this program.

    METHODS: An exploratory qualitative study was conducted on patients who had been visited during the 2012/2013 academic session. Purposive sampling was done to select adult participants from varying ethnicities and ages from the list of patients. In-depth interviews were conducted at the participants' homes and were audio recorded. The transcripts of these interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis.

    RESULTS: A total of nine in-depth interviews were conducted. Four main themes were identified from thematic analysis: 1) Perceived meaning of the visit; 2) Perceived benefits and risks; 3) Past healthcare experiences; 4) Availability for visits. The home visits meant different things to different participants, including a teaching-learning encounter, a social visit, a charitable deed or a healthcare check-up. The benefits and risks of accepting unknown students to their homes and sharing their health issues with them had been weighed prior to participation. Prior experience with healthcare services such as gratitude to healthcare providers or having a relative in the healthcare profession increased their receptivity for involvement. Lastly, enabling factors such as availability of time would determine their acceptance for home visits.

    DISCUSSION: Patients agree to participate in medical education activities on a voluntary basis for various reasons. Providing good healthcare service and sufficient preparation are crucial to increase patient receptivity for such activities.

    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
  12. Astuti EW, Suryani E, Rosalinna, Abdullah SKBF
    Enferm Clin, 2020 06;30 Suppl 5:28-33.
    PMID: 32713579 DOI: 10.1016/j.enfcli.2019.11.018
    OBJECTIVE: Health professionals are unable to solve the family problems. Practically, health professionals are encouraged to make collaboration. One effort to improve health professional readiness is by joining the interprofessional education (IPE). Poltekkes Kemenkes Surakarta is implementing one Team One Family-Community Internship Program Interprofessional Education and Collaboration (OTOF-CIPIPEC). This research aims to examine the effect of OTOF-CIPIPEC Implementation within the health students on readiness, teamwork, perception to the other professions and participants' satisfaction.

    METHOD: This research is a quasi-experimental design with a pre-post without control research approach. The research population covers all students registered joining OTOF CIPIPEC at Poltekkes Kemenkes Surakarta with a total number of 1061 of students. The samples are collected using a total sampling technique. The samples for this research are those registered joining the OTOF CIPIPEC at Poltekkes Kemenkes Surakarta meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria with a total number of 1031 of students. This research utilizes the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) questionnaires as its measuring instruments. This study was conducted in Mojosongo sub-district, Jebres district, Surakarta. This research involves 38 Community Units (In Indonesia known as Rukun Warga/RW) with a total number of 1066 of family heads and the Sibela Community Health Center. The data are analyzed using the Wilcoxon test and multiple linear regression test.

    RESULT OF THE STUDY: The research results showed that there is a significant difference of readiness improvement, teamwork, and perception on other professions and satisfaction of the research subjects before and after joining OTOF-CIPIPEC (ρ<0.001). The average improvement scores of students' readiness, teamwork, perception, and satisfaction are 63.2%, 62.5%, 62.57%, and 113.04% respectively. The results of the multivariate analysis show that teamwork and perception significantly influence the students' readiness in their collaboration with the other professions (ρ<0.001) with the influence value of 0.93%.

    CONCLUSION: This research concludes that OTOF-CIPIPEC implementation may improve readiness, teamwork, and perception of other professions and students' satisfaction in interprofessional education (IPE).

    Matched MeSH terms: Attitude of Health Personnel
  13. Mondal H, Mondal S
    Malays Fam Physician, 2021 Mar 25;16(1):8-14.
    PMID: 33948137 DOI: 10.51866/rv1097
    Home health monitoring devices are consumer-grade devices that help to monitor the health of individuals at home. These devices are usually low-cost and easily procurable, and they can be operated by patients or their caretakers with minimal training. However, improper usage of these devices may provide erroneous results, which can lead to an unnecessary hospital visit or teleconsultation. In this article, we discuss the basic technology and proper usage of some of these devices, namely automatic blood pressure monitors, blood glucose monitors, body fat monitors, pulse oximeters, electrocardiographs, digital thermometers, and infrared thermometers. This brief document intends to help primary health care professionals and their patients use these devices.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
  14. 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: Health Personnel
  15. Nurjasmine Aida Jamani, Noor Azimah Muhammad, Aida Jaffar, Saharuddin Ahmad, Noorlaili Tohit
    MyJurnal
    Foot problems are very common in diabetic patients but may go unnoticed by the patients and
    undiagnosed by the healthcare providers leading to substantial morbidity and amputations. The aims of this study were to assess patient’s foot care practices, awareness on their foot condition as well as to determine the prevalence of diabetic foot problem and its associated factors. Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted among diabetic patients in a primary care clinic in Kuala Lumpur. Patients with diabetes, aged more than 18 years were selected using systematic random sampling technique. Patients were requested to answer a set of self-administered pre-tested questionnaire that obtain information on their socio-demographic profiles, diabetic clinical data, awareness on their feet condition and foot care practice. A trained clinician examined patients’ feet using a standard foot examination protocol. Results: A total of 166 patients with diabetes participated in this study. Nearly half of the patients (70, 42.2%) had diabetic foot problem but only 31 (18.7%) of them were aware of their foot condition. The three common problem were trophic changes of the skin (92.8%), followed with hair loss (71.1%) and callosity (65.7%). The independent associated factors for foot problem were increasing age (AOR=1.05, 95% CI 1.015-1.095; p
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
  16. Ganju A, Goulart AC, Ray A, Majumdar A, Jeffers BW, Llamosa G, et al.
    J Multidiscip Healthc, 2020;13:693-707.
    PMID: 32801732 DOI: 10.2147/JMDH.S252300
    Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have been on the rise in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) over the last few decades and represent a significant healthcare concern. Over 85% of "premature" deaths worldwide due to NCDs occur in the LMICs. NCDs are an economic burden on these countries, increasing their healthcare expenditure. However, targeting NCDs in LMICs is challenging due to evolving health systems and an emphasis on acute illness. The major issues include limitations with universal health coverage, regulations, funding, distribution and availability of the healthcare workforce, and availability of health data. Experts from across the health sector in LMICs formed a Think Tank to understand and examine the issues, and to offer potential opportunities that may address the rising burden of NCDs in these countries. This review presents the evidence and posits pragmatic solutions to combat NCDs.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
  17. Ahmad NJ, Althemery AU, Haseeb A, Yusuf RF, Hassali AA, Khan AH
    J Pharm Bioallied Sci, 2020 01 29;12(1):11-15.
    PMID: 32801595 DOI: 10.4103/jpbs.JPBS_186_19
    Introduction: The implementation of antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs) can improve the treatment of infections and can decrease the adverse events that result from antibiotics use. In the last decades, there is an increasing interest of the researchers in the implementation of ASPs.

    Materials and Methods: The articles published in different journals were retrieved by searching many research databases such as Cochrane library, Europe PMC, PubMed, and Web of Science; we searched these databases for all published articles till November 2018.

    Results and Discussion: The searching results using Cochrane library showed an increase in the number of randomized clinical trials that related to the keyword of "antimicrobial stewardship" specially in the last 5 years. Using Europe PMC, we found 6178 results. From these results, there are 3874 free full texts. In addition, there are 2132 original articles in PubMed and by searching Web of Science database till November 8 there are 3085 results. These results show that the number of trusted published articles was increased continuously; this shows the increasing interest of the researchers in ASPs. These researches will help health-care providers to use antibiotics appropriately and to overcome the barriers of implementing ASPs.

    Conclusion: The results of this study show that the researchers had high levels of interest in participating in research activities related to the appropriate use on antibiotics and the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs.

    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
  18. Castillo-Carandang NT, Buenaventura RD, Chia YC, Do Van D, Lee C, Duong NL, et al.
    Risk Manag Healthc Policy, 2020;13:803-819.
    PMID: 32765135 DOI: 10.2147/RMHP.S256165
    Introduction: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states. Progress has been slow despite the World Health Organization action plan for the prevention and control of NCDs in the region. This paper presents recommendations focused on practical strategies for optimizing NCD management in the ASEAN region.

    Methods: A multidisciplinary group of experts from six ASEAN member states convened for two face-to-face meetings to discuss barriers and possible recommendations for optimizing NCD management, focused on cardiovascular diseases and mental disorders, in the region. Multiple approaches, ie, analysis of insights from the meetings and a review of existing literature on NCD programs in the ASEAN region were followed. The proposed recommendations were also based on selected successful interventions in ASEAN member states, thus providing actionable strategies.

    Results: The gaps identified in NCD management for cardiovascular diseases and mental disorders in the ASEAN region were classified into gaps relating to policies and to clinical and public health practice. The proposed solutions addressing policy gaps include fostering multisectoral public-private partnerships, employing "whole-of-government" and "whole-of-society" approaches and promoting "health-in-all policies approach" to manage issues with financing, accessibility, efficiency and quality of health services. Whereas proposed solutions to bridge clinical and public health practice gaps entail strengthening primary care services, building the capacity of trained healthcare workers and employing collaborative care for holistic management of patients.

    Conclusion: The scale of premature and preventable deaths from NCDs in the ASEAN region remains a serious public health concern and requires a "whole-of-system approach". The interventions proposed in this paper build on regional collaborations and knowledge sharing to help develop a concerted and targeted response to NCDs.

    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
  19. Beng TS, Xin CA, Ying YK, Khuen LP, Yee A, Zainuddin SI, et al.
    J Palliat Care, 2020 Aug 14.
    PMID: 32791956 DOI: 10.1177/0825859720948976
    BACKGROUND: Hope is a positive coping mechanism that is important at all stages of illness, more so for palliative care patients.

    PURPOSE: To explore the experiences of hope of palliative care patients.

    METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted at University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Adult palliative care in-patients were recruited and interviewed with semi structured questions on hope. Transcripts from the interviews were thematically analyzed with qualitative data management software NVIVO.

    FINDINGS: 20 palliative care patients participated in the study. The themes generated from thematic analysis were (1) The notions of hope, (2) The sources and barriers of hope and (3) The contents of hope.

    CONCLUSION: Hope is an ever-present source of energy that gives people strength to carry on even in the most adverse situations. Understanding hope from the palliative care perspective may allow healthcare providers to develop strategies to better foster hope in the terminally ill.

    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
  20. Yau A, Haque M
    Medeni Med J, 2019;34(4):387-395.
    PMID: 32821466 DOI: 10.5222/MMJ.2019.54775
    The round-the-clock demands of healthcare services, coupled with the shortage of healthcare providers in many parts of the world, have made shiftwork widespread among healthcare workers. Understanding how to mitigate unfavourable effects of shiftwork on well-being is essential to improve health promotion, to prevent disease prevention, and to increase quality of life. This comprehensive review aims to present evidence linking shiftwork with cardiovascular diseases and cancers among healthcare workers. Several studies have demonstrated evidence indicating the relationship between long-term exposure to shiftwork tempo and a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases. Health workers are increasingly witnesing unfavourable effects of shiftwork on their health state. Shiftwork disturbs circadian rhythm and cardiopulmonary processes, leading to adverse health outcomes. Increasing prevalence of shiftwork in healthcare industries due to population expansion and public health threat of cancers call for investigation towards a better understanding of the underlying mechanism of shiftwork-induced diseases. The shift work period has been considered in different studies using various criteria, resulting in inconsistent definition of measurement criteria leading to misclassification of the study population. There is a need for a more considerable and holistic effort towards standardization of shiftwork definition and conduct an assessment to establish a more conveniently appliacable framework for intervention strategies.
    Matched MeSH terms: Health Personnel
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