Mortality estimates are important parameters for health monitoring and are routinely used as evidence for health policy and planning. This study aimed to estimate the mortality component of Burden of Disease in Malaysia in 2008. The 2008 mortality data from the Statistics Department were used to estimate cause-specific mortality (by age and sex) in Malaysia. Data were coded using the ICD10 (International Classification of Disease) coding. Calculation of mortality component of Burden of Disease (ie: Years of Life Lost (YLL) was done using the standard Global Burden of Disease Methodology. The total estimated deaths in Malaysia in 2008 were 124,857, of which 72,202 (57.8%) were males. The total years of life lost (YLL) for the Malaysian population in 2008 was 1.51 million in which 0.92 million (60.7%) was among males. Almost three quarter (68%) of the burden of premature deaths resulted from non-communicable diseases, followed by communicable diseases (20%) and injury (12%). Among the top three leading causes of YLL were ischaemic heart disease (17.1%), stroke (9.6%) and road traffic injuries (8.3%). In Malaysia, premature mortality mainly contributed by non-communicable diseases followed by communicable diseases and injury. A multi-agency collaboration is needed to prevent premature death and to improve quality of life.
The increase in car usage due to economic prosperity has led to increase in occupant injuries. One way to reduce the injuries encountered by road accident victims is by implementing the rear seatbelt (RSB) law. Rear seatbelt wearing has been proven to save lives. In Malaysia, the implementation of the restraint system for front occupant has started in the 70's. However, the rear seatbelt enforcement law only came in 2009, after six months of an advocacy program. Prior to the introduction of the rear seatbelt law, rear seatbelt wearing rate was rather low, started to increase gradually during the advocacy period and jumped to the highest level after two month of the enforcement. This paper attempts to assess the effectiveness of the rear seatbelt intervention in reducing injuries among passenger car occupants in Malaysia using the generalized linear model (GLM). In GLM procedure, the dependent variable is the number of people from passenger vehicles that sustained severe and slight injuries, for the study period. The study period selected covers six months before implementation, six months during advocacy program, and six months after the law is implemented. The independent variables considered are enforcement and balik kampung activities (both are dummy variables) and time effect. Our results suggest that RSB intervention (p-value= 0.0001) had significantly reduced the number of people sustained serious and slight injuries by about 20%. The implementation of change in the RSB law has benefited not only in reducing the number of injuries but also result to great impact to the health outcomes.
Introduction. In light of the important role of health-promoting expenditure in health, the objective of this study was to investigate the socio-demographic determinants of health-promoting expenditure such as purchase of medical equipment and services, food supplements and health education services and products among Malaysian adults.
Methods Third National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS III) consisting of 28771 observations was used for analysis. It was the latest nationally representative cross-sectional population-based survey conducted by the Ministry of Health Malaysia from April 2006 to January 2007. A censored regression model
(Tobit) was applied to examine the factors affecting health-promoting expenditure.
Results The results showed that age, income, gender, ethnicity, education, marital status, employment status and location of residence were able to affect health promoting expenditure. In particular, individuals who were younger, poor, males, Indian/others, less educated, unmarried, unemployed and residing in rural areas tended to spend less money on health promotion compared to others.
Conclusions This study reached a conclusion that socio-demographic factors were significantly associated with individual’s preferences for health promotion. Therefore, the government should devote its attention to these factors when
formulating nationwide health policies.
Study name: National Health and Morbidity Survey III (NHMS-2006)
Introduction Food labeling regulation has been implemented to enable consumers, including those with chronic diseases to make healthy informed choices before purchasing pre-packaged foods. The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of obese adults in Malaysia who practice reading food labels. It explored types of labels read and understanding of the information.
Methods Findings presented in this study were captured from the secondary analysis of National Health and Morbidity Survey’s (NHMS, 2006) food label study which focused only on obese adults (BMI > 30 kg/m2) aged 18 and above. This nation-wide cross sectional study was conducted from April to August 2006 using an interview-based questionnaire. Complex data analysis was done using Stata version 12.0.
Results There were 4565 obese respondents with the mean age of 33 ± 9.7 (18-60 years old). About 54.7% completed high-school and 9.9% were higher degree
holders. Prevalence of obese adults who claimed to read label was 80.5% (95%CI: 79.3, 81.6). Findings showed significant results in reading and understanding labels among all age group categories, Malay, Indian and other Bumiputras, all education categories and married respondents. Expiry date was the highest percentage being read (74.5%), followed by fat content (15.3%), vitamin (11.8%) and carbohydrate (10.9%).
Conclusions The obese population in Malaysia claimed to read and understand the food label but did not focus on specific macronutrients related to their health
condition. Findings can be used to implement effective education programmes targeting the relevant groups to instill an awareness to read, understand and use the label information as one of the means in combating obesity.
Study name: National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS-2006)
Introduction This study investigates work engagement of employed breast cancer
survivors in comparison to unmatched control samples of healthy working
women without cancer and any other chronic diseases from the general
population.
Methods A case-control study design using unmatched controls was adopted in this
study. The case comprised of 80 female breast cancer survivors who have
returned to full-time employment selected using purposive sampling
technique. Meanwhile, controls were 88 healthy female working women in
full time paid employment, selected using quota sampling. Questionnaire
covering socio-demographic characteristics and self-rated work engagement
measured using Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) was distributed to
the cancer survivors through face-to-face meeting during their hospital visits.
For the healthy controls the questionnaires were distributed using drop-andcollect
method through the human resource personnel of the participating
organization.
Results The results revealed, after controlling for age, marital status, ethnic group and
tenure with organization, no significant differences in the overall work
engagement was found between the breast cancer survivors [mean (SD) =
4.66 (0.92)] and the healthy controls [mean (SD) = 4.75 (0.85)]; F(1, 163)
=1.70. In comparison to the work engagement domains, only the Vigor
domain was found to be significantly lower for the survivors, survivors [F (1,
163) =14.94; p
Introduction Healthy dietary practice is important in preventing diabetes, managing existing diabetes, and preventing, or at least slowing the rate of diabetes complication development. It is, therefore, important at all levels of diabetes prevention. The objective of this study was to determine the association of dietary practice with glycaemic control among Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, who received treatment from an urban Health Clinic in Kuala Lumpur.
Methods A total of 307 patients with T2DM aged 18 years and above participated in this study. A pre-tested structured questionnaire with guided interview was used to collect information on socio-demographic, clinical and dietary practice. Anthropometric and biological measurements were also taken. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square were used in the data analysis. Good glycaemic control was defined as HbA1c level less than 6.5%.
Results The prevalence of good glycaemic control was only 27% (n=83). The highest percentage of good glycaemic control were among male patients (29.1%), aged 60 and above (33.3%), educational level of primary school (35.4%) and those with monthly income group between RM1001 to RM1500 (32.0%). About three quarter of T2DM patient (n=224) had poor control of HbA1c (≥6.5%). Age (p=0.045) and working status (p=0.039) had significant relationship with the level of HbA1c. Dietary practice showed no significant relationship with the HbA1c level.
Conclusions Effective interventional health education strategies are needed, focussing on modification of dietary behaviour in order to achieve glycaemic control among diabetic patients.
Study site: Klinik Kesihatan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Introduction Breast cancer is ranked number one from the ten most frequent cancers in
female, Peninsular Malaysia. Various studies provide negative evidence on
malignancies and one of the end results is impaired quality of life (QOL).
Studies show lifestyle approaches are key factors in enhancing the QOL
among cancer survivors. The purpose of this study is to describe the lifestyle
practices (LP) among breast cancer survivors (BCS) which consist of dietary
intake, exercise habits, and stress management and to determine whether
these practices have influence on the QOL among Malaysian BCS.
Methods This study adopts a cross-sectional study design using a self-administered
questionnaire. A total of 280 BCS from public and private hospitals
throughout Peninsular Malaysia had participated. The questionnaire covers
QOL and LP items which consist of dietary intake (consumption of high-fat
food, high-fibre food, fruits and vegetables), exercise habits, and stress
management. Descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA were used to
determine the relationship between LP and QOL.
Results Mean age of the study sample was at 41 (SD=7.37). Majority of them were
Malay (74%), 53% were diagnosed with breast cancer between 1 to 2 years
whereas 54% were presented with stage 2 at diagnosis. There was a
statistically significant difference (p
Introduction The aim of this study was to examine the aspect of information disclosure by doctor-investigator during the process of obtaining informed consent in clinical trials.
Methods This research employed a mixed-method data collection that is library research and interview. A qualitative methodology and analysis were used in an open-ended, face-to-face interviews with 17 patient-subjects. The interview questions were based on information that needed to be disclosed to patient-subjects during the process of obtaining informed consent. Each interview took place in Kajang Hospital and National Heart Institute and lasted 25-30 minutes. Interviews were conducted in Bahasa Melayu and English. The interviews were tape-recorded, and the main points from the interviews were jotted down to ensure that all information was adequately gathered. Interviewed occurred in Kajang Hospital and National Heart Institute. The participants were patients who had been referred to the Kajang Hospital and National Heart Institute. They were recruited (8 from Kajang Hospital and 9 from National Heart Institute) by their own doctors to participate in a study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the investigational stent after been diagnosed with coronary artery disease and also in a study to investigate drug for antidepressant. respectively.
Results The study revealed that doctor-investigators fail to disclose full information to patient-subjects. Instead, doctor-investigators only disclosed information which they thought were necessary for the patient-subjects to know. The study also showed that there were doctor-investigators who did not disclose information at all to the patient-subjects.
Conclusions This study implies that the aspect of information disclosure in the process of obtaining informed consent in clinical trials is rather poor and did not fulfill the criterion of good medical practice. A random monitoring task to be conducted by the research ethics commitees during the informed consent process is suggested.
Introduction Prevalence of adolescents involved in sexual and reproductive problems is on
rise and it was associated with its knowledge. Several factors found to be
associated with the knowledge and various sources of knowledge are chosen
by adolescents for this information. Thus, this study was to determine the
knowledge score, its influencing factors and the preference of the sources of
knowledge.
Methods A cross-sectional study was done using adopted questionnaire involving 330
respondents aged 18 and 19 years old in Kolej MARA Seremban selected by
simple random sampling. They were gathered in the halls and 338
adolescents from 454 students consented to involve in this study. Selfadministered
questionnaire was used whereby a correct response was given a
score of 2, 0 for an incorrect response and 1 for an answer of don’t know.
Total score for all correct answers was 42. Descriptive analysis, bivariate and
multivariate analysis was done in the analysis.
Results The mean knowledge score was 37.32 (±2.967) with a significant difference
for gender. Internets were the most common and preferred sources of the
knowledge among them. There was 5.2% of them had heard on SMS
intervention and 37.0% of them disagreed on SMS intervention.
Conclusions The result showed that the knowledge score was lower in males than females
and internets were the most preferred source of the knowledge. Thus,
interventions for knowledge improvement should be more on male
adolescents.
Introduction Low bone mineral density is a significant problem in children with Thalassemia which may lead to increased risk for fragility fractures and suboptimal peak bone mass. This cross-sectional study was conducted to
determine the bone health status of Thalassemia children Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre and Paediatrics Insititute Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
Methods A total of 81 respondents diagnosed with transfusion dependant beta Thalassemia (41 boys and 40 girls) aged between 7 to 19 years old completed the study. The data collected were demographic information, anthropometric measurements, dairy frequency questionnaires, dietary habits of the respondents and their parents, dietary intakes and bone densitometry using Ultrasound Bone Densitometer.
Results For Quantitative Ultrasound (QUS) parameters, T-score of 9.8% participants were lower than -1.0 and 30.9% of the participants had lower Speed of Sound (SOS) than healthy SOS. This study showed there was no difference in bone density by sex (p>0.05). The median bone density of boys was 1616.00 m/sec (IQR= 39.00) and girls’ was 1579.00 m/ sec (IQR= 116.00). SOS was not increased with age, height and weight; but girls’ Body Mass Index (BMI). Malay children had significantly higher SOS than non-Malay children.
Conclusions This study highlights a need of proper intervention for the high risk group to achieve optimal bone health.
Study site: inpatient or outpatient, Institut Pediatrik (Hospital Kuala Lumpur), Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Introduction It is well known that low back pain among working population is a global
problem throughout the world. However, the current situation of occupational
low back pain in Malaysia is still vague due to limited number of studies
conducted locally.
Objective A cross sectional study was conducted among three automotive industry
workers in Selangor, Malaysia from October 2010 to April 2011.
Methods This study aims to determine the prevalence and risk factors of low back pain
among automotive industry workers performing manual material handling
tasks using self-administered questionnaire survey.
Results A modified Standardised Nordic Questionnaire was used to assess low back
pain problem, to obtain personal and psychosocial risk factors information.
The prevalence of low back pain showed increment in the point prevalence of
57.9%, 49.5%, and 35.1 % for 12 months, one month, and of 7 days
respectively. Working hour, frequency of overtime, stress at work, work
pace, and faster movement were found to be significantly associated with the
12 months prevalence for low back pain.
Conclusions This finding indicates that psychosocial risk factors are associated to the
occurrence of low back pain.
Introduction Iodine deficiency disorders (IDD), is one of the most important micronutrient
deficiencies which has multiple adverse effects on growth and development.
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of IDD among school
children and to elucidate the distribution of iodized salt at household level in
Sarawak, East Malaysia.
Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted among school children aged 8 to 10
years in 2008. A multi-stage probability proportionate to population size
(PPS) cluster sampling method was used to obtain a representative state
sample of 1200 school children. Spot urine samples were collected for the
determination of urinary iodine concentration while the iodine content in salt
was determined using field rapid test kits. The thyroid status was determined
by palpation.
Results Response rate was 92.0% (n=1104/1200). The prevalence of goitre among
school children in Sarawak was 2.9% (5.2% in urban, 0.7% in rural). The
median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) among the school children was
102.1 μg/L (IQR, 62.3-146.5 μg/L). Urban children had significantly higher
median UIC of 109.3 μg/L (IQR, 72.4-159.0 μg/L) than their rural
counterparts [91.9 μg/L (IQR, 55.7-140.2 μg/L)]. The salt samples tested by
rapid test kit (RTK) showed only 46.0% of household salt contained iodine.
Conclusions The present study revealed that the population in Sarawak were of borderline
iodine sufficient with mild IDD seen in rural areas. Hence, the state IDD
control programmes need to encourage and advocate the consumption of
iodized salt in order to eliminate IDD-related health problems in Sarawak.
Introduction Cardiovascular diseases are a major component of non-communicable
diseases and include coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular
disease. Public health strategies to address cardiovascular disease require
three elements: surveillance, health promotion, and individual health care.
Methods Surveillance includes monitoring of mortality and morbidity as well as
surveys to monitor risk factors levels in the community. Data on mortality
from cardiovascular diseases are readily available and analysed by age and
sex specific rates looking are secular trends, geographical and ethnical group
variations and international comparisons. However many deaths from
cardiovascular disease occur suddenly and the cause of death may be
registered without autopsy or any other validation. Cardiovascular morbidity
information is more difficult to collate and interpret as it is closely related to
availability and access to health care. Periodic surveys of cardiovascular risk
factors are essential in monitoring the underlying trends in blood pressure,
smoking, cholesterol, obesity, and diabetes as they predict future trends, and
support planning for prevention and healthcare.
Results Prevention and health promotion activities are informed by the levels and
trends in cardiovascular disease and its risk factors. There has been debate
about population health promotion and individual health care strategies, but
both are necessary. Cigarette smoking, nutrition and physical exercise are the
main behaviours to be addressed but these are complex and require
multifaceted approaches. Education alone is insufficient to change health
behaviours and health promotion needs to look to changing attitudes.
Legislation, taxation and other fiscal interventions have been shown to be
effective however these can be difficult for legislators as there are other
competing interests, particularly in the area of nutrition and tobacco. Creating
health promoting environments that make healthy behaviour choices easier
can be beneficial.
Conclusions Health care interventions are also effective in reducing the burden of
cardiovascular disease. A balanced approach of health promotion and
individual health care is recommended in the development of a strategy for
cardiovascular disease.
Introduction The health of newborns is inextricably linked to that of their mothers. Some
maternal factors can influence neonatal survival, particularly for low birth
weight babies who are more vulnerable to diseases than normal weight
babies. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of maternal factors on
neonatal mortality among low birth weight babies in Aceh Province,
Indonesia.
Methods Study design was unmatched case control. Data collected from 2010 to 2012
in 8 districts in Aceh province, Indonesia. Total sample was 500, divided into
250 LBW who died in neonatal period (case group) and 250 who did not die
in neonatal period (control group). There were 6 maternal variables analysed.
Results Three of six variables analysed were not associated with neonatal mortality
among LBW (P > 0.05); these were: maternal death, parity and education
level. The age of the mother had a significant association with neonatal
mortality among LBW (P < 0.05), but was not a determinant factor. The
maternal illness and birth interval were determinant factors of neonatal
mortality among LBW(P < 0.05); maternal illness (Adj OR= 2.6; 95 % CI:
1.68 - 4.0) and birth interval (Adj OR= 1.8; 95 % CI: 1.20 - 2.91).
Conclusions Maternal illness and birth interval were determinant factors of neonatal
mortality among LBW. Appropriate care throughout stages of pregnancy and
increasing women’s knowledge on high risk pregnancy are the key factors to
the decrease of the neonatal mortality related to the maternal factors.
Introduction Sleep has played a very important role in maintaining our health with good
living quality therefore the aim of this study is to determine the pattern of
sleep duration, especially short sleep and its associated factors among
workers in a tertiary institution.
Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from January until May 2012 among
128 randomly selected Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre
(UKMMC) staffs. Data was collected using a guided standardized data sheet
which consist of three sections; (1):sociodemographic &socioeconomic, (2):
lifestyle and, (3): anthropometric measurement and sleep diary. Data entry
and analysis were done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)
version 20.0.
Results Majority of the staffs had normal sleep duration (67.2%) followed by short
sleep duration (26.6%) and long sleep duration (6.3%). Simple logistic
regression analysis indicated that late night snacking was significantly related
to short sleep (cOR=3.47, 95% CI: 1.12, 12.23, p=0.048).
Conclusions Adequate sleep is important to maintain one’s health. Steps can be taken to
limit late night snacking in order to improve the sleep pattern in this study
population.
Introduction: Validation of instruments is essential when assessing physical activity (PA). The aim of this study was to validate a Malay language version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-M) against Actical accelerometer and to determine its reliability and validity.
Methods: A total of 90 Malay adults aged 35-65 years old participating in The Malaysian Cohort project were recruited for this study. The IPAQ-M is comprised of 12 items, covering vigorous, moderate, walking, sitting and sleeping activities, and was administered on two occasions (Day 1 and Day 9) by interviewing the participants. Participants wore the Actical accelerometer for seven consecutive days between the two interview sessions. Results Validity tests showed that time spent in moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (min/wk) from IPAQ-M was significantly correlated with MVPA from accelerometer (rho=0.32, p<0.01). Time spent in vigorous activity (rho=0.44) and total activity (rho=0.36) from IPAQ-M were significantly correlated (p<0.01) with that measured by accelerometer, but no correlation was observed for sedentary behaviour. Reliability tests revealed significant correlations between the two interview sessions for all intensities of PA (rho=0.55 to 0.71, p<0.01). Bland-Altman plots showed that time spent in MVPA for IPAQ-M was significantly different from that measured by accelerometer (mean difference: 98.02 min/wk; 95% limits of agreement: -785.33 to 1317.83 min/wk; p<0.01). When classifying people into meeting PA recommendation, the agreement between the two instruments was fair (κ=0.22).
Conclusions The IPAQ-M has acceptable validity for MVPA, vigorous and total physical activity, and was reliable for assessing the physical activity of Malay adults.
Keywords Health care workers - Knowledge - Practice - Universal precaution - Health center.
Study name: The Malaysian Cohort (TMC) Project
Introduction This paper aims to investigate the potential pesticide dermal contamination
among the agricultural community by observing the microenvironmental and
macroactivity interaction between farm children and adult farmer.
Methods A 24 hours timeline activity was observed and recorded in the agricultural
farming village, Kuala Selangor. In this study, 2 homes were monitored for 2
days following a pesticide application. A total of 2 adult farmers and 5
children (7-10 year old) were recruited to participate in this study. Twentyfour
hour videotape segments and time-activity diaries were collected during
the study.
Results The microenvironment and macroactivity interaction were modelled in this
study. By considering only the potential dermal exposure pathway, the
different biological vulnerability and exposure pattern to pesticides were
observed. Finding showed a greater extent of interaction between human and
its environment, where adult farmers are the main contributor of
environmental contaminants, and children is one of the vulnerable receivers
of the contaminants’ residuals from the environment.
Conclusion The daily activities and behaviors practiced by the agricultural community
were among the contributing factors which help to highlight the pesticide
dermal contamination pathway in the farming village. This study
recommends the necessary to consider the microenvironment and
macroactivity of the target community when assess their exposure levels to
the environment contaminants.
Introduction An Analysis of a Survey Questionnaire on health care workers’ knowledge and practices regarding of infection control and complains them to apply universal precautions. Health care workers are at substantial risk of acquiring blood borne pathogen infections through exposure to blood or other products of patients. To assess of infection control among health care workers in Sana'a healthcare centers, Yemen.
Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in the health center to assess knowledge and practices regarding of infection control among 237 health workers in Sana,a city. A structured self-administered questionnaires were used and data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 and the associations were tested with chi-square, with p-value of < 0.05.
Results The health care workers in public centers ware (51.1%) and (48.9%) of them works in private centers. One hundred and seventeen (49.4%) respondents had poor infection control knowledge, 113 (43.5%) had fair knowledge, and 17 (7.2%) had good knowledge. The knowledge was significantly associated with type of center (P < 0.018), such that the public center had the highest proportion with poor knowledge. And nurses and midwife having the highest proportion with fair knowledge of infection control. Eight (3.4%) respondents had a poor practice of universal precautions, 93 (39.2%) had fair practice, and 136 (57.4%) good practice. The practice was significantly associated with the profession, level of education and work experience (P < 0.001), (P < 0.006), (P < 0.001) respectively, and nurses and midwives as the profession with the highest proportion with good practice.
Conclusion We conclude that the practices and knowledge of universal precautions were low and that's need for intensive programmes to educate health care workers on various aspects of standard precautions and infection control programmes and policies.
Introduction Family satisfaction is referred to the extent in which family members feel happy and fulfilled with each other. However, there has been lack of evidences on the family satisfaction scale within the Malaysian context. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess validity of the Malay version of the Olson’s Family Satisfaction Scale. This is to allow Malaysian researchers to bring family satisfaction in line with the different field of studies.
Methods This study was conducted among 567 Malaysian working women. Data were collected using self-administrated questionnaires. This study conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validity and internal consistency using Cronbach’s alpha.
Results The findings of this study support the uni-dimensionality of the Malay version of the family satisfaction scale. The 10 items of the scale account for 68.1% of the total variance and the un-rotated factor loadings ranged from 0.76 to 0.87. Confirmatory factor analysis was run and supported the structure of family satisfaction scale. The results of confirmatory factor analysis using AMOS 21 in the current study reported the following indices: RMSEA= 0.06, CFI= 0.94, NFI= 0.94, TLI= 0.93. The convergent validity (average variance extracted= 0.65) and the internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha= 0.94) of this construct were adequately supported.
Conclusions The findings support the factor structure, convergent validity and the internal consistency of the examined construct. Therefore, Malay version of the family satisfaction scale is a valid and reliable instrument among Malaysian working women.
Introduction There is a strong and increased worldwide interest on the aspects of
prevention of oral disease and oral health promotion in dental education.
However, some studies imply that dental students are not knowledgeable
enough in this issue. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of, attitude
towards and practice on preventive dentistry among senior dental students in
Yemen.
Methods Self-administered questionnaires were distributed among senior dental
students in six dental schools in Yemen. The questionnaire obtained personal
information, and questions about knowledge on preventive dental care,
attitudes towards and practice on preventive dentistry.
Results Among 346 students who filled the questionnaire, a total of 91.6% has good
knowledge about fissure sealant effectiveness, only 34.7% knows about the
importance of fluoride toothpaste compared to brushing technique in
preventing caries, with significant gender difference (p=0.005). Odds of good
knowledge among non-Qat chewers was 1.9 (95%CI: 1.26-4.42).
Multivariable regression analysis indicated that female gender was associated
with higher positive attitudes (OR: 2.03, 95%CI:1.21-3.36,p=0.007).
Attitudes were significantly associated with Qat chewing (OR = 1.95,
95%CI: 1.04-3.66, p=0.03), type of university (OR = 0.59, 95%CI: 0.36-0.94,
p=0.02), and mothers' level of education (OR = 1.91, 95%CI: 1.05-3.47,
p=0.03). There was a high percentage of competency in practicing preventive
measures among students (80.9%).
Conclusions Dental education should emphasize the overall aspects of preventive dentistry
with early exposure of preventive dental training in order to improve
students' knowledge and attitudes and consequently practice on preventive
care.