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Fulltext An Efficient Soft Set-Based Approach for Conflict Analysis

Sutoyo E, Mungad M, Hamid S, Herawan T

PLoS One, 2016;11(2):e0148837.
PMID: 26928627 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0148837

Conflict analysis has been used as an important tool in economic, business, governmental and political dispute, games, management negotiations, military operations and etc. There are many mathematical formal models have been proposed to handle conflict situations and one of the most popular is rough set theory. With the ability to handle vagueness from the conflict data set, rough set theory has been successfully used. However, computational time is still an issue when determining the certainty, coverage, and strength of conflict situations. In this paper, we present an alternative approach to handle conflict situations, based on some ideas using soft set theory. The novelty of the proposed approach is that, unlike in rough set theory that uses decision rules, it is based on the concept of co-occurrence of parameters in soft set theory. We illustrate the proposed approach by means of a tutorial example of voting analysis in conflict situations. Furthermore, we elaborate the proposed approach on real world dataset of political conflict in Indonesian Parliament. We show that, the proposed approach achieves lower computational time as compared to rough set theory of up to 3.9%.

Matched MeSH terms: Government
Fulltext An Evaluation of Malaysian Regulatory Process for New Active Substances Approved in 2017 Using the OpERA Methodology

Sani NM, McAuslane N, Kasbon SH, Ahmad R, Yusof FAM, Patel P

Ther Innov Regul Sci, 2020 Sep;54(5):1215-1224.
PMID: 32865804 DOI: 10.1007/s43441-020-00140-4

INTRODUCTION: The National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) embarked on a regulatory-strengthening program and is evaluating its processes. Optimising Efficiencies in Regulatory Agencies (OpERA) is a regulatory-strengthening program that provides benchmarking data that can define performance targets and focus performance improvement. The objective of this study was to use OpERA methodology to determine where time is spent in the NPRA approval process and to form a baseline to measure the performance improvements.
METHODS: The OpERA tool was used to collect specific milestone data that identify time periods, review stages, and data points for new active substances and biosimilars approved by NPRA in 2017.
RESULTS: In 2017, 25 new active substances and 1 biosimilar were approved by NPRA in a median of 515 days, representing both agency and applicant time. The median time between dossier receipt and the initiation of NPRA scientific assessment was 135 days, but there was a wide variation in queuing time. The median total assessment time was 279 days (agency and applicant timing). NPRA took a median of 166 days; applicants took a median of 131 days to respond to deficiency questions, with up to 6 cycles of review required for approval and 65% of applications requiring 4-5 cycles to provide satisfactory responses.
CONCLUSIONS: As a result of these data, NPRA proposes three improvements: target start for scientific assessment 100 days after file acceptance, a maximum of 5 review cycles, and applicant response time limited to 6 months. These results will serve as a baseline for further assessment.

Matched MeSH terms: Government Agencies
Fulltext An assessment of the effectiveness of tobacco control measures on behavior changes related to tobacco use among adolescents and young adults in a district in Sri Lanka

De Silva WD, Sinha DN, Kahandawaliyanag A

Indian J Cancer, 2012 Oct-Dec;49(4):438-42.
PMID: 23442410 DOI: 10.4103/0019-509X.107753

Sri Lanka became a signatory to the WHO Frame Work Convention on Tobacco Control in September 2003, and this was ratified in November 2003. With a view to reduce the use of tobacco in Sri Lanka, the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act (NATA) No. 27 of 2006 was implemented.

Matched MeSH terms: Government Regulation
Fulltext An evaluation of health centers and hospital efficiency in Kampala capital city authority Uganda; using Pabon Lasso technique

Nabukeera, M., Boerhannoeddin, A., Raja Noriza, R.A.

JUMMEC, 2015;18(1):1-6.
MyJurnal

The Pabon Lasso Model is one of the most important and suitable techniques applied in evaluating the performance of hospitals. The visual representation standardizes the comparative accomplishments of hospitals which information is used by planners in effort to improve productivity of the health care system by use of three pointers namely: (i) Average Length of Stay (ALS); (ii) Bed Occupancy Rate (BOR); (iii) Bed Turnover (BTO). The purpose of this study is to evaluate performance of wards in health centers affiliated to Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and Ministry of Health (MOH) during the financial year 2012-2013 constructed on Pabon Lasso Model. Data for the nine health centers and two referral hospitals was taken by the nursing sisters who were in charge. To ensure accuracy, a weekly standard report was submitted to head office and the data included: a list of wards, number of beds, admissions, deaths, discharges and inpatient days. For all government health centers and hospitals, overall, the average indicators ALS=3.63 days, BTO= 74.0 times per year and BOR=49.3% were obtained. Based on the Pabon Lasso graph, two wards are in Zone 3, two wards in Zone 4, one ward in Zone 2 and five wards in Zone 1. The performance of health centers and hospitals in Kampala were somehow poor. This represented unacceptable levels of technical deficiency.

Matched MeSH terms: Government
Fulltext An evaluation of treatment outcome in tuberculosis directly observed treatment short course facilities in Jigawa State, Nigeria (2010–2014)

Faisal, M., Moniruddin, C., Alauddin, A.B.M.C.

JUMMEC, 2017;20(2):1-7.
MyJurnal

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem worldwide. It is estimated that 2 billion people, a third of
the world population, have TB infection, but are not down with the disease. Globally, incident cases of TB
showed a rising trend, with a 6.6 million reported in 1990, 8.3 million in 2000, 9.24 million in 2004, and an
estimated 9.27 million incident cases in 2007. The aim of this study was to evaluate the treatment outcome of
TB patients in Nigeria in the state of Jigawa. A cross sectional retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the
treatment outcome in directly observed treatment with a short course for tuberculosis (TB DOTS) in facilities
in the state between the years 2010 to 2014. The study population were all the patients with TB, who had
access to DOTS therapy. Data were collected from the various local governmental areas for tuberculosis control
(LGA TB) register. The LGA TB control registers contained basic information of the patients, and a statistical
software SPSS-V22.0 was used to analyse the data. A total of 963 TB patients were studied. More than half
(57.4%) of the patients were male, and nearly three- fourths (71.2%) of the patients accessed care from urban
local government areas in the state. The greater majority (96.3%) of the cases had pulmonary tuberculosis
(PTB). Among the patients, more than two-fifths (45%) were cured, and a little over one-fifth (20.6%) of them
were HIV positive. This study revealed that the treatment success rate (TSR) in the Jigawa State of Nigeria
was higher than the overall TSR of Nigeria, and the defaulter rate in this state was lower than the Nigerian
average. The aim of this study was to evaluate the treatment outcome of TB patients in Nigeria in the state
of Jigawa. A cross sectional retrospective study was conducted to evaluate the treatment outcome in directly
observed treatment with a short course for tuberculosis (TB DOTS) in facilities in the state between the years
2010 to 2014. The study population were all the patients with TB, who had access to DOTS therapy. Data were
collected from the various local governmental areas for tuberculosis control (LGA TB) register. The LGA TB
control registers contained basic information of the patients, and a statistical software SPSS-V22.0 was used
to analyse the data. A total of 963 TB patients were studied. More than half (57.4%) of the patients were
male, and nearly three- fourths (71.2%) of the patients accessed care from urban local government areas in
the state. The greater majority (96.3%) of the cases had pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). Among the patients,
more than two-fifths (45%) were cured, and a little over one-fifth (20.6%) of them were HIV positive. This study
revealed that the treatment success rate (TSR) in the Jigawa State of Nigeria was higher than the overall TSR
of Nigeria, and the defaulter rate in this state was lower than the Nigerian average.

Matched MeSH terms: Local Government
Fulltext An outbreak of diarrhoea among neonates in a private hospital in Kedah, Malaysia

Shahidan, H., Mahani, Y., Noriah, B., Haw, A.B.

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2003;3(1):42-47.
MyJurnal

A diarrhoea outbreak had occurred among neonates delivered in a private hospital in Kedah from 15 August to 8 September 2002 involving 27 (55.1%) cases out of a total of 49 deliveries. Thirteen of them (48.1%) were admitted to either government or private hospitals for treatnzent while fourteen of them (51.9%) were managed at home. The main presenting feature was frequent yellowish to greenish watery stool not associated with vomitting. Investigations include active case finding, environmental inspection, sampling of stool specimens, identifying causative agents and identuying human carriers. All the diarrhoea eases (100%) were noted to have received infant formula feeding while in the private hospital. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated hom the milk scoop which was used for milk preparation. Nasal swabs of four (50%) nursing personnel were also positive for Staphylococcus aureus. One of them was positive for methycilline resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The milk and water samples showed no signuicant bacterial contamination. Stool samples of these cases were negative for Rotavirus, Vibrio sp., Salmonella sp., Shigella sp. and Entamoeba coli. This outbreak of diarrhoea was noted to have a strong association with infant formula feeding in the hospital. Breastfeeding should be continuously promoted. Baby friendly hospital initiatives in private hospital settings need to be initiated.

Matched MeSH terms: Government
Fulltext An overview of civil society organizations' roles in health project sustainability in Bauchi State, Nigeria

Ibrahim U, Wan-Puteh SE

Pan Afr Med J, 2018;30:150.
PMID: 30374396 DOI: 10.11604/pamj.2018.30.150.15851

Introduction: This study sets out to assess the roles of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in post donor health project sustainability in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs), the case of the Bauchi State, Nigeria. This study equally investigated the CSOs strategies and roles in health project sustainability.
Methods: For quantitative data collection, the random, purposive, and convenient sampling techniques were used and 156 respondents selected from relevant organizations operating in Bauchi state, Nigeria, and 15 respondents for Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). A Semi-structured questionnaire was the study instrument, and consent from the participants as well as ethical clearances were duly obtained.
Results: The study revealed that 87.8% of the respondents indicate un-friendly operational policies, while 88.9% of them identified lack of resources (human, money and machineries) as impediments to project sustainability. Also, 74.3% of the respondents said partnership among key stakeholders and 86.6% of them affirmed that community participation and use of available (local) resources ensure health project sustainability. The study further revealed that CSOs fund health projects, support government efforts and encourage development of project sustainability road map in the state.
Conclusion: Hence, health project sustainability plan should form part of a project right from inception through the donor period and thereafter. In addition to the above, internal income framework, community involvement, enabling policies and partnership among stakeholders, especially with the host government, should always guide project implementation, because without these in place, project sustainability will remain a mirage.

Matched MeSH terms: Government
Fulltext An overview of foodborne illness and food safety in Malaysia

Abdul-Mutalib, N.A., Syafinaz, A.N., Sakai, K., Shirai, Y.

International Food Research Journal, 2015;22(3):896-901.
MyJurnal

Foodborne disease has been associated with microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites. Most commonly, the outbreaks take place due to the ingestion of pathogenic bacteria like Salmonella Typhi, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio cholera, Campylobacter jejuni, and Listeria monocytogenes. The disease usually happens as a result of toxin secretion of the microorganisms in the intestinal tract of the infected person. Usually, the level of hygiene in the food premises reflect the quality of the food item, hence restaurant or stall with poor sanitary condition is said to be the contributor to food poisoning outbreak. In Malaysia, food poisoning cases are not rare because the hot and humid climate of this country is very suitable for the growth of the foodborne bacteria. The government is also implementing strict rules to ensure workers and owners of food premises prioritize the cleanliness of their working area. Training programme for food handlers can also help them to implement hygiene as a routine in a daily basis. A lot of studies have been done to reduce foodborne diseases. The results can give information about the types of microorganisms, and other components that affect their growth. The result is crucial to determine how the spread of foodborne bacteria can be controlled safely and the outbreak can be reduced.

Matched MeSH terms: Government
Analysis of Mortality Improvement on the Pension Cost Due to Aging Population

Rose Irnawaty Ibrahim, Norazmir Mohd Nordin

MATEMATIKA, 2020;36(3):209-216.
MyJurnal

Aging is a good indicator in demographic and health areas as the lifespan
of the elderly population increases. Based on the government’s Economic Outlook 2019,
it was found that an aging population would increase the government pension payments
as the pensioners and their beneficiaries have longer life expectancy. Due to mortality
rates decreasing over time, the life expectancy tends to increase in the future. The
aims of this study are to forecast the mortality rates in the years 2020 and 2025 using
the Heligman-Pollard model and then analyse the effect of mortality improvement on
the pension cost (annuity factor) for the Malaysian population. However, this study
only focuses on estimating the annuity factor using life annuities through the forecasted
mortality rates. The findings indicated that the pension cost is expected to increase if
the life expectancy of the Malaysian population increases due to the aging population
the near future. Thus, to reduce pension costs and help the pensioners from insufficient
financial income, the government needs to consider an extension of the retirement age in
future.

Matched MeSH terms: Government
Fulltext Approaches and future direction of social security system: Malaysian perspective

Rohaizat, B.Y., Hassan, M.O.N.M., Davis, J.

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2012;12(1):1-13.
MyJurnal

Social security traditionally means a social insurance program providing social protection, or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. It also hovers around the subject of social insurance, where people receive benefits or services in recognition of contributions to an insurance scheme. Providing services for medical care, aspects of social work and even industrial relations may be included as part of social security services. Lately, the term is also used to refer to basic security, a term roughly equivalent to access to basic necessities. The 1 World Conference on Social Security organised by the Brazilian Government on 1st to 5th of December 2010 stimulates the countries to adopt universal, comprehensive and equitablesocial security systems as a valid, ethical and feasible option in the process of national reforms and regional integration. The main challenge to achieving the noble objective of universal social security system is financial sustainability and social cohesion supported by political will. As seen in a number of countries, Malaysia has a mixed social security schemes comprising state and private schemes, statutory obligatory requirements on the part of
employers as well as state social assistance programmes. Maintaining the quality of life of the individuals and their dependents has become the primary focus of policies and programmes in providing social security. Among the critical pressures on the population’s standard of living is the provision of health care. Extension of the coverage for social security is critical in ensuring social inclusion.

Matched MeSH terms: Government
Aquatic insect functional feeding groups in a mountain stream with a series of check dams in northern Thailand

Phuchiwan Suriyawong, Elizabeth A. Bergey

Sains Malaysiana, 2018;47:1379-1386.

A series of check dams (or small dams in shallow streams) have been placed on many streams throughout Thailand and
the number of them continue to increase. Check dam construction activities have been emphasized by the government
and private sector entities over the last decade to prevent severe flood or drought due to changes in rainfall patterns. This
study evaluated distribution of functional feeding groups (FFG) in a stream with a high density of check dams. Twelve
sampling sites at three altitudes (500, 900 and 1500 m asl) included undammed and nearby dammed sections (above
and below check dams) were used. Aquatic insects were collected monthly at each site for a year and categorized into
FFG. Aquatic insect composition of undammed and above dam sites was different. Abundance within each FFG at above
dam sites significantly differed from undammed sites. Taxonomic richness at 1500 and 900 m altitudes was decreased
at above dam sites compared with the corresponding undammed sites, whereas above dam sites of 500 m altitude had
higher richness than undammed site. High abundance of predators and collector-gatherers associated with reservoirs
and fine sediment accumulation above dams, where filter-feeders were scarce. Shredder abundance varied among sites
and was highest where leaf packs were most abundant. Scrapers were least abundant group and inconsistent with the
dams. Distribution of FFG was similar to changes in other regulated streams. The composition of FFG reflected the
stream ecosystem conditions through adaptation of communities to stream habitat and food resources, including those
associated with check dam construction.

Matched MeSH terms: Government
Fulltext Asian Livestock Industry Leaders' Perceptions of the Importance of, and Solutions for, Animal Welfare Issues

Sinclair M, Phillips CJC

Animals (Basel), 2019 Jun 05;9(6).
PMID: 31195720 DOI: 10.3390/ani9060319

The welfare of farm animals has been the focus of increasing international interest, however, the movement has had little engagement with livestock leaders who are, arguably, the stakeholders in the position most able to make decisions that impact on animal welfare at critical times. Previous studies have drawn attention to the need to engage in constructive collaborations with the livestock industry for the betterment of animal welfare, and to uncover mutual benefits for both stakeholders and proponents of animal welfare with which collaborations can be motivated. This study aimed to continue this need to understand leaders in livestock management, by consulting their opinions as to what constitutes the most critical animal welfare issues during farming and slaughter, and what they see as some of the solutions to begin addressing livestock welfare issues in their country. Seventeen focus group sessions were held with 139 leaders in livestock industries in six diverse countries in Asia, including China, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Bangladesh. Leaders included government representatives, key academics in agriculture, and business managers and leaders within the domestic animal agriculture industries, as relevant to each country. After conducting thematic analysis and applying basic statistical measures, the findings suggest that solutions within the themes of education, training, and awareness are most valued. However, how each of these could be best addressed varied by country. The need for local research and local solutions also contributed to the most frequent opportunities, as did the requirement for prescriptive and consistent standards and expectations. A ranking of animal welfare issues is presented, as is a selection of suggested animal welfare initiatives resulting from the findings of this study.

Matched MeSH terms: Government
Fulltext Asian men’s health: gender disparity and life expectancy

Ho, Christopher C.K., Teo, C.H., Ng, C.J., Zulkifli, M.Z., Tan, M.H.

Journal of Surgical Academia, 2014;4(2):5-8.
MyJurnal

The aim of this review was to analyze the gender disparities found as well as the life expectancies in Asia. An analysis of the data on gender disparities as well as life expectancies of the different Asian countries was done based on the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Health Observatory Data Repository as well as the regional government databases. Middle Eastern countries have the highest male to female population ratio. The results show that in terms of population pyramid, Asia is moving towards a more geriatric population. Qatar has the highest life expectancy for men and is the only country in Asia where men live longer than women (difference of 2 years). In general, women in Asia live longer than men. High income countries like Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore have higher life expectancies as compared to those on the lower income nations. The life expectancy of Asian men still lags women. Men’s health care needs to be addressed urgently. The disparity in income-status reflecting the lifespan of men is an impetus for us to narrow the gap of health in Asian countries.

Matched MeSH terms: Government
Assessing evidence of inequalities in access to medication for diabetic populations in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

Christiani Y, Dhippayom T, Chaiyakunapruk N

Glob Health Action, 2016 Dec;9(1):32505.
PMID: 28795917 DOI: 10.3402/gha.v9.32505

Background Inequalities in access to medications among people diagnosed with diabetes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is a public health concern since untreated diabetes can lead to severe complications and premature death. Objective To assess evidence of inequalities in access to medication for diabetes in adult populations of people with diagnosed diabetes in LMICs. Design We conducted a systematic review of the literature using the PRISMA-Equity guidelines. A search of five databases - PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and EMBASE - was conducted from inception to November 2015. Using deductive content analysis, information extracted from the selected articles was analysed according to the PRISMA-Equity guidelines, based on exposure variables (place of residence, race/ethnicity, occupation, gender, religion, education, socio-economic status, social capital, and others). Results Fifteen articles (seven quantitative and eight qualitative studies) are included in this review. There were inconsistent findings between studies conducted in different countries and regions although financial and geographic barriers generally contributed to inequalities in access to diabetes medications. The poor, those with relatively low education, and people living in remote areas had less access to diabetes medications. Furthermore, we found that the level of government political commitment through primary health care and in the provision of essential medicines was an important factor in promoting access to medications. Conclusions The review indicates that inequalities exist in accessing medication among diabetic populations, although this was not evident in all LMICs. Further research is needed to assess the social determinants of health and medication access for people with diabetes in LMICs.

Matched MeSH terms: Government
Fulltext Association Between Farming Activities and Plasmodium falciparum Transmission in Rural Communities in Nigeria

Babamale OA, Opeyemi OA, Bukky AA, Musleem AI, Kelani EO, Okhian BJ, et al.

Malays J Med Sci, 2020 May;27(3):105-116.
PMID: 32684811 MyJurnal DOI: 10.21315/mjms2020.27.3.11

Background: The connection between malaria-associated morbidities and farming activities has not been succinctly reported. This study aimed to address the connectivity between farming activities and malaria transmission.
Methods: The study took place in the agricultural setting of Nigeria Edu local government (9° N, 4.9° E) between March 2016 and December 2018. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was administered to obtain information on their occupation and malaria infection. Infection status was confirmed with blood film and microscopic diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum was based on the presence of ring form or any other blood stages. Individuals who are either critically ill or lived in the community less than 3 months were excluded from the study.
Results: Of the 341 volunteers, 58.1% (52.9% in Shigo and 61.4% in Sista) were infected (parasitaemia density of 1243.7 parasites/μL blood). The prevalence and intensity of infection were higher among farmers (71.3%, 1922.9 parasites/μL blood, P = 0.005), particularly among rice farmers (2991.6 parasites/μL blood) compared to non-farmer participants. The occurrence and parasite density follow the same pattern for sex and age (P < 0.05). Children in the age of 6 to 10 years (AOR: 2.168, CI: 1.63-2.19) and ≥ 11 years (AOR: 3.750, CI: 2.85-3.80) groups were two-and four-fold more likely to be infected with malaria. The analysis revealed that the proximity of bush and stagnant water to the farmer (73.9%, AOR: 3.242, CI: 2.57-3.61) and non-farmer (38.1%, AOR: 1.362, CI: 1.25-1.41) habitations influence malaria transmission.
Conclusion: This study highlights farming activities as a risk factor for malaria infection in agro-communities. Integrated malaria control measures in agricultural communities should therefore include water and environmental management practices.

Matched MeSH terms: Local Government
Fulltext Association Between Public Opinion and Malaysian Government Communication Strategies About the COVID-19 Crisis: Content Analysis of Image Repair Strategies in Social Media

Masngut N, Mohamad E

J Med Internet Res, 2021 08 04;23(8):e28074.
PMID: 34156967 DOI: 10.2196/28074

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 health crisis has posed an unprecedented challenge for governments worldwide to manage and communicate about the pandemic effectively, while maintaining public trust. Good leadership image in times of a health emergency is paramount to ensure public confidence in governments' abilities to manage the crisis.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify types of image repair strategies utilized by the Malaysian government in their communication about COVID-19 in the media and analyze public responses to these messages on social media.
METHODS: Content analysis was employed to analyze 120 media statements and 382 comments retrieved from Facebook pages of 2 mainstream newspapers-Berita Harian and The Star. These media statements and comments were collected within a span of 6 weeks prior to and during the first implementation of Movement Control Order by the Malaysian Government. The media statements were analyzed according to Image Repair Theory to categorize strategies employed in government communications related to COVID-19 crisis. Public opinion responses were measured using modified lexicon-based sentiment analysis to categorize positive, negative, and neutral statements.
RESULTS: The Malaysian government employed all 5 Image Repair Theory strategies in their communications in both newspapers. The strategy most utilized was reducing offensiveness (75/120, 62.5%), followed by corrective action (30/120, 25.0%), evading responsibilities (10/120, 8.3%), denial (4/120, 3.3%), and mortification (1/120, 0.8%). This study also found multiple substrategies in government media statements including denial, shifting blame, provocation, defeasibility, accident, good intention, bolstering, minimization, differentiation, transcendence, attacking accuser, resolve problem, prevent recurrence, admit wrongdoing, and apologize. This study also found that 64.7% of public opinion was positive in response to media statements made by the Malaysian government and also revealed a significant positive association (P=.04) between image repair strategies utilized by the Malaysian government and public opinion.
CONCLUSIONS: Communication in the media may assist the government in fostering positive support from the public. Suitable image repair strategies could garner positive public responses and help build trust in times of crisis.

Matched MeSH terms: Government
Fulltext Association between Platescapes, Foodscapes, and Meal Energy Intake in Government Employees from Muar, Johor, Malaysia

Lim YJ, Jamaluddin R, Er YT

Nutrients, 2018 Jun 25;10(7).
PMID: 29941848 DOI: 10.3390/nu10070819

A microscale built environment was the focus in this cross-sectional study which aimed to investigate the associations between platescapes, foodscapes, and meal energy intake among subjects. A total of 133 subjects (54 male, 79 female) with mean age 36.8 ± 7.3 years completed a self-administered questionnaire on sociodemographic characteristics, platescapes, and foodscape preferences. For platescapes, a plate mapping method was used, where subjects were required to place various sizes of food models on two different sized plates (23 cm and 28 cm) based on their preferences. For foodscape preferences, subjects were given a 23-cm plate and various food models differentiated by shapes and colours. Then, 24-h daily recalls (for one weekday and one weekend day) were obtained using interviews. Significant differences were observed in meal energy intake (p < 0.05) between males (1741 ± 339 kcal) and females (1625 ± 247 kcal) and also between age groups (p < 0.05). There was a significant difference (p < 0.0001) in terms of subjects’ meal energy intake when comparing 23-cm plates (419 ± 124 kcal) and 28-cm plates (561 ± 143 kcal). The bigger plate (28 cm) (p < 0.01) was significantly associated with subjects’ meal energy intakes, but this was not so for the 23-cm plate. There were significant differences in subjects’ meal energy when comparing white rice and multicoloured rice (p < 0.0001), unicoloured and multicoloured proteins (p < 0.0001), and unicoloured and multicoloured vegetables (p < 0.0001). There was a significant difference found between round- and cube-shaped proteins (p < 0.05). The colours of rice (p < 0.01), protein (p < 0.05), and vegetables (p < 0.05) were significantly associated with subjects’ meal energy. Only the shape of carrots in vegetables (p = 0.01) was significantly associated with subjects’ meal energy. Subconsciously, platescapes and foodscapes affect an individual’s energy intake, and thus these elements should be considered in assessing one’s dietary consumption.

Matched MeSH terms: Government Employees/psychology*
Fulltext Association between eating behaviour and weight gain among primary school children in Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor

Norliza Ahmad, Munn-Sann Lye, Zalilah Mohd Shariff, Firdaus Mukhtar, Lim Poh Ying

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2019;15(104):86-86.
MyJurnal

Introduction: Childhood obesity is increasing in prevalence in Malaysia. Excess in dietary intake and inadequate physical activity contribute to the development of obesity among children. The objective of this study was to de-termine the association between eating behaviour and excess weight among primary school children in an urban community in Malaysia. Methods: This is a baseline data of a randomized control field trial of a family-based inter-vention to reduce adiposity in overweight and obese children. It involved five primary government schools in Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor. The inclusion criteria include parent-child dyad; children aged 7 to 10 years with body mass index (BMI) z-score of +1 standard deviation or more. Parents completed the validated self-administered Children Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ). This questionnaire assessed children’s eating behaviour that includes food responsiveness, enjoyment of food, emotional overeating, desire to drink, slowness in eating, satiety responsiveness, emotional undereating and food fussiness. The children’s weight and height were measured and the BMI z-score was calculated. The association between CEBQ subscales and obesity was assessed using multiple linear regression, adjusted for sex and family income. Results: One hundred and thirty-four parent-child dyads had participated in this study. The food responsiveness was found to be significant with excess weight (β = 0.094, 95% CI: 0.02-0.17, p= 0.014). Conclusion: The food responsiveness subscale was associated with excess weight. This eating behaviour need to be taken into consideration in the development and implementation of health campaign targeted at the re-duction of childhood obesity.

Matched MeSH terms: Government
Fulltext Association between medicine Price declaration by pharmaceutical industries and retail prices in Malaysia's private healthcare sector

Ahmad NS, Hatah E, Makmor-Bakry M

J Pharm Policy Pract, 2019;12:15.
PMID: 31304021 DOI: 10.1186/s40545-019-0176-z

Background: As part of the initiatives to increase price transparency for consumers, pharmaceutical industry in Malaysia have been encouraged to declare the wholesale and recommended retail prices (RRP) of medicines to the Pharmaceutical Service Department (PSD) yearly. However, the relationship between the voluntary price reporting practices and consumers' retail medicine price is unknown. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effect of the voluntary price reporting practice of pharmaceutical industry on retail medicine prices, factors that may affect consumer medicine prices in Malaysia's private healthcare sector, and the retail medicine pricing trend over 2011-2015.
Methods: A yearly correlation test for a 5-year period was performed to investigate the association between the wholesale and RRP medicine prices declared by the pharmaceutical industry from 2011 to 2015 on the one hand and the consumer wholesale and retail medicine price database on the other hand. The median price ratio (MPR) was calculated by comparing the consumer retail medicine price to its international reference price. The Krukal Wallis test was used to analyse the pricing trend throughout the 5-year period, and factors that might elevate the MPR above 2.5 were modelled using binary logistic regression.
Results: A total of 2527 medicine price data were analysed. There was a strong significant association between medicine prices declared to the PSD and the retail medicine prices in every year of the 5-year period. Moreover, there was no significant increase in retail medicine prices throughout the 5-year period. The medicine types, retail location, type of manufacturer, medicinal indications, declared wholesale and RRPs significantly influenced the consumer MPRs that where > 2.5.
Conclusion: The declared medicine price was found to have a significant association with the consumer retail medicine price. Thus, it may be a useful reference for consumers purchasing medicines in private healthcare settings. However, the government of Malaysia must develop strategies to increase medicine price transparency for price-control mechanisms in the private healthcare sector.

Matched MeSH terms: Government
Fulltext Association between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease evaluated by transient elastography with extracranial carotid atherosclerosis in a multiethnic Asian community

Tan EC, Tai MS, Chan WK, Mahadeva S

JGH Open, 2019 Apr;3(2):117-125.
PMID: 31061886 DOI: 10.1002/jgh3.12114

Background and Aim: There is not much data on the association between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and advanced fibrosis assessed using Fibroscan with carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) in the general population. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between NAFLD and advanced fibrosis, as diagnosed by Fibroscan, with an increased CIMT in the Malaysian population.
Methods: A cross-sectional study of government officers and their family members attending a health screening at a public healthcare facility was conducted. All subjects underwent clinical evaluation, biochemical testing, anthropometry, ultrasound carotid Doppler, and Fibroscan examination.
Results: Data for 251 subjects were analyzed (mean age 47.1 ± 12.4 years, 74.1% male). Prevalence of NAFLD and advanced fibrosis were 57.4 and 17.5%, respectively. Independent factors associated with NAFLD were waist circumference (odds ratio [OR] = 1.077, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.038-1.118, P < 0.001) and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (OR = 1.039, 95% CI 1.005-1.074, P = 0.024). Independent factors associated with advanced fibrosis were male gender (OR = 4.847, 95% CI 1.369-17.155, P = 0.014) and serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (OR = 1.057, 95% CI 1.003-1.113, P = 0.036). Prevalence of increased CIMT was 29.0%. Independent factor associated with increased CIMT was older age (OR = 1.146, 95% CI 1.067-1.231, P < 0.001). Of the subjects, 34.5% with NAFLD had increased CIMT compared to 19.1% of the subjects without NAFLD (P = 0.063). Advanced fibrosis was not associated with increased CIMT.
Conclusions: Prevalence of NAFLD, advanced liver fibrosis, and increased CIMT were high. NAFLD and advanced liver fibrosis appeared not to be associated with increased CIMT. However, a larger sample size is needed to demonstrate whether there is any association.

Matched MeSH terms: Government

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