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A systematic review of the prevalence of limited health literacy in Southeast Asian countries

Rajah R, Hassali MAA, Murugiah MK

Public Health, 2019 Feb;167:8-15.
PMID: 30544041 DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2018.09.028

OBJECTIVES: Health literacy is increasingly recognized as a public health concern. Most of the literature on health literacy concentrate in the Western countries. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically review and examine the available studies on health literacy in Southeast Asian countries and estimate its prevalence in this region.
STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review.
METHODS: A search for relevant articles was carried out using Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) and MEDLINE (via EBSCOhost), Scopus, Science Direct, PubMed and Google Scholar with multiple search terms. Inclusion criteria comprised articles published in English language and assessing general health literacy. Risk of bias reduced with the involvement of two independent reviewers in the screening of the literature and the quality assessment process.
RESULTS: A total of 11 studies were included, which only consist of studies from five countries out of 11 making up the Southeast Asian region. The overall prevalence of limited health literacy varied considerably, 1.6%-99.5% with a mean of 55.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 35.1%-75.6%). A much higher prevalence was noted in studies conducted in healthcare settings, 67.5% (95% CI: 48.6%-86.3%). The most common factors associated with limited health literacy were education attainment, age, income and socio-economic background. Other factors identified were gender and health behaviours.
CONCLUSIONS: In summary, despite the little evidence available and existences of high heterogeneity among studies, limited health literacy is still prevalent in Southeast Asian countries. Urgent strategies to improve and promote health literacy in the region are highly warranted. Besides, more studies on health literacy with better quality on the methodology aspect are needed.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
Valuation of EQ-5D-5L health states: a comparison of seven Asian populations

Wang P, Liu GG, Jo MW, Purba FD, Yang Z, Gandhi M, et al.

Expert Rev Pharmacoecon Outcomes Res, 2019 Aug;19(4):445-451.
PMID: 30523723 DOI: 10.1080/14737167.2019.1557048

Objectives: To compare the time trade-off (TTO) utility values of EQ-5D-5L health states elicited from different general populations in Asia. Methods: We analyzed the TTO data from seven Asian EQ-5D-5L valuation studies in which utility values of 86 EQ-5D-5L health states were elicited from general population samples. An eight-parameter multiplicative regression model including five dimension parameters (mobility [MO], self-care, usual activities [UA], pain/discomfort, anxiety/depression) and three level parameters (level 2 [L2], level 3 [L3], and level 4 [L4]) was used to model the data from each of the populations. The model coefficients were compared to understand how the valuations of EQ-5D-5L health states differ. Results: For dimension parameters, Korea and Indonesia generally had the highest and lowest values among the populations, respectively; UA and MO commonly had the highest and lowest values among the parameters, respectively. For level parameters, Singapore and Korea generally had the highest and lowest values, respectively; L2 showed less variance compared to L3 and L4. Koreans, Indonesians, and Singaporeans appeared to have different health preferences compared with other populations. Conclusion: Utility values of EQ-5D-5L health states differ among Asian populations, suggesting that each health system should establish and use its own value set.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia
A New Perspective on Dry Eye Classification: Proposal by the Asia Dry Eye Society

Tsubota K, Yokoi N, Watanabe H, Dogru M, Kojima T, Yamada M, et al.

Eye Contact Lens, 2020 Jan;46 Suppl 1:S2-S13.
PMID: 31425351 DOI: 10.1097/ICL.0000000000000643

The 2017 consensus report of the Asia Dry Eye Society (ADES) on the definition and diagnosis of dry eyes described dry eye disease as "Dry eye is a multifactorial disease characterized by unstable tear film causing a variety of symptoms and/or visual impairment, potentially accompanied by ocular surface damage." The report emphasized the instability of tear film and the importance of visual dysfunction in association with dry eyes, highlighting the importance of the evaluation of tear film stability. This report also discussed the concept of tear film-oriented therapy, which stemmed from the definition, and which is centered on provision of insufficient components in each tear film layer and ocular surface epithelium. The current ADES report proposes a simple classification of dry eyes based on the concept of tear film-oriented diagnosis and suggests that there are three types of dry eye: aqueous-deficient, decreased wettability, and increased evaporation. It is suggested that these three types respectively coincide with the problems of each layer: aqueous, membrane-associated mucins, and lipid/secretory mucin. Although each component cannot be quantitatively evaluated with the current technology, a practical diagnosis based on the patterns of fluorescein breakup is recommended. The Asia Dry Eye Society classification report suggests that for a practical use of the definition, diagnostic criteria and classification system should be integrated and be simple to use. The classification system proposed by ADES is a straightforward tool and simple to use, only through use of fluorescein, which is available even to non-dry eye specialists, and which is believed to contribute to an effective diagnosis and treatment of dry eyes.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia
Early Detection of Ganoderma Basal Stem Rot of Oil Palms Using Artificial Neural Network Spectral Analysis

Ahmadi P, Muharam FM, Ahmad K, Mansor S, Abu Seman I

Plant Dis, 2017 Jun;101(6):1009-1016.
PMID: 30682927 DOI: 10.1094/PDIS-12-16-1699-RE

Ganoderma boninense is a causal agent of basal stem rot (BSR) and is responsible for a significant portion of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) losses, which can reach US$500 million a year in Southeast Asia. At the early stage of this disease, infected palms are symptomless, which imposes difficulties in detecting the disease. In spite of the availability of tissue and DNA sampling techniques, there is a particular need for replacing costly field data collection methods for detecting Ganoderma in its early stage with a technique derived from spectroscopic and imagery data. Therefore, this study was carried out to apply the artificial neural network (ANN) analysis technique for discriminating and classifying fungal infections in oil palm trees at an early stage using raw, first, and second derivative spectroradiometer datasets. These were acquired from 1,016 spectral signatures of foliar samples in four disease levels (T1: healthy, T2: mildly-infected, T3: moderately infected, and T4: severely infected). Most of the satisfactory results occurred in the visible range, especially in the green wavelength. The healthy oil palms and those which were infected by Ganoderma at an early stage (T2) were classified satisfactorily with an accuracy of 83.3%, and 100.0% in 540 to 550 nm, respectively, by ANN using first derivative spectral data. The results further indicated that the sensitive frond number modeled by ANN provided the highest accuracy of 100.0% for frond number 9 compared with frond 17. This study showed evidence that employment of ANN can predict the early infection of BSR disease on oil palm with a high degree of accuracy.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
Presbytis neglectus or P. femoralis, Colobine Molecular Phylogenies, and GenBank Submission of Newly Generated DNA Sequences

Nijman V

Folia Primatol., 2020;91(3):228-239.
PMID: 31578029 DOI: 10.1159/000502093

Great progress has been made in unravelling the evolutionary history of Asian colobines, largely through the use of dated molecular phylogenies based on multiple markers. The Presbytis langurs are a case in point, with more allopatric species being identified, recognition of Presbytis thomasi from Sumatra rather than P. potenziani from the Mentawai Islands as being the most basal species of the group, and the discovery that P. rubicunda from Borneo is nested among the Sumatran species and only made it to Borneo in the last 1.3 million years. Based on variation in mitochondrial d-loop, it has recently been argued that Malaysia's P. femoralis femoralis is actually P. neglectus neglectus. Unfortunately, despite being available, sequences from the type locality, Singapore, were excluded from the analysis, and none of the newly generated sequences was deposited in GenBank. I manually reconstructed these sequences, which allowed me to present a molecular phylogeny that includes 8 additional sequences from West Malaysia and Singapore. P. neglectus from Malaysia and P. femoralis from Singapore form one monophyletic clade, with minimal divergence. I conclude that recognition of P. neglectus is erroneous and the name is a junior synonym of P. femoralis. Colobine taxonomy and systematics have advanced, and continue to advance, mostly by considering evidence from a wide range of individuals, species and data sets (molecular, behavioural and morphological) rather than focusing on single molecular markers from 1 or 2 species from one small geographic area. For an orderly taxonomic debate where evidence can be evaluated and reinterpreted it is essential that newly generated sequences are deposited in public repositories.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
Fulltext Landscape analysis of health technology assessment (HTA): systems and practices in Asia

Teerawattananon Y, Rattanavipapong W, Lin LW, Dabak SV, Gibbons B, Isaranuwatchai W, et al.

Int J Technol Assess Health Care, 2019;35(6):416-421.
PMID: 31594553 DOI: 10.1017/S0266462319000667

This paper explores the characteristics of health technology assessment (HTA) systems and practices in Asia. Representatives from nine countries were surveyed to understand each step of the HTA pathway. The analysis finds that although there are similarities in the processes of HTA and its application to inform decision making, there is variation in the number of topics assessed and the stakeholders involved in each step of the process. There is limited availability of resources and technical capacity and countries adopt different means to overcome these challenges by accepting industry submissions or adapting findings from other regions. Inclusion of stakeholders in the process of selecting topics, generating evidence, and making funding recommendations is critical to ensure relevance of HTA to country priorities. Lessons from this analysis may be instructive to other countries implementing HTA processes and inform future research on the feasibility of implementing a harmonized HTA system in the region.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia
Fulltext Historical and current distribution ranges and loss of mega-herbivores and carnivores of Asia

Mahmood T, Vu TT, Campos-Arceiz A, Akrim F, Andleeb S, Farooq M, et al.

PeerJ, 2021;9:e10738.
PMID: 33628635 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10738

Ecosystem functioning is dependent a lot on large mammals, which are, however, vulnerable and facing extinction risks due to human impacts mainly. Megafauna of Asia has been declining for a long, not only in numbers but also in their distribution ranges. In the current study, we collected information on past and current occurrence and distribution records of Asia's megafauna species. We reconstructed the historical distribution ranges of the six herbivores and four carnivores for comparison with their present ranges, to quantify spatially explicit levels of mega-defaunation. Results revealed that historically the selected megafauna species were more widely distributed than at current. Severe range contraction was observed for the Asiatic lion, three rhino species, Asian elephant, tigers, and tapirs. Defaunation maps generated have revealed the vanishing of megafauna from parts of the East, Southeast, and Southwest Asia, even some protected Areas losing up to eight out of ten megafaunal species. These defaunation maps can help develop future conservation policies, to save the remaining distribution ranges of large mammals.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia
Fulltext The possible culprit of obesity in malaysia – pisang goreng

Tan Jia Yi

Borneo Journal of Medical Sciences, 2020;14(3):65-66.
MyJurnal

Obesity has become a global health issue, not to mention Malaysia, which topped over the list of countries in Asia. On World Health Day in 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that 64% of the male population and 65% of the female population in Malaysia are either obese or overweight1. The ringing of alarm is tremendously loud in the silence. Depending on each of us, this can be an issue that we laugh over or a kind but severe urge for us to take a step backwards, observe, and self-reflect.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia
Fulltext Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages among International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Kuantan students

Nor ‘Afifah Zahari, Aliza Haslinda Hamirudin, Noor Ezailina Badarudin

International Journal of Allied Health Sciences, 2018;2(3):499-506.
MyJurnal

Malaysian is one of the highest sugar consumers in the Asia Pacific region. There has been no available report quantifying sugar intake among Malaysian until Malaysian Adult Nutrition Survey
(MANS) 2003 study was done. However, data concerning sugar consumption among university students is scarce. This study was conducted to assess sugar sweetened beverages intake among International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Kuantan students. A total of 42 of IIUM Kuantan students was recruited by convenience sampling method. A questionnaire consisting of 3 days
food record was distributed to all participants as a tool for data collection. Food record was analyzed using the Nutritionist Pro software prior to statistical analysis with SPSS version 12.0. P value was set as p

Matched MeSH terms: Asia
Fulltext Development and validation of the malay premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (MAPET): a two-phase study

Arasalingam, Shamini, Chong, Yew Siong, Hatta Sidi, Ng, Chong Guan, Nik Ruzyanei Nik Jaafar, Marhani Midin, et al.

International Medical Journal Malaysia, 2018;17(1):37-46.
MyJurnal

Introduction: A validated diagnostic questionnaire is needed in the South-East Asia region, particularly in Malaysia to detect Premature Ejaculation (PE). The objective of this study was to determine the linguistic validity of the Malay Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool (MAPET). Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in a teaching hospital. The first phase involved experts’ group discussions to develop the face, content, and factorial validity of the MAPET. The second phase measured the concurrent validity of MAPET. Results: We found that the MAPET has specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 79.3%, 92%, 76.7% and 93.1%, respectively in the assessment of PE. The higher score indicates severity of PE. Conclusions: MAPET is a valid self-report instrument for the assessment of PE.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
Fulltext The emergence of Miocene reefs in South China Sea and its resilient adaptability under varying eustatic, climatic and oceanographic conditions

Mathew M, Makhankova A, Menier D, Sautter B, Betzler C, Pierson B

Sci Rep, 2020 04 28;10(1):7141.
PMID: 32346046 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64119-9

During the Miocene, extensive carbonate deposition thrived over wide latitudinal ranges in Southeast Asia despite perturbations of the global climate and thermohaline circulation that affected the Asian continent. Nevertheless, the mechanisms of its emergence, adaptability in siliciclastic-dominated margins and demise, especially in southern South China Sea (SCS), are largely speculative and remains enigmatic along with a scarcity of constraints on paleoclimatic and palaeoceanographic conditions. Here we show, through newly acquired high-resolution geophysical data and accurate stratigraphic records based on strontium isotopic dating, the evolution of these platforms from ~15.5-9.5 Ma is initially tied to tectonics and eustasy, and ultimately, after ~9.5 Ma, to changes in the global climate patterns and consequent palaeoceanographic conditions. Our results demonstrate at least two paleodeltas that provided favourable substratum of elevated sand bars, which conditioning the emergence of the buildups that inadvertently mirrored the underlying strata. We show unprecedented evidences for ocean current fluctuations linked to the intensification of the Asian summer monsoon winds resulting in the formation of drifts and moats, which extirpated the platforms through sediment removal and starvation. This work highlights the imperative role of palaeoceanography in creating favourable niches for reefal development that can be applicable to carbonate platforms elsewhere.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
Fulltext Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria as an Emerging Tool to Manage Bacterial Rice Pathogens

Ngalimat MS, Mohd Hata E, Zulperi D, Ismail SI, Ismail MR, Mohd Zainudin NAI, et al.

Microorganisms, 2021 Mar 26;9(4).
PMID: 33810209 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9040682

As a major food crop, rice (Oryza sativa) is produced and consumed by nearly 90% of the population in Asia with less than 9% produced outside Asia. Hence, reports on large scale grain losses were alarming and resulted in a heightened awareness on the importance of rice plants' health and increased interest against phytopathogens in rice. To serve this interest, this review will provide a summary on bacterial rice pathogens, which can potentially be controlled by plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB). Additionally, this review highlights PGPB-mediated functional traits, including biocontrol of bacterial rice pathogens and enhancement of rice plant's growth. Currently, a plethora of recent studies address the use of PGPB to combat bacterial rice pathogens in an attempt to replace existing methods of chemical fertilizers and pesticides that often lead to environmental pollutions. As a tool to combat bacterial rice pathogens, PGPB presented itself as a promising alternative in improving rice plants' health and simultaneously controlling bacterial rice pathogens in vitro and in the field/greenhouse studies. PGPB, such as Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Enterobacter, Streptomyces, are now very well-known. Applications of PGPB as bioformulations are found to be effective in improving rice productivity and provide an eco-friendly alternative to agroecosystems.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia
Fulltext A Current Update on the Distribution, Morphological Features, and Genetic Identity of the Southeast Asian Mahseers, Tor Species

Jaafar F, Na-Nakorn U, Srisapoome P, Amornsakun T, Duong TY, Gonzales-Plasus MM, et al.

Biology (Basel), 2021 Apr 01;10(4).
PMID: 33915909 DOI: 10.3390/biology10040286

The king of rivers or mahseer comprises three genera: Tor, Neolissochilus, and Naziritor, under the Cyprinidae family. The Tor genus has been classified as the true mahseer due to the presence of a median lobe among the three genera. The Tor species are widely distributed across Southeast (SE) Asia, and 13 Tor species have been reported previously: Tor ater, Tor dongnaiensis, Tor douronensis, Tor laterivittatus, Tor mosal, Tor mekongensis, Tor putitora, Tor sinensis, Tor soro, Tor tambra, Tor tambroides, Tor tor and Tor yingjiangensis. However, the exact number of valid Tor species remains debatable. Different and unstandardized approaches of applying genetic markers in taxonomic identification and morphology variation within the same species have further widened the gap and ameliorated the instability of Tor species taxonomy. Therefore, synchronized and strategized research among Tor species researchers is urgently required to improve and fill the knowledge gap. This review is a current update of SE Asia's Tor species, outlining their distribution, morphology, and genetic identification. In addition, the present review proposes that there are ten valid Tor species in the SE Asian region. This list will serve as a template and standard to improve the taxonomy of the SE Asian Tor species, which could serve as a basis to open new directions in Tor research.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia; Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Fulltext Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus: a menace to the end game of polio eradication

Ming LC, Hussain Z, Yeoh SF, Koh D, Lee KS

Global Health, 2020 07 16;16(1):63.
PMID: 32677974 DOI: 10.1186/s12992-020-00594-z

The World Health Organisation Western Pacific Region countries were declared free of polio in 2000 until a polio outbreak involving 305 cases occurred in Indonesia in 2006. It was not until 2014 that the World Health Organisation South East Asia region was officially declared polio-free again. However, in February 2019, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative announced a new circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus outbreak in the Papua province of Indonesia. To make matter worse, the outbreak responses were tardy and led to transmission among migrating communities to other cities. The pressing regional issues of polio outbreak caused by circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus and use of oral polio vaccine have not been well presented. Our letter highlighted the suboptimal outbreak responses as well as the necessity of cross-border vaccination to curb continued poliovirus transmission.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
Isotope constraints of the strong influence of biomass burning to climate-forcing Black Carbon aerosols over Southeast Asia

Liu J, Andersson A, Zhong G, Geng X, Ding P, Zhu S, et al.

Sci Total Environ, 2020 Jul 03;744:140359.
PMID: 32688001 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140359

Black Carbon (BC) deteriorates air quality and contributes to climate warming, yet its regionally- and seasonally-varying emission sources are poorly constrained. Here we employ natural abundance radiocarbon (14C) measurements of BC intercepted at a northern Malaysia regional receptor site, Bachok, to quantify the relative biomass vs. fossil source contributions of atmospheric BC, in a first year-round study for SE Asia (December 2015-December 2016). The annual average 14C signature suggests as large contributions from biomass burning as from fossil fuel combustion. This is similar to findings from analogous measurements at S Asian receptors sites (~50% biomass burning), while E Asia sites are dominated by fossil emission (~20% biomass burning). The 14C-based source fingerprinting of BC in the dry spring season in SE Asia signals an even more elevated biomass burning contribution (~70% or even higher), presumably from forest, shrub and agricultural fires. This is consistent with this period showing also elevated ratio of organic carbon to BC (up from ~5 to 30) and estimates of BC emissions from satellite fire data. Hence, the present study emphasizes the importance of mitigating dry season vegetation fires in SE Asia.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia
Fulltext Melioidosis: Cases Notified to Kota Kinabalu District Health Office Year 2017

Rosfina Ghazali

Borneo Journal of Medical Sciences, 2018;12(101):29-0.
MyJurnal

Melioidosis is a tropical infectious disease cause by gram-negative bacterium, Burkholderia pseudomallei. It is predominantly in tropical climate especially Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. This disease is associated with significant mortality due to early onset of sepsis.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
Fulltext Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity among Schoolchildren in Kota Kinabalu District: An Overview

Haslezah Saelih

Borneo Journal of Medical Sciences, 2018;12(101):45-46.
MyJurnal

Childhood obesity poses global public health threat and has risen to an alarming level throughout the world. Environmental factors, lifestyle preferences and culture play important roles in the rising prevalence of obesity worldwide. Overweight children are more likely to be overweight or obese in their adulthood and therefore are at greater risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic ailments. Children occasionally become overweight on account of medical or genetic conditions. The main cause relates to poor dietary habits, inactivity or a combination of these factors. These situations also pose an emerging public health issue in Asia.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia
Nipah virus: an emergent paramyxovirus causing severe encephalitis in humans

Bellini WJ, Harcourt BH, Bowden N, Rota PA

J Neurovirol, 2005 Oct;11(5):481-7.
PMID: 16287690

Nipah virus is a recently emergent paramyxovirus that is capable of causing severe disease in both humans and animals. The first outbreak of Nipah virus occurred in Malaysia and Singapore in 1999 and, more recently, outbreaks were detected in Bangladesh. In humans, Nipah virus causes febrile encephalitis with respiratory syndrome that has a high mortality rate. The reservoir for Nipah virus is believed to be fruit bats, and humans are infected by contact with infected bats or by contact with an intermediate animal host such as pigs. Person to person spread of the virus has also been described. Nipah virus retains many of the genetic and biologic properties found in other paramyxoviruses, though it also has several unique characteristics. However, the virologic characteristics that allow the virus to cause severe disease over a broad host range, and the epidemiologic, environmental and virologic features that favor transmission to humans are unknown. This review summarizes what is known about the virology, epidemiology, pathology, diagnosis and control of this novel pathogen.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern/epidemiology; Asia, Western/epidemiology
Fulltext Southeast Asian health system challenges and responses to the 'Andaman Sea refugee crisis': A qualitative study of health-sector perspectives from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand

Legido-Quigley H, Leh Hoon Chuah F, Howard N

PLoS Med, 2020 11;17(11):e1003143.
PMID: 33170834 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003143

BACKGROUND: Southeast Asian countries host signficant numbers of forcibly displaced people. This study was conducted to examine how health systems in Southeast Asia have responded to the health system challenges of forced migration and refugee-related health including the health needs of populations affected by forced displacement; the health systems-level barriers and facilitators in addressing these needs; and the implications of existing health policies relating to forcibly displaced and refugee populations. This study aims to fill in the gap in knowledge by analysing how health systems are organised in Southeast Asia to address the health needs of forcibly displaced people.
METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted 30 semistructured interviews with health policy-makers, health service providers, and other experts working in the United Nations (n = 6), ministries and public health (n = 5), international (n = 9) and national civil society (n = 7), and academia (n = 3) based in Indonesia (n = 6), Malaysia (n = 10), Myanmar (n = 6), and Thailand (n = 8). Data were analysed thematically using deductive and inductive coding. Interviewees described the cumulative nature of health risks at each migratory phase. Perceived barriers to addressing migrants' cumulative health needs were primarily financial, juridico-political, and sociocultural, whereas key facilitators were many health workers' humanitarian stance and positive national commitment to pursuing universal health coverage (UHC). Across all countries, financial constraints were identified as the main challenges in addressing the comprehensive health needs of refugees and asylum seekers. Participants recommended regional and multisectoral approaches led by national governments, recognising refugee and asylum-seeker contributions, and promoting inclusion and livelihoods. Main study limitations included that we were not able to include migrant voices or those professionals not already interested in migrants.
CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is one of the first qualitative studies to investigate the health concerns and barriers to access among migrants experiencing forced displacement, particularly refugees and asylum seekers, in Southeast Asia. Findings provide practical new insights with implications for informing policy and practice. Overall, sociopolitical inclusion of forcibly displaced populations remains difficult in these four countries despite their significant contributions to host-country economies.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia, Southeastern
Fulltext DEVELOPMENT OF ENTRY LOCATION ASSESSMENT CRITERIA (ELAC) MODEL FOR MALAYSIAN CONSTRUCTION FIRMS IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

Norizzati Ibrahim, Atiqah Najwa, Che Maznah Mat Isa, Nur Kamaliah Mustaffa, Christopher Nigel Preece

Journal of Academia Universiti Teknologi MARA Negeri Sembilan, 2021;9(1):21-38.
MyJurnal

Malaysian construction firms have increasingly gained investment opportunities in foreign countries pushed by the competitive and saturated domestic market. However, the entry location decision involves complex factors to be considered by these firms prior to their international operations. Currently, based on a secondary data obtained from the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia, there are twelve (12) firms that are actively operating in international markets. The main objective of this preliminary study is to develop an entry location assessment criteria (ELAC) model based on the performance of Malaysian construction firms in international markets. The ELAC formula was derived through a development of taxonomy criteria from previous studies. The construction firms’ performance was analyzed and ranked using a weightage score characterized under three (3) dimensions of country with the taxonomy criteria. First dimension involves entry location decision to countries in ASEAN, Non-ASEAN and both regions, while the second dimension involves entry location decision to ASEAN, Asia, Africa, United States of America and Europe while the third dimension involves entry location decision to countries categorized as Developing Countries (DLC); Least Developed Country (LDC); Newly Industrialized Countries (NIC); Developed Countries (DC); and Highly Developed Countries (HDC). The ELAC score shows that three (3) construction firms which are, Sapura Energy Berhad (66%), Gamuda Berhad (53%) and Sime Darby Berhad (50%) have sustained international operations in various locations by obtaining an ELAC score of more than 50% by venturing to ASEAN countries, developing countries and developed countries. Even though his study is limited to Malaysian construction firms, it provides significant information and contributes to the current knowledge in international market expansion. This ELAC model is useful especially for construction firms that are just beginning to explore foreign business opportunities or for the global players that are expanding geographically to new international markets.

Matched MeSH terms: Asia

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