MyMedR

COVID-19: Two Years of Public Health Turmoil

Binns C, Low WY

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2021 11;33(8):807-809.

PMID: 34763538 DOI: 10.1177/10105395211055530

Health Promotion in the Asia Pacific Region: An Ongoing Challenge

Binns C, Low WY

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2017 Oct;29(7):540-542.

PMID: 29094636 DOI: 10.1177/1010539517737875

The Role of Public Health Nutrition in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the Asia Pacific Region

Binns C, Lee MK, Low WY, Zerfas A

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2017 Oct;29(7):617-624.

PMID: 29094630 DOI: 10.1177/1010539517736441

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) replaced the Millennium Development Goals (MDCs) in 2015, which included several goals and targets primarily related to nutrition: to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health. In the Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH) member countries as a group, infant and child mortality were reduced by more than 65% between 1990 and 2015, achieving the MDG target of two-thirds reduction, although these goals were not achieved by several smaller countries. The SDGs are broader in focus than the MDGs, but include several goals that relate directly to nutrition: 2 (zero hunger-food), 3 (good health and well-being-healthy life), and 12 (responsible consumption and production-sustainability). Other SDGs that are closely related to nutrition are 4 and 5 (quality education and equality in gender-education and health for girls and mothers, which is very important for infant health) and 13 (climate action). Goal 3 is "good health and well-being," which includes targets for child mortality, maternal mortality, and reducing chronic disease. The Global Burden of Disease Project has confirmed that the majority of risk for these targets can be attributed to nutrition-related targets. Dietary Guidelines were developed to address public health nutrition risk in the Asia Pacific region at the 48th APACPH 2016 conference and they are relevant to the achievement of the SDGs. Iron deficiency increases the risk of maternal death from haemorrhage, a cause of 300000 deaths world-wide each year. Improving diets and iron supplementation are important public health interventions in the APACPH region. Chronic disease and obesity rates in the APACPH region are now a major challenge and healthy life course nutrition is a major public health priority in answering this challenge. This article discusses the role of public health nutrition in achieving the SDGs. It also examines the role of APACPH in education and advocacy and in fulfilling the educational needs of public health students in public health nutrition.

Can Hospitals Contribute to the Public's Health?

Binns C, Low WY

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2017 Sep;29(6):472-474.

PMID: 29019256 DOI: 10.1177/1010539517734437

Nobel Prizes, Nudge Theory, and Public Health

Binns C, Low WY

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2017 Nov;29(8):632-634.

PMID: 29145732 DOI: 10.1177/1010539517743630

Barking Our Way Into the Year of the Dog: Public Health Benefits and Challenges

Binns C, Low WY

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2018 01;30(1):4-6.

PMID: 29338290 DOI: 10.1177/1010539517753476

Fulltext The Year of the Rabbit and the COVID Pandemic

Binns C, Low WY, Shunnmugam B

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2023 Jan;35(1):5-6.

PMID: 36694949 DOI: 10.1177/10105395221150836

Dengue: The Public Health Threat That Never Goes Away

Binns C, Low WY

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2023 Nov;35(8):469-470.

PMID: 37881896 DOI: 10.1177/10105395231210362

Fulltext Alcohol: K-Dramas, COVID-19, and Long-Term Effects

Binns C, Low WY

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2023 May;35(4):241-243.

PMID: 37202919 DOI: 10.1177/10105395231174135

Infant Feeding Guidelines for the Asia Pacific Region

Binns C, Lee MK, Kagawa M, Low WY, Scott J, Lee A, et al.

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2018 Nov 23.

PMID: 30466298 DOI: 10.1177/1010539518809823

Good nutrition for infants, during the first 1000 days from conception, is one of the most important determinants of a healthy long life. Breastfeeding is the most important component of infant nutrition and reduces morbidity and mortality. With the changes to the climate currently occurring, issues of nutrition and food supply are only going to increase in importance. The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, place nutrition at the forefront of world development and a sustainable planet. The vision of Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH) is to "achieve the highest possible level of health of all the people of the nations of the Asia-Pacific region." Much of the burden of disease, early deaths, and disability in the Asia Pacific region could be reduced with public health efforts to address the major risk factors, including nutrition-related causes and smoking. The United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016-2025 has recently been launched with the aim of reducing the global burden of inappropriate nutrition. The goals include increasing rates of exclusive breastfeeding to 6 months, reducing wasting and stunting, and reducing the rates of low birthweight. This is the position endorsed in these guidelines along with the principles of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative. These guidelines expand the information on infants that was included in the 2016 APACPH Dietary Guidelines. APACPH covers many different environments, geographical areas, cultures, and socioeconomic groups. These guidelines are generally applicable to all infants in our region, specific local advice may sometimes be needed.

mRNA Vaccines, Public Health, and the Nobel Prize

Binns C, Low WY

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2024 Jan;36(1):5-7.

PMID: 38160242 DOI: 10.1177/10105395231223284

Fulltext The COVID-19 Pandemic: Public Health and Epidemiology

Binns C, Low WY, Kyung LM

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2020 May;32(4):140-144.

PMID: 32429675 DOI: 10.1177/1010539520929223

Dragons, Condoms, and World Health Organization Anniversaries

Binns C, Low WY, Shunnmugam B

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2024 Mar;36(2-3):169-171.

PMID: 38476015 DOI: 10.1177/10105395241238062

Cancer: An Increasing Public Health Challenge in the Asia Pacific

Binns C, Low WY

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2024 Apr 26.

PMID: 38666588 DOI: 10.1177/10105395241253049

A Simple Solution That Saves Lives: Overcoming Diarrheal Disease in the Age of Universal Health Coverage

Binns CW, Low WY

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2018 10;30(7):604-606.

PMID: 30994019 DOI: 10.1177/1010539518809444

Dietary Guidelines for the Asia Pacific Region

Binns CW, Lee MK, Kagawa M, Low WY, Liqian Q, Guldan GS, et al.

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2017 Mar;29(2):98-101.

PMID: 28325079 DOI: 10.1177/1010539517694295

Nutrition is a major determinant of health throughout all stages of life and together with smoking is the most important risk factor for morbidity and mortality in the Asia Pacific Region. The workshop participants examined Dietary Guidelines and Food Guides that are in use in our region, together with additional materials from the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the World Cancer Research Foundation. The resulting set of guidelines is meant as a reminder of the main issues to be covered in a general public health education program. It may also be of value in reminding public health practitioners, educators, administrators, and policy makers of current nutrition issues. It may additionally be useful as a checklist of the issues to be considered in public health programs and regulations. The main areas of nutrition that are included in the Guidelines are eating a variety of foods, including vegetables, fruits, whole grain cereals, and nuts. Choose fish, poultry, and meats grown in a sustainable way. Appropriate growth, including avoiding obesity, and physical activity are important. Breastfeeding is the basis of infant nutrition and nutrition of mothers is an important public health measure. Negative factors in the Asian diet include salt, refined sugar, alcohol and fats. The APACPH Dietary Guidelines will need to be kept under review and modified to meet regional differences in food supply. The Guidelines will be useful as a checklist of the issues to be considered in public health programs, addressing both acute and chronic diseases.

Fulltext Factors Affecting COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance: An International Survey among Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Bono SA, Faria de Moura Villela E, Siau CS, Chen WS, Pengpid S, Hasan MT, et al.

Vaccines (Basel), 2021 May 17;9(5).

PMID: 34067682 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9050515

Vaccination is fast becoming a key intervention against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted cross-sectional online surveys to investigate COVID-19 vaccine acceptance across nine Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs; N = 10,183), assuming vaccine effectiveness at 90% and 95%. The prevalence of vaccine acceptance increased from 76.4% (90% effectiveness) to 88.8% (95% effectiveness). Considering a 90% effective vaccine, Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and five African countries (Democratic Republic of Congo, Benin, Uganda, Malawi, and Mali) had lower acceptance odds compared to Brazil. Individuals who perceived taking the vaccine as important to protect themselves had the highest acceptance odds (aOR 2.49) at 95% effectiveness.Vaccine acceptance was also positively associated with COVID-19 knowledge, worry/fear regarding COVID-19, higher income, younger age, and testing negative for COVID-19. However, chronic disease and female gender reduced the odds for vaccine acceptance. The main reasons underpinning vaccine refusal were fear of side effects (41.2%) and lack of confidence in vaccine effectiveness (15.1%). Further research is needed to identify country-specific reasons for vaccine hesitancy in order to develop mitigation strategies that would ensure high and equitable vaccination coverage across LMICs.

Eating Disorder Among Malaysian University Students and Its Associated Factors

Chan YL, Samy AL, Tong WT, Islam MA, Low WY

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2020 08 13;32(6-7):334-339.

PMID: 32787612 DOI: 10.1177/1010539520947879

Eating disorder is highly prevalent among university students worldwide. However, in Malaysia, studies on eating disorder is scanty and were mostly conducted among medical students. A stratified cluster sampling was used to recruit participants in a university based in Kuala Lumpur. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 1017/1132 students (response rate: 89.8%). The questionnaires administered was a combination of the Eating Attitude Test-26 and items related to perceived body weight, body mass index, trying to weight loss, tobacco use, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression. Descriptive analyses were performed to provide background information of at-risk students by gender. Multiple logistic regressions were used to identify associated factors of eating disorder. The results showed that 13.9% of the university students were at risk of eating disorder. Students who were trying to lose weight and had posttraumatic stress disorder predicted eating disorder. Hence, eating disorder among university students merits attention and requires implementations of public health policies.

Fulltext Non-communicable Disease Surveillance in Malaysia: An Overview of Existing Systems and Priorities Going Forward

Chandran A, Selva Kumar S, Hairi NN, Low WY, Mustapha FI

Front Public Health, 2021;9:698741.

PMID: 34295873 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.698741

In 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) set a comprehensive set of nine global voluntary targets, including the landmark "25 by 25" mortality reduction target, and 25 indicators. WHO has also highlighted the importance of Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) surveillance as a key action by Member States in addressing NCDs. This study aimed to examine the current national NCD surveillance tools, activities and performance in Malaysia based on the WHO Global Monitoring Framework for NCDs and to highlight gaps and priorities moving forward. A desk review was conducted from August to October in 2020, to examine the current national NCD surveillance activities in Malaysia from multiple sources. Policy and program documents relating to NCD surveillance in Malaysia from 2010 to 2020 were identified and analyzed. The findings of this review are presented according to the three major themes of the Global Monitoring Framework: monitoring of exposure/risk factor, monitoring of outcomes and health system capacity/response. Currently, there is a robust monitoring system for NCD Surveillance in Malaysia for indicators that are monitored by the WHO NCD Global Monitoring Framework, particularly for outcome and exposure monitoring. However, Malaysia still lacks data for the surveillance of the health system indicators of the framework. Although Malaysia has an NCD surveillance in place that is adequate for the WHO NCD Global Monitoring Framework, there are areas that require strengthening. The country must also look beyond these set of indicators in view of the increasing burden and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes incorporating mental health indicators and leveraging on alternate sources of data relating to behaviors.

Managing sexual dysfunction for women with breast cancer: the perspective of healthcare providers in North East Malaysia

Chanmekun SB, Zulkifli MM, Muhamad R, Mohd Zain N, Low WY, Liamputtong P

Support Care Cancer, 2022 Jan;30(1):401-411.

PMID: 34297219 DOI: 10.1007/s00520-021-06417-0

PURPOSE: Management of female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is vital for women with breast cancer due to the devastating consequences, which include marital disharmony and reduced quality of life. We explore healthcare providers' (HCPs) perceptions and experiences in managing FSD for women living with breast cancer using a phenomenological approach.

METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted using a face-to-face interview method with HCPs from two tertiary hospitals in North East Malaysia. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and transferred to NVivo ® for data management. The transcriptions were analyzed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS: Three key barriers were identified through the thematic analysis: a scarcity of related knowledge; the influence of socio-cultural ideas about sex; and the specialty-centric nature of the healthcare system. Most HCPs interviewed had a very narrow understanding of sexuality, were unfamiliar with the meaning of FSD, and felt their training on sexual health issues to be very limited. They viewed talking about sex to be embarrassing to both parties that are both to HCPs and patients and was therefore not a priority. They focused more on their specialty hence limited the time to discuss sexual health and FSD with their patients.

CONCLUSION: Therefore, interventions to empower the knowledge, break the socio-cultural barriers, and improve the clinic settings are crucial for HCPs in managing FSD confidently.

Displaying publications 61 - 80 of 239 in total