METHOD: A randomized controlled trial was conducted recruiting patients from Hospital Melaka, Malaysia. Postoperative TKA patients with good hearing and visual acuity, fully conscious and prescribed with patients controlled analgesia (PCA) were randomized to either intervention or control groups using a sealed envelope. Patients in the intervention group received usual care with additional music therapy during recovery, while patients in the control group received the usual care provided by the hospital. Two factors identified affecting mental well-being were the pain (measured using numerical rating scale) and anxiety (measured using a visual analog scale) at five different minutes' points (0, 10, 20, 30, and 60).
RESULTS: A total of 56 (control: 28, intervention: 28) postoperative TKA patients consented in the study. There was no difference in baseline characteristics between the two groups (p>0.05). Using Mann-Whitney U tests, patients in music therapy group showed significantly lower numerical pain score at 60min (p=0.045) whereas there was no significant difference between the two groups at all time points for anxiety scores (p>0.05). In the intervention group, Friedman tests showed that there was a significant difference in numerical pain (χ2=36.957, df=4, p<0.001) and anxiety score across times (χ2=18.545, p=0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: This study found that pain score decreases over time among patients in the music therapy group while no effect is seen for anxiety. It is suggested that music therapy could not affect postoperative TKA patients' mental well-being. Nonetheless, patients reported better pain score despite the small sample.
METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted with convenience sampling employed across five different departments. The departments were a department of medical, surgical, orthopedics, emergency and rehabilitation. The samples were selected according to a minimum of two years of clinical experience without any history of low back surgery. An instrument consists of socio-demographic background, knowledge on body mechanics and Owestry Low Back Pain Disability Index Questionnaire was used in this study.
RESULTS: A total of 139 HCPs were recruited including medical officers, staff nurses, community health nurses, assistant medical officers, physiotherapists, and assistant nurses. A self-administered questionnaire pertaining to knowledge revealed that 73.4% of HCPs had inadequate knowledge of musculoskeletal body mechanics. Among all, 90.6% (minimal: 9.4%, moderate: 43.2%, severe: 42.4%, crippled: 5.0%) of HCPs showed moderate to crippled disability using Oswestry Disability Index classifications indicating the poor practice of body mechanics while working.
CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicate that a lack of knowledge among healthcare professionals lead to the inadequate practice of preserving musculoskeletal health while carrying out duty in caring patients. It is suggested that enforcing and emphasizing health education for healthcare professionals is urgently needed towards reducing the risk of the musculoskeletal problem among healthcare professionals.
METHOD: A cross-sectional study using multistage sampling was conducted among 375 secondary school students in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. The survey was adapted from a Hong Kong Red Cross survey. A back to back translation of this instrument was carried out by two bilingual medical experts with Cronbach's alpha 0.8. The data were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) in terms of descriptive analysis, and an independent t-test and chi-square test were carried out.
RESULTS: There were 149 respondents from the lower form (grade level) and 226 respondents from the upper form. The majority of respondents (81.6%) were Malay. An independent t-test revealed a significant association between knowledge and attitude, as students who scored higher on first aid questions showed a more positive attitude towards first aid (1.475%). There were also significant associations between race and experience learning first aid.
CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents receive minimal first aid education. Thus, there is an urgent need to educate adolescents more in first aid to promote a safer community and to prevent any further injuries.
METHOD: This study used an analytic descriptive design with a cross-sectional approach with a population of 115 and the sample used was 85 people. Data were collected by distributing questionnaires. Questionnaires were used assess about nurses' knowledge, nurses' attitudes, and nurses' behavior in providing spiritual nursing care.
RESULTS: The results of bivariate analysis found a relationship between knowledge and behavior of nurses in the provision of spiritual nursing care with p value 0.010 (α=0.05). But there is no relationship between attitudes with nurses' behavior in providing spiritual nursing care with p value 1.000 (α=0.05).
CONCLUSION: Nurses' knowledge of nursing care can influence nurses' behavior in providing spiritual nursing care to patients.