The study reported served 2 purposes: 1) to assess the amount of sexual information posessed by a sample of staff nurses working for the National Family Planning Board and the Public Health Dept., and 2) to gather local normative data on the Information Subtest of the Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory (DSFI). The subjects for the this study were 2 groups of staff nurses. 10 were employees of the National Family Planning Board currently working in 1 of its clinics and 25 were public health nurses who were at a 1 week training at the clinic. The research was a questionnaire type study. Each subject was given the DSFI. On the Information Subtest of the DSFI the subjects obtained a mean score of 12.7 with a standard deviation of 4.2. This score is much lower than the normative mean (American population) and the sexually dysfunctional women mean. The nurses had inadequate and inaccurate knowledge about anatomy, physiology and psychology of sexual relations. Error analysis revealed that as a group they had poor understanding about male sexuality, the effect of aging on sexuality fertility and menopause, and difficulty in accepting oral-genital sex and sexual fantasies. This study recommends that these nurses, in order to more effective in their work, should be trained in the area of human sexuality. This training must include not only the physiology of sex but also the human aspects of sexual union.
Underlying causes of most nutrition related problems are diverse, including biological, social, cultural, and economic factors. Qualitative approaches complement quantitative methods in identifying the underlying meanings and patterns of relationships involved in managing malnutrition. This study examined perceptions regarding malnutrition among health workers from 7 clinics (community and health clinics) in Tumpat, Kelantan. A total of 18 nurses and 2 doctors, who were involved in monitoring child health and nutrition, were included in the study. These health workers were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire adapted from Sastry's framework on malnutrition (Sastry, 1996). The questionnaire included biological, behavioral and environmental factors that influence child health and nutrition. All the health workers perceived that mothers/caregivers play the main role in improving the health of malnourished children. The quality of childcare was rated as moderately satisfactory by the health workers. Most of the affected families who were given the Food Baskets did not fully use all the items for the malnourished child. Child feeding practice was based on the needs of the whole family rather than according to the target child's needs. Most of the mothers preferred processed cereals than rice porridge because the former is easier to prepare for the child. Although they were from a low socioeconomic background, most of the mothers were not earning additional income for the family. The qualitative methodology provided information that can be used as a basis for the designing of quantitative questionnaires to assess malnutrition among children. The induction characteristic of qualitative methods was used to gain an understanding of the underlying reasons or phenomena such as behaviours that are directly observable.
Study site: Klinik kesihatan, Tumpat, Kelantan, Malaysia
Risks of transfusion increase with the increase in the number and volume of transfusions occurring in hospitals year after year. Knowledge and practice of the nurses on proper transfusion techniques and risk reduction procedures should always be updated to ensure that transfusions are safely carried out. The study was done to determine the levels of knowledge and practice of trained nurses regarding blood transfusion in a general hospital. The study is a cross-sectional survey using a questionnaire, distributed to all staff nurses in the medical-based wards and intensive care unit (ICU) in the hospital. The total score were added for each category of knowledge and practice. Ninety one percent of the total population of staff nurses in medical based wards anti ICU were recruited into the study. A score of 80% or more in the knowledge and score of IOO% is required for practice to consider it as a pass, The outcome of the study showed that no one respondent in the study has achieved the required level, with regard to neither knowledge nor practice. The mean knowledge score was 54.8 with SD. of 9,9; while the mean practice score was 63 .8 with S.D. of 1.4. It was found that there was no rehtionship between knowledge score, nor practice score with the clinical postings (place of work) , work experience, and nursing qualification. This survey had indicated probkms faced by the nursing population in the hospital studied that there was a need to improve knowledge and practice levels with regards to blood transfusion procedure. It is crucial that updated information concerning transfusions be communicated to these nurses since they were the ones who carry out the procedures whilst continuously observing the patients during transfusion.
Recent years have witnessed unprecedented changes in the design and demands of work, and the emergence of job stress as a major concern. The aim of the study was to determine the psychosocial problems in relation to nature of work among female nurses at Hospital Selayang. The study was a cross-sectional study and the study population comprised of female nurses who are currently working at Hospital Selayang. A total of 393 study subjects were randomly selected and each respondent has been given a set of complete validated self-administrated Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire. The result showed that the prevalence of having psychosocial problems was 24.9%. It is show that married nurses with more than three children has 3.54 (95%CI: 1.81-6.94) higher risks to have the problems compared to those with 3 or less children. Shiftwork nurses have 1.74 (95%CI: 1.01-2.99) more risk to have psychosocial problems compared to those who are not doing shiftwork. From the crude odds ratio, nurses who have served the service for more than seven years, there was 1.53 times more risk (95%CI: 0.89-2.63) to have psychosocial problems compared to those who only have service of seven years or less. From multivariate analysis, the risk of having psychosocial problems among nurses who are doing shiftwork found to be two times greater than those who are not doing shiftwork (OR=2.15; 95%CI: 1.12- 4.11) . Psychosocial problems in relation to nature of work among nurses at Hospital Selayang are higher among nurses who are doing shdtwork. The hospital management needs to overcome the problems and organizing the mental health programs among workers.
The rapid development in the health sector has spurred many healthcare organizations to improve their productivity and quality, particularly in terms of service. Clinical Pathways was introduced with the objective of improving the quality of care and services in health; while at the same time eyeing the possibility of reducing the medical expenses. It can be defined as a document based tool that links the best available evidence and clinical practice and provides recommendations, the process and time frame for the clinical management of healthcare. A cross sectional study was carried out at University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) Malaysia with the aim to evaluate the level of knowledge about Clinical Pathways (CP) and to ascertain its level of practice in the implementation of CP among healthcare workers at UKMMC; and to establish correlated determinant factors. The study involved a total of 127 respondents; majority of whom were female (77.2%), aged between 32 and 45 years (51.2%), working as nurses (71.7%), and having working experience of six years or longer (52.0%) at UKMMC. The findings reveal that 52.8% of respondents agreed that there is a proper implementation of the Clinical Pathways (CP) programme at UKMMC; and that 52.0% of the respondents have a higher level of knowledge about CP and 70.1% of them practiced it well. The findings also unravel two factors (position and working experience) as the predictors of respondents’ level of knowledge about CP, and position as a predictor representing the practice of it at UKMMC. It can be safely surmised that most of the respondents have a higher level of knowledge about Clinical Pathways and that they practice it well in their daily task as healthcare workers.
Breast self-examination (BSE) is recommended globally as one of the methods in early detection of breast cancer. Little is known about nurses screening behavior related to BSE. A cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the knowledge, attitude and practice of Breast Self Examination (BSE) among nurses. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to a total of 114 nurses working in Obstetrics & Gynaecology wards and clinics of two tertiary hospitals. Among the 114 participants, 111(97.4%) practiced BSE. The mean age of the participants was 34.97(±9.104) years. The mean score of knowledge was 11.07(±1.020) and 81.1% had high knowledge of BSE. Majority (98.2%) of respondents showed good attitude towards BSE. Barriers was found to be a significant predictor and self confidence proved to be an influencing factor on BSE performance. Despite practicing BSE, the number of nurses that examined their breast monthly was only 35.1%. Age, working experience and marital status showed no significant relationship with knowledge and practice of BSE. However, BSE taught during their undergraduate programme was found to have a significant relationship with practice of BSE. Majority of nurses in this study were not complying with MOH recommendation for BSE in terms of frequency. Thus, intervention strategies should focus on educating nurses on performing BSE monthly, in accordance with the Ministry of Health guidelines. This is important as nurses play a primary role in promoting health behaviors in BSE practice and breast cancer awareness among women in this country.
Occupational stress exists in all professions, but the nursing profession appears to experience more stress at work compared to other health care workers. Stressful conditions at the workplace may cause the high turnover and burnout among nurses. This study objective was to determine the level of stress and its associated factors among in-patient ward nurses. A cross sectional study using the stratified random sampling method was carried out among 114 staff nurses from 5 different departments in a public hospital in Kuala Lumpur. Respondents were requested to complete a single set of validated and self-administered questionnaire, the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS) . Data was analysed using SPSS 17. In general, the prevalence of stress at the department of Medicine was found to be higher compared to other departments studied. There was also a statistical significant relationship between the prevalence of stress and types of department (p 0.05). In conclusion, stress had no significant association with sociodemographic factors (age, marital status and financial status) and working environment except for type of department nurses work in. There might be some other possible confounders that have a bigger potential in becoming stressors compared to those independent variables in this study.
A cross-sectional study was conducted in two hospitals in Hargeisa city to determine the job and organizational stress among nurses and doctors in ICU and its influencing factors. A universal sampling method was carried out and one hundred and twenty questionnaires were distributed among nurses and doctors working in intensive care units of two hospitals on different shift duties; morning, afternoon, night and rotation shifts. The response rate was 83.3%. Regression analysis showed that approximately 88% (adjusted R square = 0.889) of the variation in stress mean score was explained by the background variables. Experience, role overload, physical environment and marital status were significant predictors.
Objectives: Occupational stress among healthcare workers is an important concern due to its crucial contribution in attaining maximum job output and optimal quality of working life. Our study aims to compare job stress levels of healthcare employees based on 1) sector, 2) category and 3) specialisation. Methods: Stress severity and frequency were evaluated using the 9-point scale Job Stress Survey (Job Stress, Job Pressure, Lack of Support). A crosssectional sample of 223 healthcare providers were enrolled from seven health institutions in Peninsular Malaysia (East Coast = 55%; mean age = 30 years; female = 78.9%; < 2 years experience = 35.9%; government-based = 48%; supportive = 62.8%). Results: No significant difference was found between government and private sector workers. Supportive staff reported significantly higher stress frequency in contrast to professionals who demonstrated significantly higher stress severity in all dimensions (p < .05). Within the supportive group, radiographers were the most stressed, followed by nurses and medical laboratory technologists (p > .05). Research-based professionals experienced significantly worse stress frequency in all components compared to professional practitioners (p < .05). Conclusion: Because stress levels are affected by job category and specialisation, flexible strategies to ensure employees’ job productivity, contentment and personal well-being should be implemented.
Introduction: Peripheral Intravenous Cannula (PIVC) placement can cause undesirable effects, such as phlebitis. Poor PIVC care can irritate tunica intima layers of the superficial vein. The incidence of phlebitis had become a national nursing indicator, with a standard of less than 0.9%. The standard care of the patient with intravenous in- cludes a routine PIVC assessment. However, what the assessment should be based on remained unclear. The objec- tive of this study is to assess nurses’ skill in performing PIVC assessment. Methods: This is a descriptive study using an audit-based approach. It is conducted in a pediatric hospital. Nine pediatric wards were identified via stratified sampling methods. A total of 86 registered nurses consented to participate in this study. A validated research instru- ments (α = 0.83), PIVC Assessment Skill (PIVC-AS) checklist is used to audit nurses in performing PIVC assessment. PIVC-AS consists of nine audit criteria (AC), AC1: communication skill, AC2 until AC7: PIVC assessment skill, AC8: documentation skill and AC9: PIVC management. Results: Nurses communication skills to patient as in AC1 shows compliance rate of seventy six percent. The compliance rate can be explained that this study was done in the pedi- atric setting. Participants may skip this communication due to handling with a pediatric patient. More than eighty eight percent nurses comply with AC2 to AC6 which indicated their excellent skill in performing PIVC assessment every shift. However, in the AC7, only sixty seven percent comply to palpate PIVC area for any evidence of venous cord and warmth. Conclusion: This study concludes that communication between nurses and pediatric patients prior to PIVC assessment often missed out by nurses. The palpation techniques also not been carried out as compared to observation technique in pediatrics setting. Palpation technique is crucial to detect ‘warmth to touch’ because it differentiates between the early and medium stage of phlebitis.
Introduction: Promotion of internationalization of higher education is a strategic marketing in public and private Ma- laysia universities.University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) hosted the international nursing mobility programme involving 15 nursing students from Hunan and Yangtze University of China. Students from China obtained hands-on learn- ing experience and exposed to indigenous health practices in Sabah. After 12 weeks of the programme, although casual face-value audit of the mobility program was deemed adequate, there was a need to objectively gauge the Chinese student’s satisfaction and identify issue of contention that can be remedied. This study is to evaluate Chi- nese international nursing students’ satisfaction during their mobility posting tenure in UMS and identify issues of discontentment for improvement. Methods: the study entailed a cross sectional survey involving a convenient sam- ple of all 15 nursing students from China who had completed the 12-week UMS-nursing mobility programme. The study tool consisted of a 25-item questionnaire which used Likert-like statements to anchor level of satisfaction on 5 sub-domains itemsnamely; arrival orientation; logistic arrangements; learning opportunities; cultural experience and perceived worth-for-money. Results: Cumulative ratings counts from 15 Chinese international students who had participated in the UMS-nursing mobility program in this study rated the following sub-domains as satisfactory and highly satisfactory: (i) learning experience (88%), (ii) Sabah’s cultural experience (90%), (iii) worth for money (88
%). Sub-domains rated as dissatisfactory or strongly dissatisfactory by the China students were: (i) adequacy of 1st - day arrival orientation (72%), (ii) quality of logistic arrangement (72%). Conclusion: Findings imply that the China students were satisfied with the overall learning experience during the UMS-nursing mobility programme. However, areas of grievances such as the conduct of the 1st - day arrival orientation and logistics management of the UMS-mo- bility program needs to be addressed.
Introduction: Smartphone has become an essential Smart-tool for IT-based learning among university students. How- ever, excessive use of smartphones can be addictive leading to psychological distress, poor academic performance, social isolation and depression. In the context of University Malaysia Sabah (UMS), the issue of contention is whether smartphone addiction is a problem among nursing undergraduate students and thus the justification for this study. This study evaluated the pattern of usage smartphone and addiction among nursing students in UMS. Methods: The study deployed a cross-sectional survey design involving 100 (N) respondents selected through clustered convenient sampling from year 1(n=35), year 2 (n=35) and year 3 (n=30) nursing students who are currently pursuing their di- ploma study in UMS. Ethical approval was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of UMS as well-informed consent from respondents. The study tool consisted of a well-establish validated questionnaire benchmarked from a previous study (reliability Cronbach α= 0.78) which captured respondents’ socio-demographics, smartphone us- age characteristic proforma and Smart Addiction Scale (SAS). Results: Among 100 nursing students in this study, 78% (n=78) of them had high smartphone usageaveraging 4.3 hours daily. The overall prevalence of smartphone addiction among nursing students in this study was 25% (n=25). Male student nurses significantly had higher smart- phone addiction scores compared to female students (p=0.01). Likewise, year 3 students had higher addiction scores compared to their peers in year 2 or year 1 (p=0.002). Conclusion: findings from this study imply that smartphone addiction affects 1 in 4 nursing students in UMS and there is a need to develop ‘digital detox” strategies to address the issue.
Depressive disorders are common. As compared to the general population, healthcare personnel are hypothesized to have an above than average risk to develop this condition. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of this condition and its contributing factors amongst primary healthcare personnel.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by universally sampling 179 primary healthcare personnel at nine primary healthcare centers across Kuala Lumpur and Selangor in May 2015. Depressive symptoms were screened using self-administered Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) questionnaire. Socio-demographic and work profile data were also assessed.
Results: 92.7% of the 179 personnel agreed to participate. Near half of the respondents were staff nurses (49%), followed by doctors (22%), assistant medical officers (10%), attendants (10%) and the remaining were pharmacists, dieticians, and laboratory technicians (9%). Depression was found to be present in 38% of the participants with one-third found to have moderate to severe depression. Bivariate analysis show that males (p=0.043), assistant medical officers (p=0.048), and working more than 10 hours per day (p=0.019) are significant risk factors. Further analysis by logistic regression shows that working more than 10 hours per day increases the odds of depression by 3.1 (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.1-8.7, p=0.03).
Conclusions: A high prevalence of depression was found within the healthcare personnel population at the primary healthcare centres studied. Being a male, employed as an assistant medical officer, and, prolonged hours at the workplace is a significant risk factor for depression.
Introduction: To determine association between occupational stress and personality characteristics among nurses at Maternal and Child Health Clinic in the state of Malacca, emphasizing on type of personality and personal perception of stress.
Methods : A cross sectional study was conducted among 152 nurses of Maternal and Child Health Clinics in Malacca using self administered questionnaires and selected via multistage sampling.
Results : This study showed that a total of 28.3% of the nurses were found to be stressed. Almost half (41.2%) of those who perceived that they were stressed were likely to be really stressed (p = 0.004). Therefore those who perceived themselves to be stressed should be referred for stress evaluation and further management if necessary. However selfperception of stress cannot be used as a screening tool for stress due to its lack of sensitivity (56.8%) and poor Positive Predictive Value (41.2%). Majority of the nurses were of Guardians Personality Type (98%) and 72.4% of them had extrovert trait. However there were no significant associations between stress with personality type or characteristic, most probably due to the preponderance of one personality type or characteristic. Other studied variables such as socio-demographic factors (age, gender, ethnicity, religion, marital status, educational level, body mass index, type of work place, position, duration of service and poverty level) and social factors (placement, chronic medical illness, chronic care taker, smoking status and alcohol drinker) were suggestive of an association between them and stress but were not statistically significant.
Conclusion : There is no association between occupational stress and personal characteristics among nurses in Malacca.
Introduction : Major flooding that occurred in Segamat District at the end of 2006 and early 2007 was a natural disaster that has left impact on physical and mental well-being of the victims. The aim of this study is to see the impact of the major flooding to the mental health of the health staff in Segamat District.
Methodology : Cross sectional study was conducted among Segamat health staffs who were involved in the major floods. Structured questionnaire was used to assess the mental health status of the victims. Result : There were 119 health staffs from the district health office, Hospital Segamat, dental clinic and Community Nursing School were interviewed in this study. A total of 6.7% respondents claimed to have stress related symptoms with women were more effected than men. Nurses and married respondents were found to be more stressful in this study.
Conclusion : Based on findings, therefore, top management has to pay more attention to the welfare of the health staff, directly or indirectly, in particular on the psychological aspect. By giving emphasis on continuous in-service training and counseling as well as other relevant support, stress-related symptoms could be minimized which in turn lead to higher individual productivity.
Introduction : Nursing is an occupation associated with high risk of developing back pain due to their nature of work practices. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of back pain among nurses working in government health clinics and hospitals in Port Dickson and the factors associated with it.
Methods : A cross sectional study was conducted involving 126 nurses working in government health clinics and district hospital in Port Dickson. They were universally sampled. A selfadministered questionnaire, assessing personal and socio-demographic characteristics, back pain, work factors and psychosocial factors.
Results :The prevalence of back pain among nurses was 79.4% and factors that showed significant association were workplace (p=0.026) and carried heavy load (p=0.043).
Conclusion : Where one work and nature of work one does has been shown in this study to be important issues to be considered in helping to manage back pain related to work. It is also recommended that staff need to be encouraged to do exercise to strengthen the back muscles, increase spinal flexibility and blood circulation to the spine as well as need to be reminded regarding ergonomic adjustment at work.
Introduction : AIDS stigma and incorrect HIV/AIDS information among health care workers will influence the quality of care received by persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA). A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst nurses in the Hospital University Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM) with the objective of determining their knowledge and attitudes regarding HIV/AIDS and Universal Precautions (UP).
Methods : A total of 450 female nurses were recruited in this study and data were collected via a self-administered questionnaire.
Results : A total of 393 female nurses had completed the questionnaires and majority of them were Malays (95.4%) with mean age of 28.4±3.9 years old. The mean duration of work in the hospital was 6.2±3.6 years. The study results showed a satisfactory level of good knowledge among nurses (69%) and this is statistically significant (p
This study was conducted to identify factors which influence the safety of children in day-care centres and home-based nurseries in the state of Kelantan. A total of 20 registered day care centres (DCC) and 40 home-based nurseries (IIBN) identified in 3 districts in the state were included in the study. Problems identified which could affect the safety of children cared-for in these nurseries were inadequate and unsafe facilities, inappropriate location of nurseries, lack of trained workers and their ignorance of necessary safety measures.
This research describes a comparative study using convenience sampling on management of intravenous lines in Maternity Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (MNICU), HKL. Questionnaires were answered by nurses and the techniques of anchoring, splinting and maintaining of intravenous lines by nurses in MNICU were observed by the researchers. The study showed that nurses with less than two years experience working in MNICU had significantly less knowledge and skills in the management of intravenous lines and are likely to encounter more difficulties and complications, compared to nurses with more experience.
In this paper, we address the issues of shortage and maldistribution of health personnel in southeast Asia in the context of the international trade in health services. Although there is no shortage of health workers in the region overall, when analysed separately, five low-income countries have some deficit. All countries in southeast Asia face problems of maldistribution of health workers, and rural areas are often understaffed. Despite a high capacity for medical and nursing training in both public and private facilities, there is weak coordination between production of health workers and capacity for employment. Regional experiences and policy responses to address these challenges can be used to inform future policy in the region and elsewhere. A distinctive feature of southeast Asia is its engagement in international trade in health services. Singapore and Malaysia import health workers to meet domestic demand and to provide services to international patients. Thailand attracts many foreign patients for health services. This situation has resulted in the so-called brain drain of highly specialised staff from public medical schools to the private hospitals. The Philippines and Indonesia are the main exporters of doctors and nurses in the region. Agreements about mutual recognition of professional qualifications for three groups of health workers under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Framework Agreement on Services could result in increased movement within the region in the future. To ensure that vital human resources for health are available to meet the needs of the populations that they serve, migration management and retention strategies need to be integrated into ongoing efforts to strengthen health systems in southeast Asia. There is also a need for improved dialogue between the health and trade sectors on how to balance economic opportunities associated with trade in health services with domestic health needs and equity issues.
Matched MeSH terms: Nurses/statistics & numerical data