Material and methods: Module tests (discipline-based assessments) comprising of discipline specific questions are conducted at the end of every term, mimicking the traditional discipline-specific assessment. Questions in the module tests are intended to assess the depth of knowledge of students. Mid semester examinations are conducted at the end of the semester, mimicking the integrated assessment. Integrated questions are intended to test the breadth of knowledge of students.
Results: Lecturers and students felt introduction of module tests, helped them to prepare for topics in a phased manner and better answer questions posed by lecturers during case discussions and clinical presentations. The 'borderline distinction' students felt that studying for module tests provided them with the depth of knowledge essential to answer questions during viva voce.
Discussion: Including both the traditional and integrated methods of assessments would engage students in a learning experience developing their breadth and depth of knowledge. Further prospective research is essential to assess the impact of this assessment strategy.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 500 nurses, selected through multistage cluster sampling, from the hospitals in Shiraz in 2017. The data collection tools were the Siberia Schering's Emotional Intelligence Standard Questionnaire and the Hospital Job Stress Standard Questionnaire, completed through the self-report method. The data were analysed using SPSS 22 software.
Results: The mean scores of emotional intelligence and job stress were 113.59 ± 14.70 (total score = 165) and 97.10 ± 14.27 (total score = 175), respectively. The correlation test showed that there was an inverse relationship between emotional intelligence and job stress (r = -0.474, P < 0.001). Also, the multiple linear regression analysis showed that self-awareness, social consciousness, and income predicted 25% of the job stress in the subjects under study (r2 = 0.25).
Conclusion: Regarding the relatively strong and inverse relationship between the nurses' emotional intelligence and job stress, it is suggested that emotional intelligence workshops be included in the in-service training programs of the nurses.
METHOD: A quantitative cross-sectional study design was adopted. Honey and Mumford's Learning Style Questionnaire was used to explore the learning styles.
RESULTS: The reflector learning style was most preferred by the Malaysian healthcare undergraduates, and no significant difference was found between the learning styles of the clinical group and the semi-clinical group.
CONCLUSIONS: Educators should engage Malaysian healthcare undergraduates in a non-threatening environment - Association between learning style and sociodemographic warrants further investigation.
OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the diet quality of households by their type of engagement in homestead aquaculture and/or horticulture. Socio-demographic determinants of diet quality were also studied.
METHOD: Diet quality was assessed using a nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR), based on the preceding 7 days' dietary recall at the household level. Adult male equivalent units (AMEs) were used for age- and sex-specific intra-household distribution of household intakes. Mean adequacy ratios (MAR) were computed as an overall measure of diet quality, using NAR.
RESULTS: Better diet quality (mean ± SD) was associated with households engaged in both homestead aquaculture and horticulture (0.43 ± 0.23; p < 0.001) compared to only one type of agriculture (0.38 ± 0.20) or none (0.36 ± 0.20). Tukey's post-hoc test confirmed significant differences in diet quality between both and either engagement (0.05 ± 0.01, p < 0.001), both and no engagement (0.07 ± 0.01, p < 0.001), and either and no engagement households (0.02 ± 0.01, p < 0.001). Beyond farm production of nutrient-rich foods, generalized estimating equations showed that diet quality was influenced by the higher educational level and occupation of adult household members, higher daily per capita food expenditure, sex, family size and region.
CONCLUSIONS: Projects that promote and support household engagement in both homestead aquaculture and horticulture have the potential to improve the diet quality of households.
Subjects and Methods: In an analytical cross-sectional design, we used simple random sampling technique to select 242 multiracial Malaysian male fishermen aged between 18 and 75 years from five fishing villages located at Gurney Drive, Tanjong Tokong, Tanjong Bungah, Batu Ferringhi, and Teluk Bahang to participate in this study. During four consecutive weekends in January 2017, we conducted face-to-face interviews with participants using a pre-validated, interviewer-administered WHO oral health questionnaire. We categorized participants as having "good" or "poor" oral health based on a mean cutoff score of 14. Multivariate regression models were fitted to assess the oral health status and associated lifestyle factors among the study population, using SPSS version 22.
Results: We achieved a response rate of 97.6%. Overall, the prevalence of poor oral health in this study was 47.5%. "Income" (RM/month), "type of fishing," "additional occupation," "age" (years), "frequency of pies, buns consumed," and "frequency of sweets, soft drinks consumed" were significant predictors of oral health status among the fishermen.
Conclusion: Poor oral health is relatively highly prevalent among the fishermen in our study. The oral health status of fishermen in Teluk Bahang was consistent with the national average and significantly associated with their sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. Targeted interventions are required to arrest and reverse this trend.