Displaying publications 81 - 100 of 254 in total

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  1. Ang CY, Dhaliwal JS, Muharram SH, Akkawi ME, Hussain Z, Rahman H, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2021 07 07;11(7):e048609.
    PMID: 34233993 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-048609
    INTRODUCTION: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global public and patient safety issue. With the high AMR risk, ensuring that the next generation of dentists that have optimal knowledge and confidence in the area of AMR is crucial. A systematic approach is vital to design an AMR content that is comprehensive and clinically relevant. The primary objective of this research study will be to implement a consensus-based approach to elucidate AMR content and curriculum priorities for professional dentistry programmes. This research aims to establish consensus along with eliciting opinion on appropriate AMR topics to be covered in the Bachelor of Dental Surgery syllabus.

    METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A three-phase approach to validate content for curriculum guidelines on AMR will be adopted. First, literature review and content analysis were conducted to find out the available pertinent literature in dentistry programmes. A total of 23 potential literature have been chosen for inclusion within this study following literature review and analysis in phase 1. The materials found will be used to draft curriculum on antimicrobials for dentistry programmes. The next phase involves the validation of the drafted curriculum content by recruiting local and foreign experts via a survey questionnaire. Finally, Delphi technique will be conducted to obtain consensus on the important or controversial modifications to the revised curriculum.

    ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: An ethics application is currently under review with the Institute of Health Science Research Ethics Committee, Universiti Brunei Darussalam. All participants are required to provide a written consent form. Findings will be used to identify significant knowledge gaps on AMR aspect in a way that results in lasting change in clinical practice. Moreover, AMR content priorities related to dentistry clinical practice will be determined in order to develop need-based educational resource on microbes, hygiene and prudent antimicrobial use for dentistry programmes.

  2. Sung CW, Chen CH, Fan CY, Chang JH, Hung CC, Fu CM, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2021 07 28;11(7):e052184.
    PMID: 34321309 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052184
    OBJECTIVES: During a pandemic, healthcare providers experience increased mental and physical burden. Burnout can lead to treatment errors, patient mortality, increased suicidal ideation and substance abuse as well as medical malpractice suits among medical staff. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of burnout, acute stress disorder, anxiety disorder and depressive disorder among healthcare providers at the third month of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    DESIGN: A cross-sectional facility-based survey.

    SETTING: Hospitals around the country with different levels of care.

    PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1795 respondents, including 360 men and 1435 women who participated in the survey.

    PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Burnout was assessed using the Physician Work Life Study. A score of ≥3 implied burnout.

    RESULTS: Of the 1795 respondents, 723 (40.3%) reported burnout, and 669 (37.3%) cared for patients with COVID-19. Anxiety levels were mild in 185 (10.3%) respondents, moderate in 209 (11.6%) and severe in 1401 (78.1%). The mean Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-10 score was 9.5±6.3, and 817 (45.5%) respondents were classified as having depression. Factors associated with burnout were working in acute and critical care (ACC) divisions (adjusted OR (aOR)=1.84, 95% CI 1.20 to 3.39, p=0.019), caring for patients with COVID-19 (aOR=3.90, 95% CI 1.14 to 13.37, p=0.031) and having depressive disorder (aOR=9.44, 95% CI 7.44 to 11.97, p<0.001).

    CONCLUSIONS: Physicians and nurses are vulnerable to burnout during a pandemic, especially those working in ACC divisions. Anxiety disorder, depressive disorder and care of patients with COVID-19 may be factors that influence the occurrence of burnout among healthcare providers.

  3. Wee SY, Salim H, Mawardi M, Koh YLE, Ali H, Shariff Ghazali S, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2021 06 14;11(6):e044192.
    PMID: 34127489 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044192
    OBJECTIVES: To compare the sociodemography, disease characteristics and hypertension self-care profiles and to determine the factors influencing Hypertension Self-Care Profiles (HTN-SCP) in two populations in primary care settings from Singapore and Malaysia.

    DESIGN: Cross-sectional, cross national.

    SETTING: Multi-centre, primary care clinics Malaysia and Singapore.

    PARTICIPANTS: 1123 adults with hypertension enrolled and analysed.

    PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Comparison between sociodemography, disease characteristics and the mean scores of HTN-SCP domains (behaviour, motivation and self-efficacy) and the factors influencing hypertension self-care.

    RESULTS: 1123 adults with hypertension attending primary care clinics in Malaysia and Singapore were involved. The participants' mean age was 63.6 years (SD 9.7) in Singapore and 60.4 (SD 9.1) in Malaysia. Most of the participants in Singapore had tertiary education (22.3%) compared with Malaysia (13.0%), p<0.001. A higher proportion of participants from Singapore had controlled blood pressure (74.6%) compared with Malaysia (33.8%), p<0.001. The mean total score of HTN-SCP was significantly higher among Singapore participants compared with Malaysia participants 190 (SD 28) versus 184 (SD 23) (p<0.001). Similarly, the mean score for motivation domain 67 (SD 10) versus 65 (SD 9), followed by self-efficacy score 65 (SD 11) versus 62 (SD 9) and behaviour score (58 SD 9 vs 56 SD 9) were higher among Singapore participants. In both countries, the factors which influenced higher HTN-SCP mean scores across all domains were being Indian and had tertiary education.

    CONCLUSIONS: The study population in Singapore had a higher HTN-SCP mean score compared with Malaysia. The common factors influencing higher HTN-SCP mean scores at both study sites were ethnicity and level of education. Future intervention to improve self-care among people with hypertension may need to be tailored to their behaviour, motivation and self-efficacy levels.

  4. Webair HH, Ismail TAT, Ismail SB, Khaffaji AJ
    BMJ Open, 2021 06 18;11(6):e044300.
    PMID: 34145008 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044300
    OBJECTIVE: The current study aims to define patient-centred infertility care (PCIC) from the perspective of Arab women with infertility.

    DESIGN: Semistructured in-depth telephone interviews.

    SETTING: Hospitals providing infertility care, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

    PARTICIPANTS: Arab women who received infertility treatment during the 6 months preceding the interview at any hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Interviews were conducted with Arab women experiencing infertility from January 2017 to December 2018. A purposive sample of 14 women were included in the final analysis with maximum variation.

    RESULTS: Participants highlighted nine important PCIC dimensions. Of these, four were agreed on by all participants: accessibility, minimising cost, information and education, and staff attitudes and communication. The remaining five dimensions were staff competence, physical comfort, privacy, psychological and emotional support, and continuity and coordination of care. The concept of PCIC was related to three major contributors: participants' demographics, patient experience with infertility care and health-seeking behaviour.

    CONCLUSIONS: The current study provided nine PCIC dimensions and items, which can guide efforts to improve the quality of infertility care in Arab countries in two ways: first, by raising infertility care providers' awareness of their patients' needs, and second, by developing a validated tool based on the dimensions for measuring PCIC from Arab patients' perspective. Clear differences between the Arab and the European PCIC model were found. Our findings concluded that women continued to exhibit basic unmet needs.

  5. Chee Cheong K, Lim KH, Ghazali SM, Teh CH, Cheah YK, Baharudin A, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2021 08 18;11(8):e047849.
    PMID: 34408040 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047849
    OBJECTIVES: This study is aimed at determining the association between metabolic syndrome and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and all-cause mortality among Malaysian adults.

    DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study.

    SETTING: The Malaysian Non-Communicable Disease Surveillance (MyNCDS-1) 2005/2006.

    PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2525 adults (1013 men and 1512 women), aged 24-64 years, who participated in the MyNCDS-1 2005/2006.

    METHODS: Participants' anthropometric indices, blood pressure, fasting lipid profile and fasting blood glucose levels were evaluated to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome by the Harmonized criteria. Participants' mortality status were followed up for 13 years from 2006 to 2018. Mortality data were obtained via record linkage with the Malaysian National Registration Department. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was applied to determine association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and risk of CVD mortality and all-cause mortality with adjustment for selected sociodemographic and lifestyle behavioural factors.

    RESULTS: The overall point prevalence of MetS was 30.6% (95% CI: 28.0 to 33.3). Total follow-up time was 31 668 person-years with 213 deaths (111 (11.3%) in MetS subjects and 102 (6.1%) in non-MetS subjects) from all-causes, and 50 deaths (33 (2.9%) in MetS group and 17 (1.2%) in non-MetS group) from CVD. Metabolic syndrome was associated with a significantly increased hazard of CVD mortality (adjusted HR: 2.18 (95% CI: 1.03 to 4.61), p=0.041) and all-cause mortality (adjusted HR: 1.47 (95% CI: 1.00 to 2.14), p=0.048). These associations remained significant after excluding mortalities in the first 2 years.

    CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that individuals with MetS have a higher hazard of death from all-causes and CVD compared with those without MetS. It is thus imperative to prescribe individuals with MetS, a lifestyle intervention along with pharmacological intervention to improve the individual components of MetS and reduce this risk.

  6. Sobri NHM, Ismail IZ, Hassan F, Papachristou Nadal I, Forbes A, Ching SM, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2021 08 26;11(8):e044878.
    PMID: 34446477 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044878
    INTRODUCTION: Women who develop gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and to reduce this risk the women have to adopt healthy behaviour changes. Although previous studies have explored the challenges and facilitators to initiate behaviour change among women with GDM, there is limited data from Malaysian women. Thus, this study will explore the factors affecting the uptake of healthy behaviour changes and the use of digital technology among women and their healthcare providers (HCPs) to support healthy behaviour changes in women with GDM.

    METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The study will be modelled according to the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation and Behaviour and Behaviour Change Wheel techniques, and use the DoTTI framework to identify needs, solutions and testing of a preliminary mobile app, respectively. In phase 1 (design and development), a focus group discussion (FGDs) of 5-8 individuals will be conducted with an estimated 60 women with GDM and 40 HCPs (doctors, dietitians and nurses). Synthesised data from the FGDs will then be combined with content from an expert committee to inform the development of the mobile app. In phase 2 (testing of early iterations), a preview of the mobile app will undergo alpha testing among the team members and the app developers, and beta testing among 30 women with GDM or with a history of GDM, and 15 HCPs using semi-structured interviews. The outcome will enable us to optimise an intervention using the mobile app as a diabetes prevention intervention which will then be evaluated in a randomised controlled trial.

    ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The project has been approved by the Malaysia Research Ethics Committee. Informed consent will be obtained from all participants. Outcomes will be presented at both local and international conferences and submitted for publications in peer-reviewed journals.

  7. Johari J, Hontz RD, Pike BL, Husain T, Chong CK, Rusli N, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2021 08 26;11(8):e050901.
    PMID: 34446498 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050901
    INTRODUCTION: Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory infection caused by the MERS-CoV. MERS was first reported in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2012. Every year, the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca attracts more than two million pilgrims from 184 countries, making it one of the largest annual religious mass gatherings (MGs) worldwide. MGs in confined areas with a high number of pilgrims' movements worldwide continues to elicit significant global public health concerns. MERCURIAL was designed by adopting a seroconversion surveillance approach to provide multiyear evidence of MG-associated MERS-CoV seroconversion among the Malaysian Hajj pilgrims.

    METHODS AND ANALYSIS: MERCURIAL is an ongoing multiyear prospective cohort study. Every year, for the next 5 years, a cohort of 1000 Hajj pilgrims was enrolled beginning in the 2016 Hajj pilgrimage season. Pre-Hajj and post-Hajj serum samples were obtained and serologically analysed for evidence of MERS-CoV seroconversion. Sociodemographic data, underlying medical conditions, symptoms experienced during Hajj pilgrimage, and exposure to camel and untreated camel products were recorded using structured pre-Hajj and post-Hajj questionnaires. The possible risk factors associated with the seroconversion data were analysed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. The primary outcome of this study is to better enhance our understanding of the potential threat of MERS-CoV spreading through MG beyond the Middle East.

    ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has obtained ethical approval from the Medical Research and Ethics Committee (MREC), Ministry of Health Malaysia. Results from the study will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals and presented in conferences and scientific meetings.

    TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NMRR-15-1640-25391.

  8. Al-Sadat N, Majid HA, Sim PY, Su TT, Dahlui M, Abu Bakar MF, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2016 08 18;6(8):e010689.
    PMID: 27540095 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010689
    OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (<37.5 nmol/L) among young adolescents in Malaysia and its association with demographic characteristics, anthropometric measures and physical activity.

    DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional study among Form 1 (year 7) students from 15 schools selected using a stratified random sampling design. Information regarding sociodemographic characteristics, clinical data and environmental factors was collected and blood samples were taken for total vitamin D. Descriptive and multivariable logistic regression was performed on the data.

    SETTING: National secondary schools in Peninsular Malaysia.

    PARTICIPANTS: 1361 students (mean age 12.9±0.3 years) (61.4% girls) completed the consent forms and participated in this study. Students with a chronic health condition and/or who could not understand the questionnaires due to lack of literacy were excluded.

    MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Vitamin D status was determined through measurement of sera 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D). Body mass index (BMI) was classified according to International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) criteria. Self-reported physical activity levels were assessed using the validated Malay version of the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C).

    RESULTS: Deficiency in vitamin D was seen in 78.9% of the participants. The deficiency was significantly higher in girls (92.6%, p<0.001), Indian adolescents (88.6%, p<0.001) and urban-living adolescents (88.8%, p<0.001). Females (OR=8.98; 95% CI 6.48 to 12.45), adolescents with wider waist circumference (OR=2.64; 95% CI 1.65 to 4.25) and in urban areas had higher risks (OR=3.57; 95% CI 2.54 to 5.02) of being vitamin D deficient.

    CONCLUSIONS: The study shows a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among young adolescents. Main risk factors are gender, ethnicity, place of residence and obesity.

  9. Tun Firzara AM, Ng CJ
    BMJ Open, 2016 Sep 29;6(9):e011467.
    PMID: 27687897 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011467
    OBJECTIVE: Screening for prostate cancer remains controversial. General practitioners (GPs) play an important role in assisting men to make an informed decision on prostate cancer screening. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge and practice of prostate cancer screening among private GPs in Malaysia.
    DESIGN: A cross-sectional study.
    SETTING: Private general practices in Selangor, Malaysia.
    PARTICIPANTS: 311 randomly selected full-time private GPs were recruited between September 2013 and January 2014.
    OUTCOME MEASURES: Questionnaires were distributed to the GPs via postal mail and clinic visits. The main outcomes were: knowledge of prostate cancer risk factors and screening tests; GPs' prostate cancer screening practices; and factors influencing GPs' decision to screen for prostate cancer. Associations between covariates and propensity to screen for prostate cancer were determined using logistic regression.
    RESULTS: The response rate was 65%. The proportion of GPs who overestimated the positive predictive values of prostrate-specific antigen (PSA), digital rectal examination (DRE) and a combination of PSA and DRE was 63%, 57% and 64%, respectively. About 49.5% of the respondents would routinely screen asymptomatic men for prostate cancer; of them, 94.9% would use PSA to screen. Male GPs who would consider having a PSA test performed on themselves were six times more likely to screen asymptomatic men than GPs who would not have the test (OR=6.88, 95% CI 1.40 to 33.73), after adjusting for age and duration of practice.
    CONCLUSIONS: GPs overestimated the accuracy of PSA in prostate cancer screening. Their intention to screen for prostate cancer themselves predicted their propensity to screen their patients for prostate cancer. This finding highlights the potential of using a new approach to change GPs' screening practices via addressing GPs' own screening behaviour.
    KEYWORDS: PREVENTIVE MEDICINE; PRIMARY CARE
  10. Amin MN, Khan TM, Dewan SM, Islam MS, Moghal MR, Ming LC
    BMJ Open, 2016 08 03;6(8):e010912.
    PMID: 27489151 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010912
    OBJECTIVES: To assess community pharmacists'/pharmacy technicians' knowledge and perceptions about adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and barriers towards the reporting of such reactions in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

    METHOD: A cross-sectional study was planned to approach potential respondents for the study. A self-administered questionnaire was delivered to community pharmacists/pharmacy technicians (N=292) practising in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

    RESULTS: The overall response to the survey was 69.5% (n=203). The majority of the sample was comprised of pharmacy technicians (152, 74.9%) who possessed a diploma in pharmacy, followed by pharmacists (37, 18.2%) and others (12, 5.9%). Overall, 72 (35.5%) of the respondents disclosed that they had experienced an ADR at their pharmacy, yet more than half (105, 51.7%) were not familiar with the existence of an ADR reporting body in Bangladesh. Exploring the barriers to the reporting of ADRs, it was revealed that the top four barriers to ADR reporting were 'I do not know how to report (Relative Importance Index (RII)=0.998)', 'reporting forms are not available (0.996)', 'I am not motivated to report (0.997)' and 'Unavailability of professional environment to discuss about ADR (RII=0.939)'. In addition to these, a majority (141, 69.46%) were not confident about the classification of ADRs (RII=0.889) and were afraid of legal liabilities associated with reporting ADRs (RII=0.806). Moreover, a lack of knowledge about pharmacotherapy and the detection of ADRs was another major factor hindering their reporting (RII=0.731).

    CONCLUSIONS: The Directorate of Drug Administration in Bangladesh needs to consider the results of this study to help it improve and simplify ADR reporting in Bangladeshi community pharmacy settings.

  11. Teo CH, Ng CJ, White A
    BMJ Open, 2017 03 10;7(3):e014364.
    PMID: 28283491 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014364
    OBJECTIVES: Uptake of health screening is low in men, particularly among those aged <40 years. This study aimed to explore factors that influence health screening behaviour in younger men.

    DESIGN: This qualitative study employed an interpretive descriptive approach. Two trained researchers conducted in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) using a semi-structured topic guide, which was developed based on literature review and behavioural theories. All IDIs and FGDs were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Two researchers analysed the data independently using a thematic approach.

    PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Men working in a banking institution in Kuala Lumpur were recruited to the study. They were purposively sampled according to their ethnicity, job position, age and screening status in order to achieve maximal variation.

    RESULTS: Eight IDIs and five FGDs were conducted (n=31) and six themes emerged from the analysis. (1) Young men did not consider screening as part of prevention and had low risk perception. (2) The younger generation was more receptive to health screening due to their exposure to health information through the internet. (3) Health screening was not a priority in young men except for those who were married. (4) Young men had limited income and would rather invest in health insurance than screening. (5) Young men tended to follow doctors' advice when it comes to screening and preferred doctors of the same gender and ethnicity. (6) Medical overuse was also raised where young men wanted more screening tests while doctors tended to promote unnecessary screening tests to them.

    CONCLUSIONS: This study identified important factors that influenced young men's screening behaviour. Health authorities should address young men's misperceptions, promote the importance of early detection and develop a reasonable health screening strategy for them. Appropriate measures must be put in place to reduce low value screening practices.

  12. Chow CK, Corsi DJ, Gilmore AB, Kruger A, Igumbor E, Chifamba J, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2017 03 31;7(3):e013817.
    PMID: 28363924 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013817
    OBJECTIVES: This study examines in a cross-sectional study 'the tobacco control environment' including tobacco policy implementation and its association with quit ratio.

    SETTING: 545 communities from 17 high-income, upper-middle, low-middle and low-income countries (HIC, UMIC, LMIC, LIC) involved in the Environmental Profile of a Community's Health (EPOCH) study from 2009 to 2014.

    PARTICIPANTS: Community audits and surveys of adults (35-70 years, n=12 953).

    PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Summary scores of tobacco policy implementation (cost and availability of cigarettes, tobacco advertising, antismoking signage), social unacceptability and knowledge were associated with quit ratios (former vs ever smokers) using multilevel logistic regression models.

    RESULTS: Average tobacco control policy score was greater in communities from HIC. Overall 56.1% (306/545) of communities had >2 outlets selling cigarettes and in 28.6% (154/539) there was access to cheap cigarettes (<5cents/cigarette) (3.2% (3/93) in HIC, 0% UMIC, 52.6% (90/171) LMIC and 40.4% (61/151) in LIC). Effective bans (no tobacco advertisements) were in 63.0% (341/541) of communities (81.7% HIC, 52.8% UMIC, 65.1% LMIC and 57.6% LIC). In 70.4% (379/538) of communities, >80% of participants disapproved youth smoking (95.7% HIC, 57.6% UMIC, 76.3% LMIC and 58.9% LIC). The average knowledge score was >80% in 48.4% of communities (94.6% HIC, 53.6% UMIC, 31.8% LMIC and 35.1% LIC). Summary scores of policy implementation, social unacceptability and knowledge were positively and significantly associated with quit ratio and the associations varied by gender, for example, communities in the highest quintile of the combined scores had 5.0 times the quit ratio in men (Odds ratio (OR) 5·0, 95% CI 3.4 to 7.4) and 4.1 times the quit ratio in women (OR 4.1, 95% CI 2.4 to 7.1).

    CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that more focus is needed on ensuring the tobacco control policy is actually implemented, particularly in LMICs. The gender-related differences in associations of policy, social unacceptability and knowledge suggest that different strategies to promoting quitting may need to be implemented in men compared to women.

  13. Said AH, Chia YC
    BMJ Open, 2017 03 01;7(3):e013573.
    PMID: 28249849 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013573
    OBJECTIVES: Dyslipidaemia is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in Malaysia. This study assessed the awareness, knowledge and practice of lipid management among primary care physicians undergoing postgraduate training in Malaysia.

    DESIGN: Cross sectional study.

    SETTING: Postgraduate primary care trainees in Malaysia.

    PARTICIPANTS: 759 postgraduate primary care trainees were approached through email or hard copy, of whom 466 responded.

    METHOD: A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess their awareness, knowledge and practice of dyslipidaemia management. The total cumulative score derived from the knowledge section was categorised into good or poor knowledge based on the median score, where a score of less than the median score was categorised as poor and a score equal to or more than the median score was categorised as good. We further examined the association between knowledge score and sociodemographic data. Associations were considered significant when p<0.05.

    RESULTS: The response rate achieved was 61.4%. The majority (98.1%) were aware of the national lipid guideline, and 95.6% reported that they used the lipid guideline in their practice. The median knowledge score was 7 out of 10; 70.2% of respondents scored 7 or more which was considered as good knowledge. Despite the majority (95.6%) reporting use of guidelines, there was wide variation in their clinical practice whereby some did not practise based on the guidelines. There was a positive significant association between awareness and the use of the guideline with knowledge score (p<0.001). However there was no significant association between knowledge score and sociodemographic data (p>0.05).

    CONCLUSIONS: The level of awareness and use of the lipid guideline among postgraduate primary care trainees was good. However, there were still gaps in their knowledge and practice which are not in accordance with standard guidelines.

  14. Ambrose KK, Ishak T, Lian LH, Goh KJ, Wong KT, Ahmad-Annuar A, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2017 03 31;7(3):e010711.
    PMID: 28363916 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010711
    OBJECTIVE: The lack of epidemiological data and molecular diagnostic services in Malaysia has hampered the setting-up of a comprehensive management plan for patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), leading to delayed diagnosis, treatment and support for patients and families. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of DM1 in the 3 major ethnic groups in Malaysia and evaluate the feasibility of a single tube triplet-primed PCR (TP-PCR) method for diagnosis of DM1 in Malaysia.

    DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: We used PCR to determine the size of CTG repeats in 377 individuals not known to be affected by DM and 11 DM1 suspected patients, recruited from a tertiary hospital in Kuala Lumpur. TP-PCR was performed on selected samples, followed by Southern blot hybridisation of PCR amplified fragments to confirm and estimate the size of CTG expansion.

    OUTCOME MEASURES: The number of individuals not known to be affected by DM with (CTG)>18 was determined according to ethnic group and as a whole population. The χ2 test was performed to compare the distribution of (CTG)>18 with 12 other populations. Additionally, the accuracy of TP-PCR in detecting CTG expansion in 11 patients with DM1 was determined by comparing the results with that from Southern blot hybridisation.

    RESULTS: Of the 754 chromosomes studied, (CTG)>18 frequency of 3.60%, 1.57% and 4.00% in the Malay, Chinese and Indian subpopulations, respectively, was detected, showing similarities to data from Thai, Taiwanese and Kuwaiti populations. We also successfully detected CTG expansions in 9 patients using the TP-PCR method followed by the estimation of CTG expansion size via Southern blot hybridisation.

    CONCLUSIONS: The results show a low DM1 prevalence in Malaysia with the possibility of underdiagnosis and demonstrates the feasibility of using a clinical and TP-PCR-based approach for rapid and cost-effective DM1 diagnosis in developing countries.

  15. Shen CL, Mo H, Yang S, Wang S, Felton CK, Tomison MD, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2016 12 23;6(12):e012572.
    PMID: 28011809 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012572
    INTRODUCTION: Osteoporosis is a major health concern in postmenopausal women, and oxidative stress contributes to the development of bone loss. Cellular studies and ovariectomised rat model mimicking bone loss in postmenopausal women show the bone-protective effect of tocotrienols (TTs) with antioxidant capability. We aim to access the safety and efficacy of TT consumption for bone health in postmenopausal women.

    METHODS AND ANALYSIS: In this 12-week randomised double-blinded placebo-controlled trial for the effects of dietary TT supplementation in postmenopausal women, postmenopausal women aged 45 years and older with at least 1 year after menopause and bone mineral density T-score at the spine and/or hip 2.5 or more below the reference values will be randomly assigned to 3 daily supplements: (1) placebo group receiving 860 mg olive oil, (2) low TT group receiving 430 mg of 70% pure TTs (containing 300 mg TT) and (3) high TT group receiving 860 mg of 70% pure TTs (600 mg TT). The primary outcome measure will be urinary N-terminal telopeptide. The secondary outcome measures will be serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand, osteoprotegerin, urinary 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine and quality of life. At 0, 6 and 12 weeks, the following will be assessed: (1) primary and secondary outcome measures; (2) serum TT and tocopherol concentrations; (3) physical activity and food frequency questionnaires. Liver function will be monitored every 6 weeks for safety. 'Intent-to-treat' principle will be employed for data analysis. A model of repeated measurements with random effect error terms will be applied. Analysis of covariance, χ2 analysis and regression will be used for comparisons.

    ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study was approved by the Bioethics Committee of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. The findings of this trial will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal in the areas of bone or nutrition and international conferences.

    TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02058420; results.

  16. Sreeramareddy CT, Ramakrishnareddy N, Rahman M, Mir IA
    BMJ Open, 2018 05 26;8(5):e017477.
    PMID: 29804056 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017477
    INTRODUCTION: Health professionals play an important role in providing advice to their patients about tobacco prevention and cessation. Health professionals who use tobacco may be deterred from providing cessation advice and counselling to their patients. We aimed to provide prevalence estimates of tobacco use among student health professionals and describe their attitudes towards tobacco cessation training.

    METHODS: Country-wise aggregate data from the Global Health Professions Student Survey on 'current cigarette smoking' (smoking cigarettes on 1 or more days during the past 30 days), and 'current use of tobacco products other than cigarettes' (chewing tobacco, snuff, bidis, cigars or pipes, 1 or more days during the past 30 days) were analysed. For each WHO region, we estimated mean prevalence rates of tobacco use weighted by the population of the sampling frame and aggregate proportions for 'health professionals' role' and 'cessation training' indicators using 'metaprop' command on Stata V.11.

    RESULTS: A total of 107 527 student health professionals participated in 236 surveys done in four health profession disciplines spanning 70 countries with response rates ranging from 40% to 100%. Overall, prevalence of smoking was highest in European countries (20% medical and 40% dental students) and the Americas (13% pharmacy to 23% dental students). Other tobacco use was higher in eastern Mediterranean (10%-23%) and European countries (7%-13%). In most WHO regions, ≥70% of the students agreed that health professionals are role models, and have a role in advising about smoking cessation to their patients and the public. Only ≤33% of all student health professionals in most WHO regions (except 80% dental students in the Eastern Mediterranean region) had received formal training on smoking cessation approaches and ≥80% of all students agreed that they should receive formal cessation training.

    CONCLUSIONS: Tobacco control should take place together with medical educators to discourage tobacco use among student health professionals and implement an integrated smoking cessation training into health professions' curricula.

  17. Pisani L, Algera AG, Serpa Neto A, Ahsan A, Beane A, Chittawatanarat K, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2018 04 28;8(4):e020841.
    PMID: 29705765 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020841
    INTRODUCTION: Current evidence on epidemiology and outcomes of invasively mechanically ventilated intensive care unit (ICU) patients is predominantly gathered in resource-rich settings. Patient casemix and patterns of critical illnesses, and probably also ventilation practices are likely to be different in resource-limited settings. We aim to investigate the epidemiological characteristics, ventilation practices and clinical outcomes of patients receiving mechanical ventilation in ICUs in Asia.

    METHODS AND ANALYSIS: PRoVENT-iMIC (study of PRactice of VENTilation in Middle-Income Countries) is an international multicentre observational study to be undertaken in approximately 60 ICUs in 11 Asian countries. Consecutive patients aged 18 years or older who are receiving invasive ventilation in participating ICUs during a predefined 28-day period are to be enrolled, with a daily follow-up of 7 days. The primary outcome is ventilatory management (including tidal volume expressed as mL/kg predicted body weight and positive end-expiratory pressure expressed as cm H2O) during the first 3 days of mechanical ventilation-compared between patients at no risk for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), patients at risk for ARDS and in patients with ARDS (in case the diagnosis of ARDS can be made on admission). Secondary outcomes include occurrence of pulmonary complications and all-cause ICU mortality.

    ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: PRoVENT-iMIC will be the first international study that prospectively assesses ventilation practices, outcomes and epidemiology of invasively ventilated patients in ICUs in Asia. The results of this large study, to be disseminated through conference presentations and publications in international peer-reviewed journals, are of ultimate importance when designing trials of invasive ventilation in resource-limited ICUs. Access to source data will be made available through national or international anonymised datasets on request and after agreement of the PRoVENT-iMIC steering committee.

    TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03188770; Pre-results.

  18. Ahmad NA, Silim UA, Rosman A, Mohamed M, Chan YY, Mohd Kasim N, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2018 05 14;8(5):e020649.
    PMID: 29764882 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020649
    INTRODUCTION: An estimated 13% of women in the postnatal period suffer from postnatal depression (PND) worldwide. In addition to underprivileged women, women who are exposed to violence are at higher risk of PND. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and PND in Malaysia.

    METHODS: This survey was conducted as a nationwide cross-sectional study using a cluster sampling design. Probable PND was assessed using a self-administered Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Demographic profiles and IPV were assessed using a locally validated WHO Multicountry Study on Women's Health and Life Events Questionnaire that was administered in a face-to-face interview. An EPDS total score of 12 or more and/or a positive tendency to self-harm were used to define PND.

    RESULTS: Out of 6669 women, 5727 respondents were successfully interviewed with a response rate of 85.9%. The prevalence of probable PND was 4.4% (95% CI 2.9 to 6.7). The overall prevalence of IPV was 4.9% (95% CI 3.8 to 6.4). Among the women in this group, 3.7% (95% CI 2.7 to 5.0), 2.6% (95% CI 1.9 to 3.5) and 1.2% (95% CI 0.9 to 1.7) experienced emotional, physical and sexual violence, respectively. Logistic regression analysis revealed that women who were exposed to IPV were at 2.3 times the risk for probable PND, with an adjusted OR (aOR) of 2.34 (95% CI 1.12 to 4.87). Other factors for PND were reported emotional violence (aOR 3.79, 95% CI 1.93 to 7.45), unplanned pregnancy (aOR 3.32, 95% CI 2.35 to 4.69), lack of family support during confinement (aOR 1.79, 95% CI 1.12 to 2.87), partner's use of alcohol (aOR 1.59, 95% CI 1.07 to 2.35) or being from a household with a low income (aOR 2.99; 95% CI 1.63 to 5.49).

    CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to IPV was significantly associated with probable PND. Healthcare personnel should be trained to detect and manage both problems. An appropriate referral system and support should be made available.
  19. Mallhi TH, Khan AH, Sarriff A, Adnan AS, Khan YH
    BMJ Open, 2017 Jul 10;7(7):e016805.
    PMID: 28698348 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016805
    OBJECTIVES: Dengue imposes substantial economic, societal and personal burden in terms of hospital stay, morbidity and mortality. Early identification of dengue cases with high propensity of increased hospital stay and death could be of value in isolating patients in need of early interventions. The current study was aimed to determine the significant factors associated with dengue-related prolonged hospitalisation and death.

    DESIGN: Cross-sectional retrospective study.

    SETTING: Tertiary care teaching hospital.

    PARTICIPANTS: Patients with confirmed dengue diagnosis were stratified into two categories on the basis of prolonged hospitalisation (≤3 days and >3 days) and mortality (fatal cases and non-fatal cases). Clinico-laboratory characteristics between these categories were compared by using appropriate statistical methods.

    RESULTS: Of 667 patients enrolled, 328 (49.2%) had prolonged hospitalisation. The mean hospital stay was 4.88±2.74 days. Multivariate analysis showed that dengue haemorrhagic fever (OR 2.3), elevated alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (OR 2.3), prolonged prothrombin time (PT) (OR 1.7), activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) (OR 1.9) and multiple-organ dysfunctions (OR 2.1) were independently associated with prolonged hospitalisation. Overall case fatality rate was 1.1%. Factors associated with dengue mortality were age >40 years (p=0.004), secondary infection (p=0.040), comorbidities (p<0.05), acute kidney injury (p<0.001), prolonged PT (p=0.022), multiple-organ dysfunctions (p<0.001), haematocrit >20% (p=0.001), rhabdomyolosis (p<0.001) and respiratory failure (p=0.007). Approximately half of the fatal cases in our study had prolonged hospital stay of greater than three days.

    CONCLUSIONS: The results underscore the high proportion of dengue patients with prolonged hospital stay. Early identification of factors relating to prolonged hospitalisation and death will have obvious advantages in terms of appropriate decisions about treatment and management in high dependency units.

    Study site: Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM), Kelantan
  20. Kua CH, Yeo CYY, Char CWT, Tan CWY, Tan PC, Mak VS, et al.
    BMJ Open, 2017 05 09;7(5):e015293.
    PMID: 28490560 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-015293
    INTRODUCTION: An ageing population has become an urgent concern for Asia in recent times. In nursing homes, polypharmacy has also become a compounding issue. Deprescribing practice is an evidence-based strategy to provide a better outcome in this group of patients; however, its implementation in nursing homes is often challenging, and prospective outcome data on deprescribing practice in the elderly is lacking. Our study assesses the implementation of team-care deprescribing to understand the benefits of this practice in geriatric setting and to explore the factors affecting deprescribing practice.

    METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This multicentre prospective study consists of a prestudy interview questionnaire, and a preintervention and postintervention study to be conducted in the nursing home setting on residents at least 65 years old and on five or more medications. We will employ a cluster randomised stepped-wedge interventional design, based on a five-step (reviewing, checking, discussion, communication and documentation) team-care deprescribing practice coupled with the use of a deprescribing guide (consisting of Beers and STOPP criteria, as well as drug interaction checking), to assess the health and pharmacoeconomic outcome in nursing homes' practice. Primary outcome measures of the intervention will consist of fall risks using a fall risk assessment tool. Other outcomes assessed include fall rates, pill burden including number of pills per day, number of doses per day and number of medications prescribed. Cost-related measures will include the use of cost-benefit analysis, which is calculated from the medication cost savings from deprescribing. For the prestudy interview questionnaire, findings will be analysed qualitatively using thematic analysis.

    ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study is approved by the Domain Specific Review Board of National Healthcare Group, Singapore (2016/00422) and Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (2016-1430-7791). The study findings shall be disseminated in international conferences and peer-reviewed publications. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02863341), Pre-results.

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