Aims: This study aimed to explore the general public's perception toward electronic cigarette use. Public support toward electronic cigarette regulation was also examined.
Settings and Design: This was a Malaysian population-based survey.
Materials and Methods: Data were obtained from the National E-Cigarette Survey (NECS) 2016, which used a multistage stratified cluster sampling household survey representing all Malaysian adults aged 18 years old. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a total of 4288 adults.
Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive and logistic regression analysis.
Results: Majority were aged 25-44 years old (44%), completed at least secondary education (69%), of Malay ethnicity (73%), and married (68%). Majority (88.1%) have never used electronic cigarette. A quarter (25.5%) perceived electronic cigarette helps people quit cigarette smoking, whereas 20.3% perceived electronic cigarette helps people to maintain cigarette abstinence. Approximately 85% believed that electronic cigarette use does not help in improving breathing and coughing. Majority (91.8%) disagreed that electronic cigarettes should be allowed in places where tobacco smoking is banned. Thus, 63.4% agreed that electronic cigarette should be banned completely rather than regulated.
Conclusion: Majority of general public had negative perception about electronic cigarette use.
RESULTS: Five repatriation missions performed was led by the National Agency for Disaster Management (NADMA) with the Ministry of Health providing technical expertise. A total of 432 citizens were repatriated from the missions. The operations were divided into four phases: the pre-boarding screening phase, the boarding and in-flight phase, the reception phase and the quarantine phase. The commercial aircraft used were from two different commercial airlines. Each mission had flight crew members between 10 and 17 people. There were 82 positive cases detected among the repatriated citizens. There was a single positive case of a healthcare worker involved in the mission, based on the sample taken on arrival of the flight. There were no infections involving flight team members.
CONCLUSION: Medical flight crew must be familiar with aircraft fittings that differ from one commercial airline to another as it influences infection control practices. A clear understanding of socio-political situation of a country, transmission routes of a pathogen, disease presentation, and knowledge of aviation procedures, aircraft engineering and design is of great importance in preparing for such missions. Our approach of multidiscipline team involvement managed to allow us to provide and execute the operations successfully.
METHODS: We used the questionnaire previously established by our team for researchers in European countries. The correlation between the decreased rate of gastrointestinal motility and function tests, and the infection/mortality rates of COVID-19 and stringency of a government's interventions in each country was analysed and protective measures were assessed.
RESULTS: In total, 58 gastroenterologists/motility experts in Asian countries responded to this survey. The infection/mortality rates of COVID-19 and Stringency Index had a significant impact on the testing capacity of oesophageal manometry and catheter-based pH monitoring. In European countries, most facilities used filtering facepiece 2/3 (FFP2/3) masks during oesophageal motility studies. Meanwhile, in Asian countries, most facilities used surgical masks.
CONCLUSION: The total infection and mortality rates of COVID-19 can affect the rate of gastrointestinal motility testing and the type of protective equipment that must be used.
METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 31 medical doctors in three Malaysian government hospitals on the implementation of the Total Hospital Information System (THIS) between March and May 2015. A thematic qualitative analysis was performed on the resultant data to deduce the relevant themes.
RESULTS: Five themes emerged as the factors influencing workarounds to the HIS: (a) typing skills, (b) system usability, (c) computer resources, (d) workload, and (e) time.
CONCLUSIONS: This study provided the key factors as to why doctors were involved in workarounds during the implementation of the HIS. It is important to understand these factors in order to help mitigate work practices that can pose a threat to patient safety.
METHODOLOGY AND ANALYSIS: The population of interest is the coastal communities residing within the Tun Mustapha Park in Sabah, Malaysia. The data collection is planned for a duration of 6 months and the findings are expected by December 2020. A random cluster sampling will be conducted at three districts of Sabah. This study will collect 600 adult respondents (300 households are estimated to be collected) at age of 18 and above. The project is a cross sectional study via face-to-face interview with administered questionnaires, anthropometrics measurements and observation of the living condition performed by trained interviewers.
METHODS: Focus group discussions using the phenomenology approach was conducted involving 72 respondents in Selangor and Kelantan. Data were examined using content analysis.
RESULTS: Respondents perceived leptospirosis infection as severe due to its poor disease prognosis and complications. However, some rated it less severe when compared with other chronic diseases such as cancer and AIDS. Their perceptions were influenced by their knowledge about the disease, media portrayal and frequency of health campaigns by the government. All respondents believed they were not susceptible to the disease.
CONCLUSION: The low perceived susceptibility of leptospirosis infection is a matter of concern as it may contribute to respondents' lack of motivation towards preventing the disease. The study findings may provide the basis for health promotional activities designed to heighten public perceived threat towards leptospirosis infection and thereby improving preventive health behaviors for avoiding leptospirosis.
METHODS: The OpERA tool was used to collect specific milestone data that identify time periods, review stages, and data points for new active substances and biosimilars approved by NPRA in 2017.
RESULTS: In 2017, 25 new active substances and 1 biosimilar were approved by NPRA in a median of 515 days, representing both agency and applicant time. The median time between dossier receipt and the initiation of NPRA scientific assessment was 135 days, but there was a wide variation in queuing time. The median total assessment time was 279 days (agency and applicant timing). NPRA took a median of 166 days; applicants took a median of 131 days to respond to deficiency questions, with up to 6 cycles of review required for approval and 65% of applications requiring 4-5 cycles to provide satisfactory responses.
CONCLUSIONS: As a result of these data, NPRA proposes three improvements: target start for scientific assessment 100 days after file acceptance, a maximum of 5 review cycles, and applicant response time limited to 6 months. These results will serve as a baseline for further assessment.
OUTBREAK SITUATION: A stringent screening process at all airports in Malaysia was enforced after the first case outside China was reported in Thailand. Up to April 14, 2020, Malaysia had reported two waves of COVID-19 cases, with the first wave ending successfully within less than 2 months. In early March 2020, the second wave occurred, with worrying situations.
ACTIONS TAKEN: The Government of Malaysia enforced a Movement Control Order starting on March 18, 2020 to break the chain of COVID-19. The media actively spread the hashtag #stayhome. Non-governmental organizations, as well as prison inmates, started to produce personal protective equipment for frontliners. Various organizations hosted fundraising events to provide essentials mainly to hospitals. A provisional hospital was set up and collaborations with healthcare service providers were granted, while additional laboratories were assigned to enhance the capabilities of the Ministry of Health.
ECONOMIC DOWNTURN: An initial financial stimulus amounting to RM 20.0 billion was released in February 2020, before the highlighted PRIHATIN Package, amounting to RM 250 billion, was announced. The PRIHATIN Package has provided governmental support to society, covering people of various backgrounds from students and families to business owners.