MyMedR

Mental health in Asia: social improvements and challenges

Tseng WS, Ebata K, Kim KI, Krahl W, Kua EH, Lu Q, et al.

Int J Soc Psychiatry, 2001;47(1):8-23.

Remarkable improvements in economic conditions and a considerable upgrade in the quality of life have been observed in many parts of Asia during the past several decades. At the same time, many mental health challenges face the people of Asia. Various social mental health indexes are reviewed here, with available data from China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and other Asian societies. The data are compared with data from the United States, Australia in the Pacific Rim, and some other Western countries to examine patterns of similarity or difference between East and West in the process of modernization. Common trends in mental health issues associated with rapid sociocultural change observed in different Asian societies are discussed, as well as the relative shortage of mental health personnel available in many Asian societies. It is emphasized that, in addition to expanding psychiatric services, there is an even more urgent need to promote mental health knowledge and concern through education in the general population. Mental health needs to be cultivated and maintained by social forces and cultural strengths. It is stressed that there is a challenge for Asian people to advance mental health beyond economic development in the 21st century.

Matched MeSH terms: Mental Health Services/organization & administration*; Mental Health Services/standards; Mental Health Services/trends

Supervisors' experiences of workplace supervision of nursing and paramedic students in rural settings: a scoping review

Trede F, McEwen C, Kenny A, O'Meara P

Nurse Educ Today, 2014 May;34(5):783-8.

PMID: 24698307 DOI: 10.1016/j.nedt.2013.10.003

We present our findings from a scoping review that sought to identify what is known about nursing and paramedic clinical supervisors' experiences of their supervision practices in rural settings. Our interest in these two groups is based on the central role that nurses and paramedics play in rural health care.

Matched MeSH terms: Rural Health Services*

Dental surgery in relation to medicine

Tratman EK

Malayan Medical Journal, 1930;5:32-4.

Matched MeSH terms: Dental Health Services

Feasibility, efficacy, safety, and acceptability of mifepristone-misoprostol for medical abortion in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Tran NT, Jang MC, Choe YS, Ko WS, Pyo HS, Kim OS

Int J Gynaecol Obstet, 2010 Jun;109(3):209-12.

PMID: 20206354 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijgo.2010.01.012

To examine the feasibility, efficacy, safety, and acceptability of medical abortion among rural and urban women up to 56 days of pregnancy in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Matched MeSH terms: Rural Health Services; Urban Health Services

[Public health services in Malaysia and Thailand. 2]

Toyokawa H

Hokenfu Zasshi, 1974;30(6):415-9.

PMID: 4498075

Matched MeSH terms: Community Health Services*

Fulltext From Third World to Fourth. Third WONCA World Conference on Rural Health in Kuching, Malaysia; Fourth in Calgary

Topps D, Rourke J

Can Fam Physician, 2000 Oct;46:2065.

PMID: 11072589

Matched MeSH terms: Health Services Accessibility; Rural Health Services*

Public health strategies to address Asian men's health needs

Tong SF, Low WY

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2012 Jul;24(4):543-55.

PMID: 22815311 DOI: 10.1177/1010539512452756

Men's health discourse has been around for more than 2 decades. The higher mortality rates and the shorter life expectancy in Asian men compared with their women counterparts show the disadvantaged status of men's health. Thus, discussions on men's health should address their health needs and not be confined to sex-specific male urology and reproductive health. In Asia, assessing men's health needs is challenging because of the vast differences in the socioeconomic status and the diverse culture among its member countries. Although, the epidemiology of men's health provides the focus for what to address in improving men's health, having an optimal strategy requires the understanding of men's health-seeking behaviors and the social determinants surrounding them. Thus, public health approaches addressing health behaviors and health promotion in the society should be one of the keys in improving men's health status. Locally relevant information is needed to inform effective public health approaches.

Matched MeSH terms: Health Services Needs and Demand*

Fulltext Malaysian primary care doctors' views on men's health: an unresolved jigsaw puzzle

Tong SF, Low WY, Ismail SB, Trevena L, Willcock S

BMC Fam Pract, 2011;12:29.

PMID: 21569395 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2296-12-29

BACKGROUND: Men have been noted to utilise health care services less readily then women. Primary care settings provide an opportunity to engage men in health care activities because of close proximity to the target group (men in the community). Understanding attitudes towards men's health among Malaysian primary care doctors is important for the effective delivery of health services to men. We aimed to explore the opinions and attitudes of primary care doctors (PCDs) relating to men's health and help-seeking behaviour.
METHODS: A qualitative approach to explore the opinions of 52 PCDs was employed, using fourteen in-depth interviews and eight focus group discussions in public and private settings. Purposive sampling of PCDs was done to ensure maximum variation in the PCD sample. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis. Open coding with thematic analysis was used to identify key issues raised in the interview.
RESULTS: The understanding of the concept of men's health among PCDs was fragmented. Although many PCDs were already managing health conditions relevant and common to men, they were not viewed by PCDs as "men's health". Less attention was paid to men's help-seeking behaviour and their gender roles as a potential determinant of the poor health status of men. There were opposing views about whether men's health should focus on men's overall health or a more focused approach to sexual health. There was also disagreement about whether special attention was warranted for men's health services. Some doctors would prioritise more common conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolaemia.
CONCLUSIONS: The concept of men's health was new to PCDs in Malaysia. There was wide variation in understanding and opposing attitudes towards men's health among primary care doctors. Creating awareness and having a systematic approach would facilitate PCDs in delivering health service to men.

Matched MeSH terms: Health Services Accessibility/organization & administration; Health Services Needs and Demand/organization & administration*

Potential problems with interventions that restrict access to patients who present inappropriately to Emergency Departments

Ting JY

Med J Malaysia, 2005 Aug;60(3):392-3.

PMID: 16379203

Matched MeSH terms: Health Services Accessibility*; Health Services Misuse*

Fulltext Factors influencing patient satisfaction with dental appearance and treatments they desire to improve aesthetics

Tin-Oo MM, Saddki N, Hassan N

BMC Oral Health, 2011;11:6.

PMID: 21342536 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6831-11-6

We assessed factors influencing patients' satisfaction with their dental appearance and the treatments they desired to improve dental aesthetics.

Matched MeSH terms: Health Services Needs and Demand/statistics & numerical data*

Fulltext Roadmap Out of COVID-19

Thor J, Pagkaliwagan E, Yeo A, Loh J, Kon C

Malays Orthop J, 2020 Nov;14(3):4-9.

PMID: 33403056 DOI: 10.5704/MOJ.2011.002

The recent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was declared as a public health emergency by the World Health Organisation on 30th January 2020, and has now affected more than 100 countries. Healthcare institutions and governments worldwide have raced to contain the disease, albeit to varying degrees of success. Containment strategies adopted range from complete lockdowns to remaining open with public advisories regarding social distancing. However, general principles adopted by most countries remain the same, mainly to avoid gatherings in large numbers and limit social interactions to curb the spread of disease. In Singapore, this disease had a very different progression. The first wave of the disease started with the confirmation of the first COVID-19 positive patient in Singapore on 23rd January 2020. Initially, the daily number of confirmed cases were low and manageable. With a rise in unlinked cases, the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) status was raised from yellow to orange. New cluster outbreaks in foreign worker dormitories led to the rampant spread of disease, with daily spikes of COVID-19 cases. As of 7th June 2020, we have a total of 37,910 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infections, the highest in Southeast Asia, 12,999 active cases and a manageable mortality count of 25 deaths. This details our unique method for dealing with a pandemic, including a brief demographic of trauma patients during this period. We were able to conserve sufficient resources to ensure that our essential services can still continue. Moving on, we have to ensure the continued protection of our population, especially the vulnerable groups such as the elderly and the immunocompromised, as we reopen.

Matched MeSH terms: Health Services

Fulltext Medical genetics in developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region: challenges and opportunities

Thong MK, See-Toh Y, Hassan J, Ali J

Genet Med, 2018 10;20(10):1114-1121.

PMID: 30093710 DOI: 10.1038/s41436-018-0135-0

Advances in genetic and genomic technology changed health-care services rapidly in low and middle income countries (LMICs) in the Asia-Pacific region. While genetic services were initially focused on population-based disease prevention strategies, they have evolved into clinic-based and therapeutics-oriented service. Many LMICs struggled with these noncommunicable diseases and were unprepared for the needs of a clinical genetic service. The emergence of a middle class population, the lack of regulatory oversight, and weak capacity-building in medical genetics expertise and genetic counseling services led to a range of genetic services of variable quality with minimal ethical oversight. Some of the current shortcomings faced include the lack of awareness of cultural values in genetic health care, the variable stages of socioeconomic development and educational background that led to increased demand and abuse of genetics, the role of women in society and the crisis of gender selection, the lack of preventive and care services for genetic and birth defects, the issues of gene ethics in medicine, and the lack of understanding of some religious controversies. These challenges provide opportunities for both developing and developed nations to work together to reduce the inequalities and to ensure a caring, inclusive, ethical, and cost-effective genetic service in the region.

Matched MeSH terms: Health Services Needs and Demand

Fulltext Health care delivery in Malaysia: changes, challenges and champions

Thomas S, Beh L, Nordin RB

J Public Health Afr, 2011 Sep 05;2(2):e23.

PMID: 28299064 DOI: 10.4081/jphia.2011.e23

Since 1957, there has been major reorganization of health care services in Malaysia. This article assesses the changes and challenges in health care delivery in Malaysia and how the management in health care processes has evolved over the years including equitable health care and health care financing. The health care service in Malaysia is changing towards wellness service as opposed to illness service. The Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH), being the main provider of health services, may need to manage and mobilize better health care services by providing better health care financing mechanisms. It is recommended that partnership between public and private sectors with the extension of traditional medicine complementing western medicine in medical therapy continues in the delivery of health care.

Matched MeSH terms: Health Services

Global Emergencies in Child Health: Challenges and Solutions-Viewpoint and Recommendations from the European Paediatric Association and the International Pediatric Association

Thacker N, Hasanoglu E, Dipesalema J, Namazova-Baranova L, Pulungan A, Alden E, et al.

J Pediatr, 2022 Feb;241:266-266.e3.

PMID: 34756940 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2021.10.052

Matched MeSH terms: Child Health Services/organization & administration; Child Health Services/standards*

Fulltext Correlates of and barriers to the utilization of health services for delivery in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa

Tey NP, Lai SL

ScientificWorldJournal, 2013;2013:423403.

PMID: 24288482 DOI: 10.1155/2013/423403

The high maternal and neonatal mortality rates in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa can be attributed to the lack of access and utilization of health services for delivery. Data from the Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania show that more than half of the births in these countries were delivered outside a health facility. Institutional delivery was closely associated with educational level, family wealth, place of residence, and women's media exposure status, but it was not influenced by women's work status and their roles in decision-making (with the exception of Nigeria). Controlling for other variables, higher parity and younger women were less likely to use a health facility for delivery. Within each country, the poorer, less educated and rural women had higher unmet need for maternal care services. Service related factors (accessibility in terms of cost and distance) and sociocultural factors (e.g., did not perceive the need for the services and objections from husband and family) also posed as barriers to institutional delivery. The paper concludes with some suggestions to increase institutional delivery.

Matched MeSH terms: Maternal Health Services/utilization*

Aging in Multi-ethnic Malaysia

Tey NP, Siraj SB, Kamaruzzaman SB, Chin AV, Tan MP, Sinnappan GS, et al.

Gerontologist, 2016 08;56(4):603-9.

PMID: 26553738 DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnv153

Multiethnic Malaysia provides a unique case study of divergence in population aging of different sociocultural subgroups within a country. Malaysia represents 3 major ethnicities in Asia-the Malay, Chinese, and Indian. The 3 ethnic groups are at different stages of population aging, as they have undergone demographic transition at different pace amidst rapid social and economic changes. Between 1991 and 2010, the Malaysian population aged 60 and over has more than doubled from about 1 million to 2.2 million, and this is projected to rise to about 7 million or 17.6% of the projected population of 40 million by 2040. In 2010, the aging index ranged from 22.8% among the Bumiputera (Malays and other indigenous groups), to 31.4% among the Indians and 55.0% among the Chinese. Population aging provides great challenges for Malaysia's social and economic development. The increasing prevalence of noncommunicable diseases in older adults, coupled with the erosion of the traditional family support system has increased demands on health care services with an overwhelming need for multidisciplinary and specialized geriatric care. Following the adoption of the National Policy for the Elderly in 1995, issues of population aging have gained increasing attention, especially among researchers. There is an urgent need to increase public awareness, develop infrastructure, as well as support action oriented research that will directly translate to comprehensive and cohesive social strategies, policies, and legislation to protect not just the current older Malaysians but the future of all Malaysians.

Matched MeSH terms: Health Services for the Aged*

Parental perceptions of paediatric rehabilitation services using the Malay Measure of Processes of Care

Tew SP, Ahmad Fauzi A

Child Care Health Dev, 2020 09;46(5):585-590.

PMID: 32410244 DOI: 10.1111/cch.12773

BACKGROUND: Neurodevelopmental disabilities are amongst the main conditions encountered in our paediatric rehabilitation centre. To identify the necessary actions to achieve family-centred care in the tertiary healthcare division, we explored the perceptions of parents on the paediatric rehabilitation services received by their children with neurodevelopmental disabilities.

METHOD: A cross-sectional study involving 200 parents of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities aged 1-18 years was carried out. The Malay version of the Measure of Process of Care (MPOC-20) questionnaire was used to measure the perceptions of parents on the services. Descriptive statistical analysis was done to describe the mean score of each MPOC-20 scale. Univariate and bivariate analyses were used to examine the associations between the characteristics of parents and children as well as the sociodemographic and environmental factors with the MPOC-20 scales.

RESULTS: The mean score of the MPOC-20 scales ranged from 4.50 to 5.65 (SD 0.93-1.51). Amongst the MPOC-20 scales, parents ranked enabling, having good partnership and being comprehensive (EP) the highest, whereas the provision of specific information (PS) received the lowest score. Amongst all the MPOC-20 scales, significant differences were shown in parent's employment, between children's age groups and between ethnic groups.

CONCLUSIONS: The Malay MPOC-20 is a validated tool that can be used in evaluation of services among the Malay-speaking community, and therefore, it is recommended for our clinical use to improve family-centred practice in paediatric rehabilitation.

Matched MeSH terms: Child Health Services/organization & administration*

Smoking in Malaysia: promotion and control

Teoh SK

World Smoking Health, 1984;9(2):27-30.

PMID: 12179603

Matched MeSH terms: Marketing of Health Services*

Referrals to a psychiatric clinic in West Malaysia

Teoh JI, Kinzie JD, Tan ES

Int J Soc Psychiatry, 1973;18(4):301-7.

PMID: 4720845

Matched MeSH terms: Community Mental Health Services*

Some clinical problems of a psychiatric day centre