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The attractive female body weight and female body dissatisfaction in 26 countries across 10 world regions: results of the international body project I

Swami V, Frederick DA, Aavik T, Alcalay L, Allik J, Anderson D, et al.

Pers Soc Psychol Bull, 2010 Mar;36(3):309-25.
PMID: 20179313 DOI: 10.1177/0146167209359702

This study reports results from the first International Body Project (IBP-I), which surveyed 7,434 individuals in 10 major world regions about body weight ideals and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the female Contour Drawing Figure Rating Scale (CDFRS) and self-reported their exposure to Western and local media. Results indicated there were significant cross-regional differences in the ideal female figure and body dissatisfaction, but effect sizes were small across high-socioeconomic-status (SES) sites. Within cultures, heavier bodies were preferred in low-SES sites compared to high-SES sites in Malaysia and South Africa (ds = 1.94-2.49) but not in Austria. Participant age, body mass index (BMI), and Western media exposure predicted body weight ideals. BMI and Western media exposure predicted body dissatisfaction among women. Our results show that body dissatisfaction and desire for thinness is commonplace in high-SES settings across world regions, highlighting the need for international attention to this problem.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
An unceasing problem: soil-transmitted helminthiases in rural Malaysian communities

Al-Mekhlafi MS, Atiya AS, Lim YA, Mahdy AK, Ariffin WA, Abdullah HC, et al.

Southeast Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Health, 2007 Nov;38(6):998-1007.
PMID: 18613540

Despite great development in socioeconomic status throughout 50 years of independence, Malaysia is still plagued with soil-transmitted helminthiases (STH). STH continue to have a significant impact on public health particularly in rural communities. In order to determine the prevalence of STH among rural Orang Asli children and to investigate the possible risk factors affecting the pattern of this prevalence, fecal samples were collected from 292 Orang Asli primary schoolchildren (145 males and 147 females) age 7-12 years, from Pos Betau, Kuala Lipis, Pahang. The samples were examined by Kato-Katz and Harada Mori techniques. Socioeconomic data were collected using pre-tested questionnaires. The overall prevalence of ascariasis, trichuriasis, and hookworm infections were 67.8, 95.5 and 13.4%, respectively. Twenty-nine point eight percent of the children had heavy trichuriasis, while 22.3% had heavy ascariasis. Sixty-seven point seven percent of the children had mixed infections. Age > 10 years (p = 0.016), no toilet in the house (p = 0.012), working mother (p = 0.040), low household income (p = 0.033), and large family size (p = 0.028) were identified as risk factors for ascariasis. Logistic regression confirmed low income, no toilet in the house and working mother as significant risk factors for ascariasis. The prevalence of STH is still very high in rural Malaysian communities. STH may also contribute to other health problems such as micronutrient deficiencies, protein-energy malnutrition and poor educational achievement. Public health personnel need to reassess current control measures and identify innovative and integrated ways in order to reduce STH significantly in rural communities.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Assessing progressivity of out-of-pocket payment: with illustration to Malaysia

Yu CP, Whynes DK, Sach TH

Int J Health Plann Manage, 2006 10 19;21(3):193-210.
PMID: 17044546

Throughout the world, policy makers are considering or implementing financing strategies that are likely to have a substantial impact on the equity of health financing. The assessment of the equity implication is clearly important, given the potential impact that alternative finance sources have on households. Households incur out-of-pocket payment directly from their budget, apart from their public or private insurance. Out-of-pocket payment is the primary concern, given their undesirable impact on households. Progressivity measures departures from proportionality in the relationship between out-of-pocket payment and ability to pay. It is the most frequently used yardstick to assess the equity of out-of-pocket payments in empirical studies. This paper provides an evaluation of such progressivity measures, undertaken using four approaches (proportion approach, tabulation approach, concentration curve and Kakwani's index), in order to reveal their usefulness and underlying notion. It is illustrated empirically with data on out-of-pocket payment for health care in Malaysia for 1998/ 1999, based on the nationally representative Household Expenditure Survey. Results indicate that out-of-pocket payments are mildly progressive, whilst the four approaches have their benefits and limitations in assessing equity implications. This analysis is of interest from a policy perspective, given Malaysia's heavy reliance on out-of-pocket payments to finance health care.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Development and validation of a multilateral index to determine economic status in developing countries: the Patient Financial Eligibility Tool (PFET)

Saba J, Audureau E, Bizé M, Koloshuk B, Ladner J

Popul Health Manag, 2013 Apr;16(2):82-9.
PMID: 23276290 DOI: 10.1089/pop.2012.0049

The objective was to develop and validate a multilateral index to determine patient ability to pay for medication in low- and middle-income countries. Primary data were collected in 2009 from 117 cancer patients in China, India, Thailand, and Malaysia. The initial tool included income, expenditures, and assets-based items using ad hoc determined brackets. Principal components analysis was performed to determine final weights. Agreement (Kappa) was measured between results from the final tool and from an Impact Survey (IS) conducted after beginning drug therapy to quantify a patient's actual ability to pay in terms of number of drug cycles per year. The authors present the step-by-step methodology employed to develop the tool on a country-by-country basis. Overall Cronbach value was 0.84. Agreement between the Patient Financial Eligibility Tool (PFET) and IS was perfect (equal number of drug cycles) for 58.1% of patients, fair (1 cycle difference) for 29.1%, and poor (>1 cycle) for 12.8%. Overall Kappa was 0.76 (P<0.0001). The PFET is an effective tool for determining an individual's ability to pay for medication. Combined with tiered models for patient participation in the cost of medication, it could help to increase access to high-priced products in developing countries.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Financial burden of colorectal cancer treatment among patients and their families in a middle-income country

Azzani M, Roslani AC, Su TT

Support Care Cancer, 2016 10;24(10):4423-32.
PMID: 27225528 DOI: 10.1007/s00520-016-3283-2

BACKGROUND: In Malaysia, the healthcare system consists of a government-run universal healthcare system and a co-existing private healthcare system. However, with high and ever rising healthcare spending on cancer management, cancer patients and their families are likely to become vulnerable to a healthcare-related financial burden. Moreover, they may have to reduce their working hours and lose income. To better understand this issue, this study aims to assess the financial burden of colorectal cancer patients and their families in the first year following diagnosis.
METHODS: Data on patient costs were collected prospectively in the first year following diagnosis by using a self-administered questionnaire and telephone interviews at three time points for all four stages of colorectal cancer. The patient cost data consisted of direct out-of-pocket payments for medical-related expenses such as hospital stays, tests and treatment and for non-medical items such as travel and food associated with hospital visits. In addition, indirect cost data related to the loss of productivity of the patient and caregiver(s) was assessed. The patient's perceived level of financial difficulty and types of coping strategy were also explored.
RESULT: The total 1-year patient cost (both direct and indirect) increased with the stage of colorectal cancer: RM 6544.5 (USD 2045.1) for stage I, RM 7790.1 (USD 2434.4) for stage II, RM 8799.1 (USD 2749.7) for stage III and RM 8638.2 (USD 2699.4) for stage IV. The majority of patients perceived paying for their healthcare as somewhat difficult. The most frequently used financial coping strategy was a combination of current income and savings.
CONCLUSION: Despite the high subsidisation in public hospitals, the management of colorectal cancer imposes a substantial financial burden on patients and their families. Moreover, the majority of patients and their families perceive healthcare payments as difficult. Therefore, it is recommended that policy- and decision-makers should further consider some financial protection strategies and support for cancer treatment because cancer is a very costly and chronic disease.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Fulltext The prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis in patients with pelvic inflammatory disease

Ravindran J, Tan YI, Ngeow YF

Med J Malaysia, 1998 Mar;53(1):16-21.
PMID: 10968132

Chlamydia trachomatis is recognized as the most prevalent sexually transmitted organism in many parts of the world. Most complications associated with chlamydial infection in women and their infants can be avoided by appropriate treatment. However, treatment is often not initiated because infections are frequently asymptomatic. The identification of at risk patients and treatment of these patients is a practical clinical approach in the reduction of transmission and prevention of complications. The prevalence of chlamydial infection among patients with pelvic inflammatory disease admitted to Seremban General Hospital was 22.7%. The difference in seropositivity between PID patients (20.5%) and antenatal controls (2.3%) was statistically significant. The corresponding cervical antigen detection rates were 6.8% and 2.3% respectively. Chlamydial infection should be screened for in gynaecological patients and antibiotic policies should take cognizance of the aetiological role played by this organism in pelvic inflammatory disease.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Presidential address

Vohra U

IIPS Newsl, 1993 Jul;34(3):4-6.
PMID: 12287408
Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Sibship size and educational attainment in peninsular Malaysia: do policies matter?

Pong SL

Sociol Perspect, 1997;40(2):227-42.
PMID: 12293107 DOI: 10.2307/1389523
Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Malaysian Chinese: salted fish and other dietary exposures

Armstrong RW, Imrey PB, Lye MS, Armstrong MJ, Yu MC, Sani S

Int J Cancer, 1998 Jul 17;77(2):228-35.
PMID: 9650558 DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0215(19980717)77:2<228::AID-IJC

We interviewed 282 histologically confirmed cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in Chinese residents of Selangor and the Federal Territory, Malaysia, and an equal number of Chinese age-, sex-, and length-of-residence-matched controls sampled from the general population. Consumption of 55 dietary items during childhood, and 5 years pre-diagnosis of NPC, was analyzed by univariate and multivariate methods. Four salted preserved foods (fish, leafy vegetables, egg and root), fresh pork/beef organ meats and beer and liquor consumption exhibited strong positive associations, and 4 vegetable/fruit combinations strong negative associations with NPC. Factor analysis and multivariable modeling using estimated factor scores strongly supported separate effects on NPC of vegetables/fruits, salted preserved foods, pork/beef organ meats and beer/liquor consumption. Multivariable modeling associated NPC most clearly with high consumption of salted fish, salted eggs, pork/beef liver and beer and low consumption of Chinese flowering cabbage, oranges/tangerines and shrimp. A strong residual association of social class with NPC remained after adjustment for diet, which is consistent with a substantial role for non-dietary environmental factors.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Fulltext Enterobius vermicularis infection among children aged 1-8 years in a rural area in Malaysia

Norhayati M, Hayati MI, Oothuman P, Azizi O, Fatmah MS, Ismail G, et al.

Southeast Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Health, 1994 Sep;25(3):494-7.
PMID: 7777914

The infection rate and relationship of enterobiasis with socio-economic status were determined in children aged 1-8 years, living in a rural area in Malaysia. Of the 178 subjects 40.4% were infected with Enterobius vermicularis. The distribution of enterobiasis among these children were analyzed in relation to age groups and sex. The rate of infection was significantly higher in older children (5-7 years). The association of enterobiasis with other factors studied such as number of persons per house, household income per months and mother's employment status were not significant. The sensitivity of three successive days anal swabs compared to a single swab was found to be statistically significant.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Urbanization and low-income housing in Malaysia: impact on the urban Malays

Agus MR

Warasan Prachakon Lae Sangkhom, 1990 Jan;2(2):205-21, 242-3.
PMID: 12283536

The focus of this study is on urbanization in Malaysia. "This paper is divided into three parts. The first part examines the trend of uneven urban development in West Malaysia. The second part discusses the change [in] ethnic composition of urban population between 1970 and 1980 intercensal period. The third part analyses the impact of the urbanization process on the Malays in the context of housing problems of the lower income groups." (SUMMARY IN THA)

Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Unesco in Asia and the Pacific: 40 years on

UNESCO. Regional Office for Education in Asia and the Pacific

Bull Unesco Reg Off Educ Asia Pac, 1986 Nov.
PMID: 12342774
Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Low birthweight of live singletons in Singapore, 1967-1974

Hughes K, Tan NR, Lun KC

Int J Epidemiol, 1984 Dec;13(4):465-71.
PMID: 6519886

A random sample of 23 591 single livebirths was drawn from the Singapore Registry for 1967-1974, and information extracted from the birth certificates. The proportion of low birthweight infants (2500 g or less) fell markedly from 9.1% in 1967 to 5.7% in 1974, which has not been the finding in other studies. Variation in the proportions of low birthweight infants by sex, maternal age, parity, and social class, are broadly in agreement with other studies. Indians were found to have significantly smaller babies (mean weight of 3020 g) with a higher proportion of low birthweight ones (11.5%) than the Malays (3080 g and 8.1%) and the Chinese (3130 g and 6.1%). This is despite similar distributions of gestational age, and for term babies the differences in low birthweight proportions are highly significant with Chinese 5.0%, Malays 6.5%, and Indians 9.8%. The reasons for this are discussed with the implication that lower birthweights in Indians are to some extent of ethnic/genetic origin.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Demographic development in ASEAN: a comparative overview

Herrin AN, Pardoko H, Lim LL, Hongladorom C

Philipp Rev Econ Bus, 1981 Sep-Dec;18(3-4):132-53.
PMID: 12178278
Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Female immigrants and labor in colonial Malaya: 1860-1947

Lee SM

Int Migr Rev, 1989;23(2):309-31.
PMID: 12315959

"The role of Chinese and Indian women as immigrants and workers in colonial Malaya is examined using data from censuses, immigration records, official reports and secondary sources. The article discusses the main types of work of female immigrants and their contribution to the economic development of colonial Malaya during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in an attempt to redress the neglect of female immigrants' economic role in Malaya's history. Comparisons between male and female immigrants' labor and between Chinese and Indian immigrants, are drawn to highlight the different conditions of migration and labor for the different groups of immigrants."

Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Female first marriage in East and Southeast Asia: a Kiefer-Neumann model

Montgomery MR, Sulak DB

J Dev Econ, 1989 Apr;30(2):225-40.
PMID: 12342575

Many studies have shown that schooling levels of husband and wife are important determinants of household behavior in developing countries. This article asks how the schooling levels of husband and wife come to be associated with each other through the marriage market. The Kiefer-Neumann model of labor market search is adapted to marital search, the aim being to explain both the positive sorting on educational levels for spouses, and the positive relationship between female schooling and age at 1st marriage. World Fertility Survey data for Indonesia, Korea, and Malaysia are employed in the analyses.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Transitional society, health status and international migration of Muslim villagers in the lower part of southern Thailand

Chongsuvivatwong V, Mo-Suwan L, Mahahing P

Southeast Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Health, 1990 Sep;21(3):442-6.
PMID: 2075485

A survey was carried out in a Malay-speaking Muslim community in southern Thailand to obtain baseline data for planning of long term multidisciplinary research and development. By using a 30-cluster sampling technique, 210 households of 1,308 subjects were studied in the post-Ramadan period. It was found that the community was in a social transition. The crude birth rate was 4% and 37.6% of the households had at least one migrant. About half of these migrants had been to Malaysia and mainly worked in rubber plantations. Ninety-five per cent of the households had electricity whereas only 23.8% had a latrine. Boiled or rain water was regularly drunk in only 13.3 per cent of the households. Home-grown agricultural products were not sufficient to provide adequate food. Twenty-six per cent of the adults were unemployed and 24.6% were illiterate. Of the pregnancies 26.7% had no antenatal care and complete tetanus toxoid was given to only 27.8%. Traditional birth attendants conducted 81.1% of the deliveries and only 28.9 and 24.4% of the umbilical cords were correctly cut and correctly dressed, respectively. Breast feeding was still a common (87.8%) practice. However, complete immunization was given to only 10.8%, and 37.8% of the infants had at least one diarrheal episode in the previous month. It was concluded that high birth rate, high migration, low education, low income and bad health of infants are major problems. These problems were interlinked and needed a special multidisciplinary approach. In addition to common obstacles for routine health delivery, migration may create international complications, particularly related to maternal and child care.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Social background and attitudes towards drugs as predictors of drug use among Malaysian students

Spencer C, Navaratnam V

Drug Alcohol Depend, 1980 Jun;5(6):411-9.
PMID: 7379697

Those Malaysian secondary schoolchildren who have ever used an illicit drug do not differ significantly in terms of social class background, ethnicity or rural/urban location, from the majority of their contemporaries who have not used drugs. The cross-sectional data show a rapid secular trend towards the sexes being equally involved in drug use. Significant differences between ever and never users are, however, found in their attitudes towards drug taking and their beliefs about the properties of drugs, although both groups share the same rather negative image of the typical drug user. Thus, drug users have accepted some of the attitudes towards drug issues which are normative in the non-user group, whilst developing other attitudes which are consistent with their continuing use. It is argued that adolescent drug abuse in Malaysia is not to be linked specifically with social deprivation, but should be seen as being part of the life style of particular groups in all strata of society.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Fulltext A community child and adolescent guidance clinic in Malaysia

Krahl W, Quek SL, Raman N

Med J Malaysia, 1981 Sep;36(3):171-3.
PMID: 7329374

Study site: Child and Adolescent Guidance Clinic, Hospital Bahagia, Perak, Malaysia

Matched MeSH terms: Social Class
Deworming/family planning project launched on estate

Siva V

Asian Pac Popul Programme News, 1979;8(1):24-5.
PMID: 12309491

PIP: A deworming/family planning project funded by JOICFP was successfully initiated in Kerling Estate, Kuala Kubu Bahru, Malaysia. Rapport between estate management, workers, and the National Family Planning Board helped establish the project. A recent Gotong-Royong or community self-help project had encouraged enthusiasm among workers to clean up the estate. Mothers were exhorted to plan their families and devote attention to the health and welfare of the children. The need for parents to understand the causes of infestation and educate their children to wear slippers or shoes and develop good toilet habits was emphasized by Dr. Nor Laily Aziz. Continuing National Family Planning Board and Government support was pledged.

Matched MeSH terms: Social Class

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