Ergonomic is important in classroom. Sitting for protracted period in class may lead students to develop musculoskeletal disorders. Their physical health and performance in the class may increase by designing school furniture that match with human body. In Malaysia, there is a lack of ergonomic assessment for school environment especially in urban areas. The aim of this study is to determine the mismatch between the furniture dimension and anthropometric parameters among primary school children in Putrajaya. This is a cross-sectional study which involved 100, Year 1 and Year 6 primary school students randomly selected in Putrajaya. Five anthropometric measurements (popliteal height, buttock popliteal length, elbow height, shoulder height (sitting), hip breadth) as well as five furniture dimensions (seat height, seat depth, seat width, backrest height and seat to desk height) were measured. Instrument used is Martin type anthropometer set, SECA body meter, and SECA weighing scale. Calculation for determining mismatch between the furniture and anthropometric measures were calculated using a standard mismatch formula. There was 100% mismatch for seat height, seat depth, and seat to seat to desk height for Year 1. As for Year 6, mismatch was reported 100% for backrest height and seat to desk height. There were significance difference for parameters of popliteal height between Year 1 and Year 6 and between male and female of Year 1. There was a presence of mismatch between furniture dimension and children anthropometric measurement. Proposed dimension of furniture shows decrease in percentage of mismatch for the most parameter of anthropometric measurement.
The implementation of the 1 Student 1 Sport Policy (D1M1S) focuses on the involvement of students who are less active in sports activities in order to polish and further developed their talent potential. It is
believed that the responsibility and the role of teachers are vital in ensuring the implementation of D1M1S conducted at the school level. However, the use of teachers as executors in ensuring that this policy is carried out must be studied and identified to achieve the goal of D1M1S besides improving the quality of work to a higher level. This study was conducted to identify the implementation level of D1M1S among teachers in secondary schools in Kluang, Johor, implementation of D1M1S based on gender differences and category of school and existing relationships such as elements of skill, understanding,
commitment and sports facilities. The key success of D1M1S implementation is closely
related to the teachers as executors. This study was carried out on 389 secondary school
teachers in Kluang, Johor. Questionnaire containing 36 items was developed and
administered to measure the elements of skill, commitment, understanding and sport
facilities. Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient value of the instrument was 0.95. The data
were analysed using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation and frequency) and
inferential analysis (independent samples t-test and Pearson correlation). The findings
showed high level of understanding towards D1M1S while the elements of skill, commitment
and sports facilities were at a moderate level. In addition, there were significant difference in
terms of mean scores reported for the implementation of D1M1S based on the genders of the
teachers with the skills element (p = 0.00
A total of 306 Malaysian university students and staff were surveyed to ascertain the physical and emotional effects of the polluted haze on them. All subjects completed self-reported questionnaires. Analysis of the results indicated that the majority of subjects reduced their outdoor activities and sports, and also reported an increase in emotional and physical health problems. The results indicated that there was a general increase in emotional problems such as feeling depressed, lacking in energy, not feeling like doing anything, feeling anxious and afraid, difficulty sleeping, feeling agitated and irritable, and having no appetite. There was also an increase in physical symptoms such as itchy or red eyes, itchy or running nose, dry throat/cough, headaches, nausea, and fever. This study indicated that emotional and behavioural problems are just as common during the haze, when compared with physical health problems. The study also suggests that there are a broad range of problems which health care and human resource departments need to be aware of and take precautions to minimize during a haze.
Smoking among school children is becoming a serious problem in developing countries, including Bangladesh. The early initiation of smoking needs urgent intervention to protect this vulnerable group and preventing them to be addicted. This study aims to determine the age at initiation of smoking and factors affecting it. A two-stage cluster sampling was used with a selection of schools on probability proportional to enrolment size followed by stratified random sampling of government and private schools and then a random start in classes VIII, IX and X of each school targeting the students aged 13 years and above. Data collected from secondary school students using self-administered structured questionnaire. All analyses were performed with SPSS version 20.0. Missing value was treated by multiple imputations. A total of 6877 data were analysed in which 84.7% were non-smoker, 9.5% were ever smoker and 5.8% were current smokers. Among the ever smoker (n=823), 38% were current smokers, 56.5% former and 5.5% were recent quitters. The mean (SD) age at initiation of smoking was 10.9 (0.2) years. Multinomial regression analysis revealed that class grade, peer pressure and offered free cigarette appeared to be significant predictors of smoking initiation (p0.05). Promotion of smoking resistance skills among children and teens through comprehensive approaches designed to enhance general personal competence by teaching an array of personal and social life skills is recommended.
Background: Nosocomial infection is among the leading problem in many major hospitals resulting in soaring cost expenditure in managing its affect.Hand washing practice is a crucial preventive way to contain such mischief but many ignored its importance. This is perhaps due to lack of appropriate role modeling from senior practitioners.
Subjects and methods: Our study examined the prevalence of hand washing practice among medical students from year 3 to 5 and compared it to their knowledge and level of awareness on its importance in clinical practice. 142 students were randomly observed during their clinical work in the wards on this practice and questionnaires were later distributed to 268 students from all semesters on their knowledge on the technique and awareness on its importance.
Results: Out of 142, almost 80% washed their hands but only 41.6% performed effective hand washing. In contrary, 80 to 90% showed good level of knowledge and awareness as well as perception about its importance in clinical practice.
Conclusions: The contradictory findings between the actual practice of hand washing and knowledge as well as awareness suggest that enforcement on the practice is necessary. This requires motivation and cooperation from all health alliances and higher authority in the health system. Remedial measures are much needed in order to contain high incidence of nosocomial infection in our local practice.
Appreciation of learning styles can be of use to help both educators and students to enhance the effectiveness of an educational experience. It has been noticed that some students at this College are not very good at expressing themselves in either written or spoken English. Our study aimed to identify the student’s learning styles; assess whether there is any correlation between learning style, baseline demographic data and self rated proficiency in English language; and assess their associations with the assessment performance.
A group of third year medical students voluntarily participated in a questionnaire study to provide us with their learning styles, demographic information and self-rated proficiency in English language. This data was compared to the students’ performance in the assessment at the end of their junior clinical rotations.
This cohort of students (60% Malay, 35% Chinese and 5% Indian) who were mostly visual learners, considered themselves proficient in English. Students with predominantly Visual learning styles and those with poorer English, score significantly lower during their clinical long case examinations. These two predictors appear to be independent of each other.
These results may suggest that our current teaching modalities may disadvantage students with predominant visual learning styles. It also suggests that the long case clinical examination may favour those with more verbal learning styles.
This study was done in all UNIMAS medical students from year 1 to year 5 in the year 2004. A questionnaire was used. 290 students participated with a response rate of 72.5%. There were more male students snoring than female (ratio 5.9:1.3). The habitual snoring percentages for all years, first year and final year medical students are 7.2, 9.9 and 3.6 respectively and these are comparatively and relatively low with other studies reported in the last 10 years, and the reasons for this are unknown. However it was interesting to note in this study and others that there are relatively more snoring medical students in the first year than subsequent years. Significant positive correlation of snoring was found with the factors of gender, weight, height and sleep apnoea, all having p<0.0005, but no significant correlation was found in others including examination results.
Many researchers have emphasized the importance of teaching stress management and self-care skills to medical students as they are vulnerable to develop psychological health problems. The researchers designed a 4-hour intervention based on the DEAL model to address these problems. This study aimed to determine outcomes of the DEAL-based intervention on medical students’ stress, anxiety and depression symptoms. Methods: A randomized controlled trial study was conducted on 171 medical students. Their stress, anxiety and depression symptoms were measured by the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale at five intervals; at 2 weeks before the intervention, and at 1 week, 8 weeks, 16 weeks and 32 weeks after the intervention. The mixed model ANCOVA was applied to determine the effect of the intervention on the participants’ psychological health at five intervals. Results: A total of 153 medical students (intervention = 73 and control = 80) completed this study. Results showed that the intervention group experienced significantly lower stress and depression symptoms than the control group. Although anxiety scores are consistently lower in the intervention group, no significant differences between groups were found. Conclusion: These results support the favourable outcomes of the intervention on psychological health of medical students. It is a promising intervention to be considered by medical schools as it consumes minimal amount of time, money, training and man power as well can be implemented easily.
Introduction: Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to perceive, control and evaluates emotion. Research results found that EI is relevant to organizational development and manpower development. It is also important to academic success, emotional adaptability, stress management and other lifestyle issues. EI principles help one to understand and assess people's behaviors, interpersonal skills, attitudes and potentials. It also plays an important role in human resource planning, job placement and recruitment interviews and selection, business development, customer care services, and more. The study focused on exploring students’ EI, subscales of EI (i.e., personal competencies and social competencies) and its associated factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 571 medical students from year 1, 3 and 5. Years of study, gender, and ethnic groups were included as factor variables. USM Emotional Quotient Inventory (USMEQ-i) was used to measure EI, personal competence and social competence. Results: Years of study significantly associated with EI (F = 18.41, p < 0.001), personal competency (F = 16.93, p < 0.001) and social competency levels (F = 12.92, p < 0.001). There was a decreasing pattern of EI, personal competency and social competency level as medical training progresses. Male significantly had a higher EI (t = -1.99, p < 0.05) and personal competence (t = -1.99, p < 0.05) levels than female medical students. Nevertheless, male and female students had equal levels of social competence (t = -1.39, p = 0.730). Ethnic groups demonstrated no significant association with EI, personal competency and social competency level. Conclusion: This study found that years of study were the main associated factor, followed by gender. In addition, there is a cause of concern regarding the decreasing pattern of EI throughout medical training. Further research is required to investigate this concern, so that appropriate intervention can be taken to alleviate the concern.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a DVDdelivered mindfulness-based intervention for reducing stress among medical students in a Malaysian university. Methods: A total of 76 medical students participated in the intervention program (Mindful-Gym DVD). They were stratified according to year of studies and randomly allocated to intervention (N = 38) and control groups (N = 38). The following outcome variables were measured at pre- and post-intervention: mindfulness (with Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, MAAS); perceived stress (with Perceived Stress Scale, PSS); mental distress (with Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, DASS); and self-efficacy (with General Selfefficacy Scale, GSE). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to analyse the effect of group (Intervention vs. Control) on changes in the outcome variables. Results: One week after the intervention, participants in the intervention group reported significantly greater improvements with small to medium effect sizes in self-reported levels of mindfulness (β =0.19, ∆R2= 0.04, p = 0.028, f2= 0.07), perceived stress (β = -0.25, ∆R2=0.06, p = 0.006, f2= 0.11), mental distress (β = -0.27, ∆R2= 0.07, p =0.003, f2= 0.13), and self-efficacy (β = 0.27, ∆R2= 0.07, p = 0.003, f2= 0.13), compared to participants in the control group. The number needed to treat (NNT) to achieve ‘normal’ levels of depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms (as indicated by the DASS scores) were 5, 8, and 6 respectively. Conclusions: This study found that the DVD-delivered mindfulness-based program is potentially a labour- and cost-effective and easily accessible stress reduction program for medical students.
Background: The Medical Faculty of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) runs an undergraduate medical programme which is a combination of the traditional and the newer trends of medical curriculum. The IIUM curriculum in Phase I (Years 1, 2: preclinical) is integrated organ system based, with lectures being the main method of curriculum delivery and also incorporating problem-based learning (PBL) as one of the teaching-learning approaches. Methods: The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of PBL teaching-learning method in IIUM in achieving the aims of the medical school as viewed by the students. A total of 287 students from Phase I and Phase II (Year 3: clinical) participated in this study at the end of academic session 2006/2007. The questionnaires distributed consisted of 33 items with four different aspects of PBL being evaluated namely; i) PBL objectives, ii) assessment of performance of the facilitators, iii) assessment of the PBL packages and iv) preferred teaching-learning approach. Results: An average of 86.4 % of students agreed that PBL sessions achieved its aims of preparing students for professional training in the clinical years. Also approximately 80% of students felt that the facilitators fulfilled their roles as PBL tutors. Students were generally satisfied with the PBL packages prepared. However about 50% of Year 2 students did not look forward to PBL sessions and only about 20% of preclinical students wanted more PBL sessions to be scheduled. This latter finding differed as 60% of the clinical (Year 3) students wanted more PBL sessions to be implemented. A significant proportion of the students also believed that they needed some prior information about the PBL case in question in order to generate lively exchange of ideas in the first sessions. Preclinical students preferred lectured-based approach as compared to PBL in contrast to the clinical (Year 3) students of whom 57% (62) preferred the PBL teaching-learning approach. Nearly 80% of the Year 3 students found the exposure to PBL sessions during their preclinical years beneficial during the clinical year. Discussion: Although our findings supported the effectiveness of PBL as one of the teaching-learning approaches (as perceived by our students) there are a few areas of concern. These include believing that a prior knowledge of the topic in question is needed to generate a lively discussion; the group not being motivated; the group members confining themselves to individual assignments only; PBL not being supportive of on-going self- assessment; the consequence of a facilitator being too dominant; and cases constructed do not reflect real clinical scenarios. Despite agreeing to its effectiveness preclinical students still preferred lecture-based approach to the PBL as they are more confident with the knowledge as obtained through the former learning modality. Conclusion: PBL is an effective learning strategy and it contributes to the teaching-learning process of IIUM undergraduate preclinical medical programme which implements a non-Problem Based Curriculum. We are of the opinion that a combination of lecture sessions and PBL best suit the IIUM medical students.
Objective: Globally, there is growing evidence of stigmatization of people with mental illnesses and mental illness is more stigmatizing than physical illnesses. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the attitudes of university students towards persons with mental illness. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Management and Science University students during the academic year 2012. Prior ethical approval was taken for conducting the study. A total of 300 medical and health science students was recruited in this study and the response rate was 93%. The survey questionnaire was adopted from a previous study with 15 statements about attitude towards mental health illness and sociodemographic characteristics. Classes were chosen randomly and students also randomly selected. The inclusion criterion for this research was medical and health science students while the exclusion criterion was students from other faculties, staff and lecturers. Data was analyzed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 13.0. Descriptive statistics were used for the analysis of the basic demographics and survey items of the questionnaire. T-test and multiple linear regression were used to explore the relationship between the socio-demographic and the attitude. Results: A total number of 279 students participated in this study. The majority of them were female, age 20 years and above, single, Malay, from International Medical School (IMS) and from urban areas (68.5%, 88.2%, 96.4%, 58.1%, 60.2%, 77.8% respectively). In this study, the majority of the participants showed a moderate to good attitude towards people with mental illness. Univariate analysis showed that marital status influenced the attitudes of university students towards people with mental illness (p=0.015). In multivariate analysis, multiple linear regression showed that gender, marital status, smoking and drinking alcohol significantly influenced the attitude of university students towards people with mental illness (p=0.014, p=0.012; p=0.009, p=0.013; respectively). Conclusion: This study showed that the undergraduate university students had a moderate to good attitude towards people with mental illness. Gender, marital status, smoking and drinking alcohol significantly influenced the attitude of undergraduate university students towards people with mental illness. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 14 (1): January - June 2013: XX XX.
Background: Competence-based curriculum has become the need of medical education to meet the objectives of institutions aiming to produce skilled physicians. To achieve the optimal competence and performance of graduates a number of traditional evaluation exercises have been practiced. Some of these e.g. OSCE although meet the acceptable standard of reliability and validity is the assessment done in a controlled environment. This leaves the room for performance-based assessment in real clinical situation such as mini clinical evaluation exercise (Mini-CEX). To practice and meet the challenges of Mini-CEX it is vital to undertake faculty development program with a comprehensively chalked down Mini-CEX protocol and its objectives to achieve the intended outcome. Objective: To undertake faculty development on Mini-CEX for its feasibility and acceptability as a method of formative assessment to evaluate the clinical competence of trainees in postgraduate program of Otolaryngology and Head-Neck Surgery. Method: 25 trainees from the four classes of master of surgery program of 2009 in Otolaryngology and Head-Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS) undertook Mini-CEX encounters and assessed by 9 supervisors in a 12-week period of study. Faculty development program was carried out through prior lectures deliberating on background, concept and procedure of Mini-CEX followed by demonstrations using video clip of Mini-CEX encounter recorded in own clinical environment. Students were also exposed to similar settings to take up the Mini-CEX encounter without any hesitation. Trainees were assessed in outpatient clinical setting. Program was evaluated for its feasibility and acceptability with respect to patient’s factors, clinical attributes, supervisor and trainee’s performance and their reported level of satisfaction.
Result: Faculty development and trainees orientation in Min-CEX was achieved as feasible and acceptable. Higher rating of satisfaction was reported by majority assessors and trainees as they found Mini-CEX acceptable for formative assessment. Among clinical skills highest rating was received in physical examination and lowest rating in therapeutic skills. Conclusion: A motivated faculty and organized approach towards a comprehensive knowledge on Mini-CEX for its background communication, demonstration of procedure and method to complete the rating forms is the useful guide to adopt Mini-CEX. The faculty and trainees in department of ORL-HNS found Mini-CEX as feasible and acceptable assessment tool to monitor educational activity of postgraduate program through performance-based evaluation in a real clinical situation.
Objective: To determine the internal consistency and construct validity of the Adult Learning Inventory (AL-i) among first year medical students in a Malaysian medical school. Methods: Cross sectional study was done on 196 first year medical student in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). The Cronbach’s alpha reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were applied to measure internal consistency and construct validity of the AL-i respectively. These analyses were done using Predictive Analytics SoftWare (PASW) version 18 and Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS) version 19. Result: A total of 196 medical students responded to this study. Exploratory factor analysis showed that two potential constructs would be extracted from the inventory. The confirmatory factor analysis showed the two factor model with six items had a good fit with the latent constructs (X2 (df) = 25.63 (8), p = 0.048, RMR = 0.045, GFI = 0.974, AGFI = 0.933, NFI = 0.974, RFI = 0.951, IFI = 0.987, TLI = 0.975, CFI = 0.987, RMSEA = 0.07). Each domain of the final model of the AL-i has three items. The Cronbach’s alpha value of the AL-i was 0.72. The Cronbach’s alpha values of andragogy and pedagogy domains were 0.87 and 0.86 respectively. Composite Reliability and Average Variance Extracted values were more than 0.6 and 0.5 respectively indicating good construct reliability and adequate convergent validity. Conclusion: This study suggested that the two factor model with 6 items of the AL-i has a good fit and shown good psychometric values. It is a valid and reliability measurement to determine types of leaner among first year medical students.
Background: In order to achieve the desired performance of graduates a number of traditional evaluation exercises have been practiced to assess their competence as medical students. Many of these assessments are done in a controlled environment and mostly reflect on tests of competence than performance. Mini-CEX or direct observed procedural skills (DOPS) are the real performance-based assessment of clinical skills. Increased opportunity for observation and just-in-time feedback from the role model superiors produce a positive educational impact on students learning. This also provides trainees with formative assessment to monitor their learning objectives. However, to implement assessment strategies with Mini-CEX or DOPS needs to develop institution’s clear policy for a different teaching and learning culture of workplace based assessment. It also needs to develop user friendly rating form, checklist, elaboration of clinical competence and its attributes and procedural guidelines for practice. A precise role of these tools in the assessment of postgraduate program must be established before practicing them to evaluate and monitor trainee’s progress.
Objective: To determine DOPS for its acceptability and feasibility as a method of formative assessment of clinical skills in postgraduate program of Otolaryngology and Head-Neck Surgery.
Method: A total of 25 trainees were assessed for DOPS by 8 supervisors in this 12-weeks pilot study. A faculty development program for faculty members and trainees was run for DOPS. Trainees were advised to undertake at least one DOPS encounter out of 42 shortlisted procedures. Assessors were asked to mark trainees by completing a rating form using a checklist developed for each procedure. Trainees and assessors were asked to endorse their opinion on feasibility and acceptance of DOPS for practice of formative assessment in future. Data was analyzed to determine feasibility and acceptability of DOPS in assessment program. Result: Faculty development and trainees orientation in DOPS were found satisfactory for its acceptance and feasible for its practice. Trainees were mostly assessed in outpatient clinical setting. Majority reported higher rating of satisfaction by assessors and trainees. Among clinical skills higher rating was received in procedural skills performed by the senior trainees. Conclusion: DOPS was found feasible for practice of formative assessment of trainees in postgraduate program of Otolaryngology and Head-Neck Surgery in School of Medical Sciences (SMS) at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). It was well accepted by the trainees to help monitor their quality of procedural skills as self-directed learning.
Introduction: Emotional intelligence (EI) is deemed an important aspect of being good medical doctors. Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Emotional Quotient Inventory (USMEQ-i) is an EI inventory in Malay language developed primarily as medical student selection tool in USM. Although it was already validated by exploratory factor analysis (EFA), EFA is considered insufficient evidence of construct validity, thus confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted. Objectives: To determine measurement model validity and construct validity of USMEQ-i among medical degree program applicants in USM by CFA. Methods: USMEQ-i data file for medical degree program applicants in USM for year 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 academic sessions were obtained from Medical Education Department in USM. A random sample of 512 cases was drawn from the data file. Of the sample, only 453 cases were valid study sample after preliminary data screening and assumption checking. CFA was conducted on the sample using maximum likelihood (ML) estimation with bootstrapping technique due to violation of multivariate normality assumption. USMEQ-i measurement model was proposed as a second-order EI factor with seven first-order factors of EI and a Faking Index (FI) factor, with correlation between second-order EI factor and FI factor. Results: The proposed model could not be fit into the study sample data. EI factors and FI factor had to be analyzed separately due to non-positive definite problem. After modifications to the model, CFA of EI factors were suggestive of two-factor model instead of the proposed seven-factor model. Consciousness, Maturity and Control (CoMaCt). CFA of FI factor maintained one-factor model and also valid in term of construct. Conclusion: The modified USMEQ-i, which consisted of separate EI and FI models, was proven to have valid measurement models and reliable constructs. It is considered to be suitable for use among applicants to medical degree program in USM. However, its use as medical student selection tool may require further research, especially how predictive USMEQ-i scores with real performance of medical students, generalizability of the inventory and its stability over time.
Objective: To determine the construct validity, convergent validity, construct reliability and internal consistency of the Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ) among first-year medical students in Malaysia. Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional study was done on 375 medical students of four medical schools in Malaysia. The confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis were applied to measure construct validity, construct reliability and internal consistency of the MSSQ. These analyses were done using Predictive Analytics SoftWare (PASW) version 18 and Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS) version 19. The Composite Reliability and Average Variance Extracted of the final constructs were calculated manually to determine construct reliability and convergent validity. Results: A total of 359 (95.7%) medical students responded to this study. The confirmatory factor analysis showed the six factor model with 20 items had a good fit with the latent constructs (X2 (df) = 258.02 (155), p < 0.001, RMR = 0.055, GFI = 0.933, AGFI = 0.910, NFI = 0.931, RFI = 0.916, IFI = 0.971, TLI = 0.965, CFI = 0.971, RMSEA = 0.043). The Cronbach’s alpha value of the MSSQ was 0.92. The Cronbach’s alpha values of the six constructs were more than 0.7. Composite Reliability and Average Variance Extracted values of the six constructs were more than 0.6 and 0.5 respectively indicating good construct reliability and adequate convergent validity. Conclusion: This study suggested that the six factor model with 20 items of the MSSQ had a good fit and shown good psychometric values. It is a valid and reliability measurement to identify stressors among medical students across institutions in Malaysia.
The community placement programme was first introduced to our medical students in 2007. The objectives of this community service programme are to enable students to explore and understand the importance of various skills such as leadership, teamwork and interest towards community services, as well as to improve their skills in those areas for becoming better students and future doctors. The first year medical students were tasked to plan, organize and implement activities in selected communities such as disabled people, orphans, neglected elderly, the poor, HIV positive single mothers and children. Amongst the activities conducted were sharing experiences and thoughts, games, donation and ‘gotong-royong’. The objective of this study was to evaluate the students’ perception on the successfulness of the community placement programme in building their professional qualities. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the first year medical students using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of 5 elements of professional qualities such as leadership and team work skills, interest towards community services, volunteerism and empathy. Self-reflection sessions were also held to explore the learning points gained. A total of 147 students answered the questionnaires. The students rated the overall programme as highly useful (80.6%) and as achieving the objectives (80.1%). They perceived that this programme helped them to improve their personal and professional skills such as leadership (70.0%), team work (71.4%), interest towards community services (87.1%), volunteerism (85.0%), and empathy (89.1%). Self-reflection revealed that the programme made them realize the role of doctors in a community, appreciate the spirit of teamwork and helped them to understand the need of vulnerable groups. As a conclusion, this programme was well-accepted and perceived as assisting medical students to build professional qualities to become caring and competent doctors.
Objective: To determine the internal consistency and construct validity of the Learning Approach Inventory (LA-i) among first year medical students in a Malaysian medical school. Methods: Cross sectional study was done on 196 first year medical students in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). The items of the LA-i were framed based on characteristics of three learning approaches. The Cronbach’s alpha reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were applied to measure internal consistency and construct validity. These analyses were done using Predictive Analytics SoftWare (PASW) version 18 and Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS) version 19. The Composite Reliability (CR) and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) were calculated manually to measure construct reliability and convergent validity. Result: A total of 196 medical students responded to this study. Exploratory factor analysis showed that three potential constructs were extracted from the inventory. The confirmatory factor analysis showed the three factor model with nine items had a good fit with the latent constructs (X2(df) = 26.07 (20), p = 0.163, RMR = 0.04, GFI = 0.969, AGFI = 0.93, NFI = 0.967, RFI = 0.941, IFI = 0.992, TLI = 0.985, CFI = 0.992, RMSEA = 0.04). Each domain of the final model of the LA-i has three items. The Cronbach’s alpha value of the AL-i was 0.86. The Cronbach’s alpha values of surface, strategic and deep approach domains were 0.62, 0.73 and 0.88 respectively. Most of learning approach domains had Composite Reliability and Average Variance Extracted values were more than 0.6 and 0.5 respectively indicating good construct reliability and adequate convergent validity. Conclusion: This study suggested that the three factor model with 9-items of the LA-i has a good fit and shown good psychometric values. It is a valid and reliability measurement to determine learning approaches among first year medical students.
Background: Social misconduct amongst adolescents is a worrying and ever growing problem in Malaysia, despite efforts taken to overcome it.
Methods : A cross sectional study was conducted among secondary school students in Melaka Tengah District to measure the prevalence and determine the factors associated with social misconduct amongst adolescents. A total of 414 form four students were recruited by systematic random sampling fulfilling the study criteria between Jun to September 2008, from eight randomly selected secondary schools in the district. Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS software version 12.0. Socio-demographic, housing and family factors in relation with social misconduct were studied.
Results : The prevalence of the social misconduct in this study was 70.5%. The most prevalent misconduct includes loitering (37.4%), truancy (30.0%), watching pornographic films (28.7%), and involved in pre-sexual activities (23.7%). The factors that showed significant association with social misconduct were sex and race.
Conclusion : The prevalence of social misconduct is high among adolescent and males as well as Malays are at higher risk. Activities planned for adolescents should be stressed on the danger and effects of social misconduct and be more focused towards male and Malay adolescents.