Methods: We included adults with VI from their second visit of the Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Disease Study. Data on eyecare utilization and spectacle affordability were collected. Low eyecare utilization was defined as no eye check ever or eye checks not even once per year in reference to at least once per year. Difficulty affording glasses was defined as glasses being rated as expensive in reference to not expensive.
Results: There were 985 adults (14.5%; 415 Malays, 260 Indian, and 310 Chinese; mean age [SD]: 69.5 [10.2] years; 55.4% women) with VI who answered the above questions, were included. Of these, 624 (63.4%) wore glasses. The rates of low eyecare utilization and difficulty affording eyeglasses were 31% and 63%, respectively. Compared to Chinese (23.8%) and Indians (18.8%), Malays (57.4%) had the highest rates of low eyecare utilization (P < 0.001), and most difficulty affording eyeglasses (47.2% vs. 26.1% and 26.6% in Chinese and Indians, respectively; P < 0.001). Younger age, low socioeconomic status, absence of diabetes, absence of self-reported eye conditions, and poor vision were independently associated with low eyecare utilization, whereas older age and female sex was associated with difficulty affording glasses.
Conclusions: In this multi-ethnic population with VI, almost one-third had low eyecare utilization and nearly two-thirds reported difficulty affording eyeglasses.
Translational Relevance: This will inform strategies, such as tailored eyecare utilization awareness campaigns and awareness of available subsidy schemes for at-risk Singaporeans, such as Malays.
DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was designed using a survey conducted by the Directorate of Health and Family in 2015.
SETTING: Households, community-based health centres and health committees were surveyed.
PARTICIPANTS: 285 children aged under 2 years with vaccination cards and data on households, health centres and health committees were included.
OUTCOMES: Variables indicating whether a child received each of bacillus calmette-guérin (BCG), diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3), oral polio (OPV3) and measles vaccination and all of them were outcome variables. Associated factors were identified using multilevel logistic regressions.
RESULTS: Antenatal care at least three times was significantly associated with BCG, DTP3, OPV3 and full vaccination with adjusted ORs ranging from 2.4 (95% CI 1.1 to 5.1) to 3.3 (1.1 to 9.9). The availability of bus to health centre was slightly significant for BCG and OPV3 with the adjusted ORs of 2.0 (0.9 to 4.5) and 2.1 (0.9 to 4.8), respectively. Health committees' budget provision to health centres was significant for OPV3 and full vaccination with the respective adjusted ORs of 15.7 (1.0 to 234.1) and 15.9 (1.2 to 214.7), the wide 95% CIs of which were driven by a small sample size. Health committees' review of expenditure of health centres was significant for measles and full vaccination with the adjusted ORs of 4.0 (1.4 to 11.4) and 5.2 (1.4 to 19.4), respectively.
CONCLUSION: This study suggests that enhancing the utilisation of antenatal care and providing reliable transportation between villages and health centres are required to improve childhood vaccination coverage. Also, the significant association of budget administration of health committees suggests that supporting local health committees for effective financial management is important.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at selected government and private universities throughout Malaysia. A total of 1851 students participated in this study. The students were asked to complete self-administered questionnaires, including socio-demographic, academic, and psychosocial characteristics. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) questionnaire was used to measure the prevalence risk of anxiety among the students. Chi-square analysis was conducted to find the relationship between the variables and anxiety, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the predictors.
RESULTS: The response rate was 97.90%, where 1821 out of 1860 students participated in the study. The prevalence risk of anxiety in this study was recorded at 29%. The data revealed that academic year, financial support for the study, alcohol consumption, poor sleep quality, body mass index (BMI), having a good friend in the university, having doubt regarding the future, actively involved in the society, and having problems with other students and lecturer(s) were significantly associated with risk of anxiety; with the academic year as the primary predictor.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlight the current prevalence risk of anxiety among university students in Malaysia. The outcome of this study can serve as the evident baseline data and help with the development of specific interventions in addressing and managing the issue appropriately.