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Fulltext Beauty Or Health? A Personal View

Riji HM

Malays Fam Physician, 2006;1(1):42-4.
PMID: 26998213 MyJurnal

This paper deals with the question of beauty and health in women. It discusses changing definitions of beauty as a result of influences from the entertainment, beauty and health product industries. Advertisements are seen to be major players in defining beauty through promotion of cosmetic, skin, hair and slimming products. Concerns relating to beauty become inculcated in girls through the process of socialisation as they mature into womanhood. The media plays a significant role in portraying the meaning of beauty through its representation of women. These influences largely influence and alter women's perceptions of their body image and in trying to meet the goals of beauty as represented by the media. This may result in dissatisfaction with their body image. Advertisements can encourage women to indulge in smoking as a fashionable trend or opt for plastic surgery in attempts to acquire beauty. This paper concludes with implications of the issues relating to changing perceptions of beauty and suggests recommendations.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Fulltext Economic evaluations of personalized medicine: existing challenges and current developments

Shabaruddin FH, Fleeman ND, Payne K

Pharmgenomics Pers Med, 2015;8:115-26.
PMID: 26309416 DOI: 10.2147/PGPM.S35063

Personalized medicine, with the aim of safely, effectively, and cost-effectively targeting treatment to a prespecified patient population, has always been a long-time goal within health care. It is often argued that personalizing treatment will inevitably improve clinical outcomes for patients and help achieve more effective use of health care resources. Demand is increasing for demonstrable evidence of clinical and cost-effectiveness to support the use of personalized medicine in health care. This paper begins with an overview of the existing challenges in conducting economic evaluations of genetics- and genomics-targeted technologies, as an example of personalized medicine. Our paper illustrates the complexity of the challenges faced by these technologies by highlighting the variations in the issues faced by diagnostic tests for somatic variations, generally referring to genetic variation in a tumor, and germline variations, generally referring to inherited genetic variation in enzymes involved in drug metabolic pathways. These tests are typically aimed at stratifying patient populations into subgroups on the basis of clinical effectiveness (response) or safety (avoidance of adverse events). The paper summarizes the data requirements for economic evaluations of genetics and genomics-based technologies while outlining that the main challenges relating to data requirements revolve around the availability and quality of existing data. We conclude by discussing current developments aimed to address the challenges of assessing the cost-effectiveness of genetics and genomics-based technologies, which revolve around two central issues that are interlinked: the need to adapt available evaluation methods and identifying who is responsible for generating evidence for these technologies.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Fulltext A Cross-Cultural Examination of SNS Usage Intensity and Managing Interpersonal Relationships Online: The Role of Culture and the Autonomous-Related Self-Construal

Lee SL, Kim JA, Golden KJ, Kim JH, Park MS

Front Psychol, 2016;7:376.
PMID: 27148100 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00376

Perception of the autonomy and relatedness of the self may be influenced by one's experiences and social expectations within a particular cultural setting. The present research examined the role of culture and the Autonomous-Related self-construal in predicting for different aspects of Social Networking Sites (SNS) usage in three Asian countries, especially focusing on those aspects serving interpersonal goals. Participants in this cross-cultural study included 305 university students from Malaysia (n = 105), South Korea (n = 113), and China (n = 87). The study explored specific social and interpersonal behaviors on SNS, such as browsing the contacts' profiles, checking for updates, and improving contact with SNS contacts, as well as the intensity of SNS use, hypothesizing that those with high intensity of use in the Asian context may be doing so to achieve the social goal of maintaining contact and keeping updated with friends. Two scales measuring activities on other users' profiles and contact with friends' profiles were developed and validated. As predicted, some cross-cultural differences were found. Koreans were more likely to use SNS to increase contact but tended to spend less time browsing contacts' profiles than the Malaysians and Chinese. The intensity of SNS use differed between the countries as well, where Malaysians reported higher intensity than Koreans and Chinese. Consistent with study predictions, Koreans were found with the highest Autonomous-Related self-construal scores. The Autonomous-Related self-construal predicted SNS intensity. The findings suggest that cultural contexts, along with the way the self is construed in different cultures, may encourage different types of SNS usage. The authors discuss study implications and suggest future research directions.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Fulltext Design and development of a modified runway model of mouse drug self-administration

Pandy V, Khan Y

Sci Rep, 2016;6:21944.
PMID: 26902717 DOI: 10.1038/srep21944

The present study established a novel mouse model of a runway drug self-administration in our laboratory. The operant runway apparatus consisted of three long runways arranged in a zig-zag manner. The methodology consisted of six distinct phases: habituation, preconditioning, conditioning, post-conditioning, extinction and reinstatement. The effects of saline were compared with escalating doses of either ethanol (0.5-4.0 g/kg, i.p), heroin (5-40 mg/kg, i.p), or nicotine (0.1-0.5mg/kg, i.p) administered in the goal box during the conditioning phase (day 1 to day 5). A significant decrease in the time of trained (conditioned) mice to reach the goal box confirmed the subjects' motivation to seek those drugs on day 6 (expression). The mice were then subjected to non-rewarded extinction trials for 5 days over which run times were significantly increased. After 5 days of abstinence, a priming dose of ethanol or heroin (1/5th of maximum dose used in conditioning) significantly reinstated the drug-seeking behavior. These results suggest that the modified runway model can serve as a powerful behavioral tool for the study of the behavioral and neurobiological bases of drug self-administration and, as such, is appropriate simple but powerful tool for investigating the drug-seeking behavior of laboratory mice.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Fulltext A non-clinical randomised controlled trial to assess the impact of pharmaceutical care intervention on satisfaction level of newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus patients in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Nepal

Upadhyay DK, Mohamed Ibrahim MI, Mishra P, Alurkar VM

BMC Health Serv Res, 2015;15:57.
PMID: 25888828 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-015-0715-5

Patient satisfaction is the ultimate goal of healthcare system which can be achieved from good patient-healthcare professional relationship and quality of healthcare services provided. Study was conducted to determine the baseline satisfaction level of newly diagnosed diabetics and to explore the impact of pharmaceutical care intervention on patients' satisfaction during their follow-ups in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Nepal.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Fulltext Intestinal obstruction: predictor of poor prognosis in colorectal carcinoma?

Mohd Suan MA, Tan WL, Soelar SA, Ismail I, Abu Hassan MR

Epidemiol Health, 2015;37:e2015017.
PMID: 25868638 DOI: 10.4178/epih/e2015017

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to assess the relationship between intestinal obstruction and the prognosis of colorectal carcinoma.
METHODS: Data pertaining to 4,501 colorectal carcinoma patients were extracted from the national colorectal registry and analysed. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method. The log-rank test was used to compare the survival rate between patients with intestinal obstruction and those without intestinal obstruction. The p-values<0.05 were considered to indicate statistical significance. Simple Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to estimate the crude hazard ratio of mortality from colorectal cancer.
RESULTS: Intestinal obstruction was reported in more than 13% of patients. The 3-year survival rate after treatment was 48.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 43.9 to 52.8) for patients with intestinal obstruction (n=593) and 54.9% (95% CI, 53.1 to 56.6) for patients without intestinal obstruction (n=3,908). The 5-year survival rate for patients with intestinal obstruction was 37.3% (95% CI, 31.9 to 42.8), which was lower than that of patients without intestinal obstruction (45.6%; 95% CI, 43.5 to 47.7). After adjusting the hazard ratio for other prognostic variables, intestinal obstruction had a statistically significant negative correlation with the survival rate of colorectal cancer patients, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.22 (p=0.008).
CONCLUSIONS: The presence of intestinal obstruction is associated with a lower survival rate among colorectal cancer patients.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Asia Pacific Consensus Statements on Crohn's disease. Part 1: Definition, diagnosis, and epidemiology: (Asia Pacific Crohn's Disease Consensus--Part 1)

Ooi CJ, Makharia GK, Hilmi I, Gibson PR, Fock KM, Ahuja V, et al.

J Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2016 Jan;31(1):45-55.
PMID: 25819140 DOI: 10.1111/jgh.12956

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was previously thought to be rare in Asia, but emerging data indicate rising incidence and prevalence of IBD in the region. The Asia Pacific Working Group on Inflammatory Bowel Disease was established in Cebu, Philippines, at the Asia Pacific Digestive Week conference in 2006 under the auspices of the Asian Pacific Association of Gastroenterology with the goal of developing best management practices, coordinating research, and raising awareness of IBD in the region. The consensus group previously published recommendations for the diagnosis and management of ulcerative colitis with specific relevance to the Asia-Pacific region. The present consensus statements were developed following a similar process to address the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of Crohn's disease. The goals of these statements are to pool the pertinent literature specifically highlighting relevant data and conditions in the Asia-Pacific region relating to the economy, health systems, background infectious diseases, differential diagnoses, and treatment availability. It does not intend to be all comprehensive and future revisions are likely to be required in this ever-changing field.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Growing dural sinus malformation with associated developmental venous anomaly, multiple cavernomas and facial venous malformation in an infant. An associated disease or a disease spectrum?

Mohamed Z, Batista LL, Sachet M, Mahadevan J, Alvarez H, Lasjaunias P

Interv Neuroradiol, 2002 Dec 22;8(4):421-30.
PMID: 20594504

This is an unusual case report of an infant, who initially presented with a facial haemangioma and was later diagnosed to have a dural sinus malformation (DSM) involving the torcula. The DSM increased in size lateralising to the right transverse sinus at three months of age. Postnatal enlargement of the dural sinus has not been described before suggesting a delay in the maturation of the dural sinus which normally would occur antenatally. There was a further association with a complex developmental venous anomaly (DVA) draining the right cerebral hemisphere into the deep cerebral vein and multiple cavernous malformations. The DVA was not clearly demonstrated at age one month but was more obvious at age three months. This would be the first reported case of DSM associated with a DVA. Increasing venous hypertension probably contributed to the poor opacification of the DVA on follow-up angiography at age six months and to the haemorrhagic changes within the cavernomas on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The therapeutic goal was to correct venous hypertension by partially embolising the dural shunts to remodel the cerebral vasculature and preserve the patent sinus. The treatment strategy and possible link between the complex disease entities presented in this infant are discussed. Despite these attemps, the lesion continued to grow compressing the posterior fossa structures. The infant died at nine months of age.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Fulltext Adult Immunization - Need of the Hour

Jairaj A, Shirisha P, Abdul MSM, Fatima U, Tiwari RVC, Moothedath M

J Int Soc Prev Community Dent, 2018 11 29;8(6):475-481.
PMID: 30596036 DOI: 10.4103/jispcd.JISPCD_347_18

Immunization is the process of making individuals immune. Childhood immunization is a common process for various aliments, but adult immunization in the Indian scenario is obscure. Officially, India has been declared polio-free, which is an achievement despite cultural, political, economic, geographic, and so many other factors. The changing demographics of adult, geriatric population and growing cost of health-care maintenance are a concern in developing countries like India. Thus, promoting healthy lifestyle needs prevention, early detection, and management of various diseases and disorders. Certainly, prevention in adults is yet to be tapped completely, so that goal of 100% prevention can be achieved. Various fraternities of medical association have come up with guidelines for adult immunization schedules in India. The present paper reviews infectious diseases such as anthrax, chikungunya, cholera, dengue, influenza, and malaria in this section of the review. We humbly request all health-care professionals and educators to educate the mass for adult immunization. So that, cost involved for treatment and workforce for the management of diseases can be better utilized in some other needed areas.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Fulltext Best practices on immunomodulators and biologic agents for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease in Asia

Ooi CJ, Hilmi I, Banerjee R, Chuah SW, Ng SC, Wei SC, et al.

Intest Res, 2019 Jul;17(3):285-310.
PMID: 31146509 DOI: 10.5217/ir.2019.00026

The Asia-Pacific Working Group on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was established in Cebu, Philippines, under the auspices of the Asian Pacific Association of Gastroenterology with the goal of improving IBD care in Asia. This consensus is carried out in collaboration with Asian Organization for Crohn's and Colitis. With biologic agents and biosimilars becoming more established, it is necessary to conduct a review on existing literature and establish a consensus on when and how to introduce biologic agents and biosimilars in the conjunction with conventional treatments for ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) in Asia. These statements also address how pharmacogenetics influence the treatments of UC and CD and provide guidance on response monitoring and strategies to restore loss of response. Finally, the review includes statements on how to manage treatment alongside possible hepatitis B and tuberculosis infections, both common in Asia. These statements have been prepared and voted upon by members of IBD workgroup employing the modified Delphi process. These statements do not intend to be all-encompassing and future revisions are likely as new data continue to emerge.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Fulltext Molecular Characterization of Microbiota Associated With Sperm of Malaysian Mahseer Tor tambroides

Koh ICC, Badrul Nizam BH, Muhammad Abduh Y, Abol Munafi AB, Iehata S

Evol Bioinform Online, 2019;15:1176934319850821.
PMID: 31217688 DOI: 10.1177/1176934319850821

Malaysian Mahseer (Tor tambroides) is considered as a good prospect for aquaculture in Malaysia. However, knowledge about Malaysian Mahseer-associated sperm microbiota is still limited, although some studies reported that sperm-related bacteria are a factor in the decline of sperm quality, as sperm may become the carrier of pathogenic bacteria to the egg. The goal of this study was to evaluate the sperm microbiota associated with Malaysian Mahseer from 3 different locations (Universiti Malaysia Terengganu [UMT], Ajil, and Pahang) using polymerase chain reaction denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) fingerprinting and to compare location differences by cluster analysis. Our results showed that the UMT sample had different sperm microbiota composition and a different trend in its relationship with sperm quality. Correlation analysis showed a relationship between bacterial diversity and sperm quality. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that sperm microbiota was composed of diverse phyla, including Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria. Interestingly, bacteria such as Salinisphaera sp., Pelomonas sp., and Staphylococcus spp. were detected in all the locations, suggesting that these bacteria are indigenous bacterial members of the Malaysian Mahseer sperm microbiota, although their function is still unclear.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Assessing the impacts of climate change in cities and their adaptive capacity: Towards transformative approaches to climate change adaptation and poverty reduction in urban areas in a set of developing countries

Filho WL, Balogun AL, Olayide OE, Azeiteiro UM, Ayal DY, Muñoz PDC, et al.

Sci Total Environ, 2019 Nov 20;692:1175-1190.
PMID: 31539949 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.227

Many cities across the world are facing many problems climate change poses to their populations, communities and infrastructure. These vary from increased exposures to floods, to discomfort due to urban heat, depending on their geographical locations and settings. However, even though some cities have a greater ability to cope with climate change challenges, many struggle to do so, particularly in cities in developing countries. In addition, there is a shortage of international studies which examine the links between climate change adaptation and cities, and which at the same time draw some successful examples of good practice, which may assist future efforts. This paper is an attempt to address this information need. The aim of this paper is to analyse the extent to which cities in a sample of developing countries are attempting to pursue climate change adaptation and the problems which hinder this process. Its goal is to showcase examples of initiatives and good practice in transformative adaptation, which may be replicable elsewhere. To this purpose, the paper describes some trends related to climate change in a set of cities in developing countries across different continents, including one of the smallest capital cities (Georgetown, Guyana) and Shanghai, one the world's most populous cities. In particular, it analyses their degree of vulnerability, how they manage to cope with climate change impacts, and the policies being implemented to aid adaptation. It also suggests the use of transformative approaches which may be adopted, in order to assist them in their efforts towards investments in low-carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure, thereby maximizing investments in urban areas and trying to address their related poverty issues. This paper addresses a gap in the international literature on the problems many cities in developing countries face, in trying to adapt to a changing climate.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Non-native mangroves support carbon storage, sediment carbon burial, and accretion of coastal ecosystems

Soper FM, MacKenzie RA, Sharma S, Cole TG, Litton CM, Sparks JP

Glob Chang Biol, 2019 Aug 29.
PMID: 31465581 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14813

Mangrove forests play an important role in climate change adaptation and mitigation by maintaining coastline elevations relative to sea level rise, protecting coastal infrastructure from storm damage and storing substantial quantities of carbon (C) in live and detrital pools. Determining the efficacy of mangroves in achieving climate goals can be complicated by difficulty in quantifying C inputs (i.e., differentiating newer inputs from younger trees from older residual C pools), and mitigation assessments rarely consider potential offsets to CO2 storage by methane (CH4 ) production in mangrove sediments. The establishment of non-native Rhizophora mangle along Hawaiian coastlines over the last century offers an opportunity to examine the role mangroves play in climate mitigation and adaptation both globally and locally as novel ecosystems. We quantified total ecosystem C storage, sedimentation, accretion, sediment organic C burial and CH4 emissions from ~70 year old R. mangle stands and adjacent uninvaded mudflats. Ecosystem C stocks of mangrove stands exceeded mudflats by 434 ± 33 Mg C ha-1 , and mangrove establishment increased average coastal accretion by 460%. Sediment organic C burial increased 10-fold (to 4.5 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 ), double the global mean for old growth mangrove forests, suggesting that C accumulation from younger trees may occur faster than previously thought, with implications for mangrove restoration. Simulations indicate that increased CH4 emissions from sediments offset ecosystem CO2 storage by only 2-4%, equivalent to 30-60 Mg CO2 -eq ha-1 over mangrove lifetime (100-year sustained global warming potential). Results highlight the importance of mangroves as novel systems that can rapidly accumulate C, have a net positive atmospheric greenhouse gas removal effect, and support shoreline accretion rates that outpace current sea level rise. Sequestration potential of novel mangrove forests should be taken into account when considering their removal or management, especially in the context of climate mitigation goals.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Fulltext Functional Outcome after Treatment of Aggressive Tumours in the Distal Radius: Comparison between Reconstruction using Proximal Fibular Graft and Wrist Fusion

Choo CY, Mat-Saad AM, Wan-Azman WS, Wan Z, Nor-Azman MZ, Yahaya S, et al.

Malays Orthop J, 2018 Nov;12(3):19-23.
PMID: 30555642 MyJurnal DOI: 10.5704/MOJ.1811.004

Introduction: Restoration of a functional hand is the ultimate goal following a distal radius tumour resection. The early outcomes of mobile wrist reconstruction are satisfactory; however, long-term results are unpredictable due to late wrist instability and degenerative arthritis. Our aim is to compare mobile wrist reconstruction with wrist fusion (pan-carpal fusion) in our cohort of patients. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed for functional outcomes of all patients who underwent resection for distal radius tumour and treated with either fusion or reconstruction of the wrist in a single institution from years 2000-2013 with a minimum of three years follow-up. Results: Eleven patients were included in the study, six of whom had wrist reconstruction with proximal fibula graft and the remaining five wrist fusion, with a mean follow-up of 6.3 years. The mean Musculoskeletal Tumour Society (MSTS) score was 82.78%, ranging from 70% to 93.3%. Average grip strength compared to the normal contralateral hand was 60.0% for total wrist fusion, which was better than wrist reconstruction with 58.07%. There was no difference in the functional outcome between fusion and mobile reconstruction in our study. Osteoarthritis changes and subluxation of the wrist joint were the most common findings in the long-term follow-up for this group. Conclusion: There was no difference in the functional outcome of the long-term follow-up between the two groups.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Fulltext Demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with access to public clinics

Makmor T., Khaled, T., Ahmad Farid O., Nurul Huda M.S.

JUMMEC, 2018;21(1):28-33.
MyJurnal

Introduction: Providing adequate and equal access to healthcare is a key goal towards achieving universal health coverage. However, social and demographic inequalities in accessing health care services exist in both developed and developing countries. This study examined the demographic and socio-economic factors associated with the lack of access to public clinics in the Greater Kuala Lumpur area.
Materials and Methods: The study employed a survey involving 1032 participants. Data were collected using self- administered questionnaires distributed between October and December 2015 in the Greater Kuala Lumpur area.
Results: Of the 1032 participants, 535 were public clinic users. A quarter (25.8%) of the users stated that they did not have access to public clinics in their residential area. A multiple logistic analysis showed that the elderly, the women, those from ethnic minority groups, those of lower family income, and the private sector workers were more likely not to have access to public clinics than their counterparts.
Conclusions: The existing level of accessibility to public clinics could be improved by increasing the number of clinics. Clinics should be established to focus more on reaching the elderly, the women, the ethnic minority groups, the poorer families, and the private sector employees.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Measurement of urine pH and net acid excretion and their association with urine calcium excretion in periparturient dairy cows

Constable PD, Megahed AA, Hiew MWH

J Dairy Sci, 2019 Dec;102(12):11370-11383.
PMID: 31548071 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2019-16805

Urine pH (UpH) and net acid excretion (NAE) are used to monitor the degree of systemic acidification and predict the magnitude of resultant hypercalciuria when feeding an acidogenic ration to control periparturient hypocalcemia in dairy cattle. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the diagnostic performance of urine dipstick and pH paper for measuring UpH, and to characterize the UpH-NAE relationship and the association of urine Ca concentration ([Ca]) with UpH and NAE. Urine samples (n = 1,116) were collected daily from 106 periparturient Holstein-Friesian cows fed an acidogenic ration during late gestation. Net acid excretion was measured by titration, and UpH was measured by a glass-electrode pH meter (reference method), Multistix-SG urine dipsticks (Siemens Medical Solutions Inc., Ann Arbor, MI), and Hydrion pH paper (Micro Essential Laboratory Inc., Brooklyn, NY). Diagnostic performance was evaluated using Spearman correlation coefficient (rs), Bland-Altman plots, and logistic regression. Urine pH measured by urine dipstick (rs = 0.94) and pH paper (rs = 0.96) were strongly associated with UpH. Method-comparison studies indicated that the urine dipstick measured an average of 0.28 pH units higher, and pH paper 0.10 pH units lower, than UpH. Urine [Ca] was more strongly associated with UpH (rs = -0.65) than NAE (rs = 0.52). Goals for controlling periparturient hypocalcemia under the study conditions were UpH <6.22 and <6.11, based on achieving urine [Ca] ≥5 mmol/L and estimated urinary Ca excretion ≥4 g/d, respectively. Urine pH was as accurate at predicting urine [Ca] as NAE when UpH >6.11. We conclude that pH paper is an accurate, practical, and low-cost cow-side test for measuring UpH and provides a clinically useful estimate of urine [Ca].

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Performance of a novel casing made of chitosan under traditional sausage manufacturing conditions

Adzaly NZ, Jackson A, Kang I, Almenar E

Meat Sci, 2016 Mar;113:116-23.
PMID: 26656870 DOI: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2015.11.023

The goal of this study was to validate the commercial feasibility of a novel casing formed from chitosan containing cinnamaldehyde (2.2%, w/v), glycerol (50%, w/w) and Tween 80 (0.2% w/w) under traditional sausage manufacturing conditions. Meat batter was stuffed into both chitosan and collagen (control) casings and cooked in a water bath. Before and after cooking, both casings were compared for mechanical, barrier, and other properties. Compared to collagen, the chitosan casing was a better (P≤0.05) barrier to water, oxygen, liquid smoke, and UV light. In mechanical and other properties, the chitosan casing had higher (P≤0.05) tensile strength, lower (P≤0.05) elongation at break and tensile energy to break, and better (P≤0.05) transparency whereas a similar (P>0.05) water solubility to the collagen casing. Overall, the chitosan casing was less affected by sausage manufacturing conditions than the collagen casing, indicating that chitosan casing has potential as an alternative to the current collagen casing in the manufacture of sausages.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Fulltext Ethical Guiding Principles of "Do No Harm" and the "Intention to Save Lives" in relation to Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Finding Common Ground between Religious Views and Principles of Medical Ethics

Sivaraman MAF

Asian Bioeth Rev, 2019 Dec;11(4):409-435.
PMID: 33717326 DOI: 10.1007/s41649-019-00103-4

One of the goals of medicine is to improve well-being, in line with the principle of beneficence (do no harm). Likewise, scientists claim that the goal of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research is to find treatments for diseases. In hESC research, stem cells are harvested from a 5-day-old embryo. Surplus embryos from infertility treatments or embryos created for the sole purpose of harvesting stem cells are used in the research, and in the process the embryos get destroyed. The use of human embryos for research purpose raises ethical concern. In this context, the religious leaders play the role to be the moral compass and "reality check" to engage with the public. In Malaysia, the Ministry of Health has outlined the Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Therapy, reflecting on Islamic principles. Since there has not been much focus on the viewpoints of other faiths in Malaysia, this study attempts to (i) explore the ethical guiding principles deliberated by religious leaders from the Buddhist, Hindu and Catholic traditions and (ii) identify if there is a common ground between the mainstream religious views and principles of medical ethics, in relation to hESC research. Eleven religious leaders representing the Buddhist, Hindu and Catholic traditions were interviewed. Interestingly, though reasoning of religious leaders came from different angles, their underlying concerns revolve around the values of "do no harm" and "intention to save lives". These values are also the key principles in medical ethics. The findings are applied to answer the question as to whether religious and medical guiding principles can co-exist and complement in ethical decision-making, without compromising the values.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Fulltext Implementation of MPOWER approach for tobacco control in Malaysia: findings from the Global Adult Tobacco survey (GATs)

Lim Kuang Hock, Heng Pei Pei, Muhammad Fadhli Mohd Yusoff, Teh Chien Huey, Sumarni Mohamad Ghazali, Lim Hui Li, et al.

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2020;16(1):144-154.
MyJurnal

Introduction: Tobacco induced illness remains a major contribution to premature death and global burden of dis- eases. The introduction of MPOWER policies by World Health Organization held the value to monitor the imple- mentation of the anti-smoking measures in all signatory countries. This paper aimed to investigate the application of the six MPOWER indicators among Malaysia population. Methods: We utilized the data of Global Adult Tobacco Survey-Malaysia (GATS-M) which recruited 5112 nationally representative samples of Malaysians of 15 years old and above. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to illustrate the social demographic characteristic of the respon- dents while cross tabulation was employed to describe all elements of the MPOWER indicators. Results: About one quarter (23.1%) of Malaysian adults were current tobacco users. The SHS exposure at home (38.4%) and restaurant (42.1%) were high. Approximately eight in ten (80.2%) of the smokers intended to quit, while for those attempted to quit in past one year, 9.0% utilized pharmacotherapy and 4.4% attended counseling. The awareness about tobacco related diseases was generally excellent. The overall tax make up of the cigarettes’ retail price ranging from 41.7% up to 80%. Conclusion: Tobacco consumption remains prevalent and plateau among Malaysian adults over the last two decades with substantial proportion of the population exposed to SHS. The inadequacy in the current anti-smoking policies needs urgent improvement in order to reduce the smoking norms among Malaysians population besides to achieve the ultimate goal of tobacco control end game by year 2045.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals
Fulltext The primary health care performance initiative (PHCPI): Issues and challenges for Malaysia as a trailblazer country

Anis Safura Ramli, Sri Wahyu Taher, Zainal Fitri Zakaria, Norsiah Ali, Nurainul Hana Shamsuddin, Wong Ping Foo, et al.

Journal of Clinical and Health Sciences, 2019;4(1):4-21.
MyJurnal

A strong and robust Primary Health Care system is essential to achieving universal health
coverage and to save lives. The Global Conference on Primary Health Care 2018: from Alma-Ata towards achieving Universal Health Coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals at
Astana, Kazakhstan provided a platform for low‐ and middle‐ income countries to join the
Primary Health Care Performance Initiative (PHCPI). At this Global Conference, Malaysia has
declared to become a Trailblazer Country in the PHCPI and pledged to monitor her Vital Signs
Profiles (VSP). However, the VSP project requires an honest and transparent data collection
and monitoring of the Primary Health Care system, so as to identify gaps and guide policy in
support of Primary Health Care reform. This is a huge commitment and can only be materialised
if there is a collaborative partnership between Primary Care and Public Health providers.
Fundamental to all of these, is the controversy concerning whether or not ‘Primary Care’ and
‘Primary Health Care’ represent the same entity. Confusion also occurs with regards to the role
of ‘Primary Care’ and ‘Public Health’ providers in the Malaysian Primary Health Care system.
This review aims to differentiate between Primary Care, Primary Health Care and Public Health,
describe the relationships between the three entities and redefine the role of Primary Care and
Public Health in the PHCPI-VSP in order to transform the Malaysian Primary Health Care
system.

Matched MeSH terms: Goals

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