Using pulmonary tuberculosis (pTB) as an example of a vaccine-preventable disease (VPD), we aimed to gather evidence on the economic impact of treating a case or managing an outbreak of a VPD. A scoping review was con- ducted. Online databases (MEDLINE and Google Scholar) were used to collate published studies from the year 2015 to 2019 on the management cost of one case or an outbreak of pTB. Keywords used were cost, treatment, outbreak, pulmonary tuberculosis, tuberculosis, economic, economic evaluation. A total of 29 studies were analysed. The costs of pTB treatment for individual patient were higher in high-income countries compared to middle-income and low-income countries. A case of pTB can result in household catastrophic health expenditure; while an outbreak can overwhelm the health system’s capacity, and disrupts the economy of a country. Therefore, accessibility of vaccines especially in low-income countries must be ensured. Also, vaccine-hesitant individuals must reconsider their stance on vaccination.
Leaders should be competent in managing disaster situations to minimize the damage of the
events. However, when disaster strikes these leadership competencies may not always come
into play. This paper aims to identify the incongruence between what leaders should do and
what leaders do when managing real disasters and what can be learned from it. This paper
reviews the Aceh Earthquake and Tsunami disaster in 2004 and the Fukushima Nuclear
Disaster in 2011, as case studies. Published and grey literatures relating to these events were
searched from online sources. Two major mismatches between leadership theory and reality
were noted: effective communication and ability to co-ordinate resources at all levels. To
improve leadership in disaster management, mitigation measures, preparedness and skills in
crisis communication must be top-notch, communication disruption must be overcomed as
soon as possible; and all entities involved in disaster management must know their roles.
Introduction: Dengue fever currently remains as one of the major public health issues in Malaysia. Dengue inci-dence in Malaysia has been increasing in the last 20 years. Dengue fever has been causing an economic burden to the country each year. Vector control is one of the preventions and control activities to reduce its incidence. Vector control activities, especially fogging is a resource-intensive activity. It uses most of the allocated budget of a district health office (33%). The major cost components of the prevention and control activities were human resources and pesticides with 60.7% were for human resources and 13.6% of the costs were for pesticides. Therefore, it is important to know, cost of each fogging activity and the factors that contribute to that cost. The objective of this study was to determine the costs of fogging activities carried out by Hulu Langat Health District Office, Selangor, Malaysia. Meth-ods: This study was a retrospective descriptive and analytical study using data from the Hulu Langat District Health Office for the year 2018. Cost analysis of fogging activities was carried out using the activity-based costing method-ology. The factors associated with, and predictors of, the costs of fogging activities were determined using chi-square and multiple linear regression. Results: In 2018, Hulu Langat District Health Office carried out total of 2,063 fogging activities. The average cost of each fogging activity was estimated as RM 1,579. Types of insecticides was statistically significant associated and predictive factor of the cost of fogging activity. Conclusion: The present study showed that the estimated average cost per fogging activity is RM 1,579 and water-based insecticide was found to be the cheaper option compared to oil-based insecticide. However, as this study did not determine the effectiveness of these insec-ticides, recommendations cannot be made as to which insecticide should be used.
Introduction: This article aims to describe the effect of an intervention to promote the practice of voluntary Islamic fasting and its barriers among a group of overweight and obese Muslim women working in the public sector in Malaysia. Materials and methods: In this quasi-experimental study, an intervention to encourage voluntary fasting was delivered in a half day seminar, supported by relevant booklets prepared. A self-administered questionnaire was used to capture data on voluntary fasting practices and its perceived barriers before and four months after the intervention. Data was analysed using Mc Nemar test to compare the proportion before and after the intervention. Significant level was set at p