Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 174 patients with psoriasis at the dermatology clinic of Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Alor Setar. All patients were instructed to complete four sets of questionnaires relating to: sociodemographic profile, clinical characteristics of illness, the validated Malay version of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Malay validated version of Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). Data were analysed using a descriptive analysis and correlational and multiple logistic regression analyses.
Results: We have found that 8.5% patients had depressive and 16.9% had anxiety symptoms. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that higher DLQI scores, presence of lower limbs' lesions and dyslipidaemia were associated with depression in the sampled population.
Conclusion: This study has shown that the cohort with psoriasis exhibited notable symptoms of depression and anxiety. This emphasises the need for the assessment of anxiety and depression among patients with psoriasis as these symptoms predict poor quality of life. Such correlation of psoriasis with anxiety and depression essentially leads to psychological sequelae. Affected psoriasis patients need appropriate intervention. Our study paves the way for further research by involving other underlying constructs such as perceived body image and stigma.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This mixed-method study aimed to determine the patient's needs to develop a discharge planning for total knee replacement surgery. The needs for 96 total knee replacement patients were assessed using the Needs Evaluation Questionnaire (NEQ). The in-depth interview primary focus was to explore the lived experience of the post-total knee replacement patients receiving care in the hospital.
RESULTS: A total of 96 participants (100%) completed the NEQ questionnaire. Most of the needs concerned by the participants were expressed by at least 70% of them except the financial need (59.4%). The semi-structured interview found two elements which were a support group and patients' needs in terms of emotional, physical and spiritual preparation in developing effective discharge planning.
CONCLUSION: This study clarified that the patient needs assessment in the patient care plan.
PURPOSE: This review aimed to synthesize reliable evidence ondetermining factors among health science students' career choices to enhance policy advocacy for better health-care delivery.
METHOD: We sourced empirical studies from Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar. From a total of 9,056 researcharticlesfrom 2010 to 2022, 27 studies with a total of 45,832 respondents met the inclusion criteria.
RESULTS: The majority of the studies were of medical students; internal medicine was the commonest choice (64.3%), with psychiatry and public health receiving lesser attention. In the four available studies of nursing students, midwifery was not chosen at all. There is a paucity of studies on this all-important concept for nursing students. The determining factors of choice of specialty were in four themes: personal, socioeconomic, professional, and educational/policy. Among the barriers to choosing particular specialties were low prestige among colleagues, stigma, long working hours, and poor public recognition.
CONCLUSION: The career choices of health science students do not reflect an adequate mix of health-care team members to meet the health-care needs of the world. Reforms of policy and educational training are needed.
METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, the Malay version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was administered to 227 caregivers of children with ASD. The caregivers were recruited from ASD databases in four tertiary hospitals in Kelantan and a meeting was set up during the child's follow-up in the clinic. Multiple linear regression analyses were applied to determine the predictors of perceived stress.
RESULTS: The mean total perceived stress score was 20.84 (4.72). This was considered higher than average. Higher perceived stress was significantly predicted among caregivers who live far from the health institution, caregivers who do not own transportation to bring the child to the treatment center, and caregivers who have an ASD child with a learning disability.
CONCLUSION: Caregivers of an ASD child perceived significant stress while taking care of their children. Institutions should alleviate the factors that were predicted to increase the caregivers' perceived stress to improve the quality of the lives of children and ASD families as a whole.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 110 caregivers of children with ASD aged between 2 and 17 years old that received treatment at two tertiary care centres in Kelantan. Permission to use the original version of the PSS questionnaire was obtained. The original English version of the PSS was translated into a Malay version following the 10 steps proposed by an established guideline. Pre-testing of the PSS was carried out with 30 caregivers before confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was established using 110 caregivers. They were asked to assess their understanding of the questionnaire. The one-dimensional questionnaire consists of 11 items, including staff attitudes, availability of staff, supportiveness, and helpfulness. The 5-point Likert scale provided ratings from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Confirmatory factor analysis was performed using a robust maximum likelihood estimator.
RESULTS: The analysis showed model fit data with good reliability.
CONCLUSION: The PSS-M shows overall model fitness based on specific indices, with good construct validity and excellent absolute reliability to determine the satisfaction level of caregivers of children with ASD with respect to health care services.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the factors associated with caregivers' satisfaction with different levels of health care services in managing children with ASD in Kelantan. The satisfaction scores of 227 main caregivers of confirmed ASD children were assessed with a modified Parent Satisfaction Scale (PSS) questionnaire.
RESULTS: The analysis showed that caregivers who waited longer for a doctor's consultation in primary care had a reduced PSS score, whereas caregivers who were satisfied with the waiting time in primary care had higher PSS scores. At the secondary care level, caregivers who possessed at least a diploma had reduced PSS scores, whereas caregivers who were satisfied with both doctors' consultation times and occupational therapy appointments had higher PSS scores. At the tertiary care level, caregivers with an underlying medical problem and who had children undergoing occupational therapy for two months or more had reduced PSS scores. Nevertheless, the analysis showed that caregivers who were concerned with their children's sleeping problems, who had been informed about parental support, who were satisfied with speech and occupational therapy appointments, who were satisfied with waiting times at tertiary care clinics, and who were satisfied with their doctor's knowledge and experience had higher PSS scores.
CONCLUSIONS: This study elucidated the importance of understanding caregivers' satisfaction in attaining care for their ASD children and highlighted the need to promote factors that would increase caregivers' satisfaction with current ASD services.