METHODS: An analytical cross-sectional study using purposive sampling method was conducted at eight thalassemia societies in Peninsular Malaysia. 260 respondents comprised of patients and caregivers were assessed with two separate sets of questionnaires.
RESULTS: Knowledge on dietary iron among the respondents was unsatisfactory, despite them having good knowledge on thalassemia disorder. Female patients were found to have better dietary knowledge, attitude and practice compared to males. The percentage of caregivers with good attitude and good practice were significantly higher compared to adult patients. Caregivers with children on iron chelators were noted to have better dietary attitude and practice. Thalassemia knowledge and children on vitamins were found to be the predictors of dietary knowledge among the patients and caregivers respectively.
CONCLUSION: The level of knowledge on dietary iron among the patients and caregivers was unsatisfactory in spite of their attitude and practice towards dietary iron were good. Effective delivery of dietary information to the patients and caregivers is essential to enable them to choose a healthy diet for their condition.
METHODS: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in a government health clinic of Penang from March to August 2019. Asymptomatic clinic attendees aged 50-75 years who had no prior awareness of CRC screening were recruited by systematic random sampling technique. Participants first received a standardised one to one health education, followed by an interview using a standardised questionnaire to assess their CRC screening intention and the relevant motivators and barriers. A submission of a sample for immunochemical faecal occult blood test (iFOBT) was considered as an uptake of the CRC screening.
RESULTS: A total of 546 participants participated in this study. The mean age of the participants was 62.8 (SD=6.36). Majority of them were females (57.3%), Chinese (78.6%), who had attained primary or higher education (92.0%) and had comorbidities (87.0%). After a brief health education, 231 participants (42.3%) agreed to undergo iFOBT. The actual screening uptake rate in this study was 28%. Perceived benefit of the test (84.4%) was the most common motivators, while self-perceived non-vulnerability was the biggest impediment to CRC screening intention. Physicians' recommendation was the perceived most effective way in raising CRC awareness.
CONCLUSION: Participants prefer physicians to provide health education. Standardised brief health education is inadequate to stimulate CRC screening adherence. Future interventions will require in-depth understanding of patients' beliefs, risk perception, and affective responses.
METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted in three districts in Selangor, from 11th June to 30th December 2012. The sampling frame was obtained from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOS) in May 2012, using the National Population and Housing Census 2010. Adults aged 18 years and above, living in the selected living quarters were approached to participate in the study and requested to complete a set of questionnaires.
RESULTS: A total of 1,556 out of 2,152 participants participated in this study, giving an overall study response rate of 61.90%. Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) was used to determine the presence of depression. The prevalence of depression was 10.3%, based on the PHQ-9 cut off point of 10 and above. Based on multiple logistic regression analysis, the predictors of depression were presence of anxiety, serious problems at work, unhappy relationship with children, high perceived stress, domestic violence, unhappy relationship with spouse, low self-esteem, unhappy relationship with family, serious financial constraint and presence of chronic diseases. When reanalyzed after removing anxiety, high perceived stress and low self-esteem, additional predictors of depression were found to be serious marital problems and religiosity.
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of depression in this study is similar to that found in other studies. Findings from this study are being used as baseline data to develop an effective program to assist in the management of common mental health disorders in the community, in particular depression. The identification of predictors of depression in the community is important to identify the target population for the program.