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Fulltext Late antenatal booking and its predictors in Lundu district of Sarawak, Malaysia

Jiee SF, Safii R, Hazmi H

Int J Public Health Res, 2018;8(2):956-964.
MyJurnal

INTRODUCTION: Antenatal care is widely acknowledged as an effective tool to prevent adverse outcomes in pregnant women and their children. In Malaysia, early entry to antenatal care refers to a first visit within the 12th week of gestation. Delayed access to antenatal care has not been extensively studied in Malaysia, whereas several studies have reported a high prevalence of late antenatal booking in developing countries. The objective of this study was to determine the factors and barriers associated with late antenatal booking and the level of knowledge about the timing of antenatal booking among women of childbearing age in the Lundu District of Sarawak.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study among 284 pregnant women in all five Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Clinics of Lundu.
RESULTS: The prevalence of late antenatal booking in Lundu was 28.2%. Unmarried women were more likely to book their pregnancy late compared to married women. The prevalence of late antenatal booking was also higher among unemployed women than those who were employed. Respondents without their own income also tended to book their pregnancy later than those who had their own income. Significantly, a high percentage of late antenatal booking was also reported among those who never utilize any contraceptive method, did not plan their pregnancy, those without a history of past medical illness or complications in a previous pregnancy and among those who have a problem with their marriage certificate. Those who booked their pregnancy beyond the 12th week of gestation were also reported to have a lower level of knowledge about the need for an antenatal booking, as compared to those who started their antenatal care early.
CONCLUSION: Unplanned pregnancy, marriage certificate issues, an absence of past medical illness and past obstetric complications were significant predictors of late antenatal booking. Correct and appropriate information relating to antenatal care should be delivered to the public. Health education and advocacy are vital to promote the importance of early antenatal booking to achieve the goal of safe motherhood.
Study site: Maternal and Child Health Clinics, Lundu, Sarawak, Malaysia
Fulltext Patient's decision to disclose the use of traditional and complementary medicine to medical doctor: a descriptive phenomenology study

Kelak JA, Cheah WL, Safii R

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2018;2018:4735234.
PMID: 29636778 DOI: 10.1155/2018/4735234

Nondisclosure of traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) use may cause individual to be at risk of undue harm. This study aimed to explore patient's experience and views on their decision to disclose the use of T&CM to the doctor. An exploratory qualitative study using in-depth interview involving 10 primary care clinics attendees in Kuching was conducted. The results indicated that disclosure of T&CM use will motivate them to get information, increase doctor's awareness, and get support from family and friends for disclosure. Fear of negative relationship and negative response from doctors was a barrier for disclosure. Doctor's interpersonal and communication skills of being involved, treating patients respectfully, listening attentively, respecting privacy, and taking time for the patient were a critical component for disclosure. Intrapersonal trust regarding doctor influences their satisfaction on healthcare. Women are more open and receptive to a health concern and expressing negative emotions and tend to share problems, whereas men always described themselves as healthy, tended to keep their own personal feeling to themselves, and tended to not share. The doctor should consider gender differences in disclosure, their attitude towards T&CM use, and gained patient's trust in the delivery of healthcare services. Good interpersonal and communication skills must be maintained between doctor and patients.
Study site: Klinik kesihatan, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Fulltext Why girls get married early in Sarawak, Malaysia - an exploratory qualitative study

Kohno A, Dahlui M, Nik Farid ND, Safii R, Nakayama T

BMC Womens Health, 2020 03 04;20(1):46.
PMID: 32131810 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-020-00911-z

BACKGROUND: Child marriage, a marriage that involves someone under the age of 18 years, is a long-standing social issue in Sarawak state, Malaysia. The state has taken several measures to improve situations of inequity for women who get married early; however, the practice is still a common part of the tradition and culture. The aim of this study was to explore the factors leading to child marriage in Sarawak state, Malaysia.
METHODS: This was an exploratory qualitative study conducted via semi-structured interviews with twenty-two women who were married when they were younger than 18 years old in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Participants were recruited through purposive and convenient sampling with the use of data from a reproductive health clinic and recruitment in villages. Thematic analysis was used for data analysis.
RESULTS: Four overarching themes were identified: health risk behaviour, family poverty, early marriage as fate, and family disharmony.
CONCLUSIONS: In-depth understanding of the unique factors leading to child marriage locally will facilitate the introduction of new approaches to interventions to eradicate child marriage in Sarawak state, Malaysia.
Quality of Life Among Malaysian Parents with Autism Spectrum Disorder Child: The Double ABCX Model Approach

Ismail MF, Safii R, Saimon R, Rahman MM

J Autism Dev Disord, 2022 Jan;52(1):113-123.
PMID: 33635421 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-04929-6

This paper reported the quality of life (QoL) of 260 Malaysian parents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and factors which influencing it. About half of these parents reported to having good QoL. The factors identified in the double ABCX model showed that perceived social support and sense of coherence (SOC) were mediated by coping strategies and had a positive direct and indirect effect on parents' QoL. These finding reiterate the importance of social support, coping skills, and strong SOC reflection skills in influencing the QoL of parents with ASD child. We therefore suggest parents to utilize the widely available social and organization supports to gain good QoL, which is also important for the wellbeing of their child.
Serological Prevalence of Leptospirosis Among Rural Communities in the Rejang Basin, Sarawak, Malaysia

Suut L, Mazlan MN, Arif MT, Yusoff H, Abdul Rahim NA, Safii R, et al.

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2016 07;28(5):450-7.
PMID: 27183976 DOI: 10.1177/1010539516648003

Leptospirosis is an important zoonotic disease globally and is endemic in Malaysia. A study was conducted in the Rejang basin of Sarawak from June 2011 to May 2013 to determine the seroprevalence of leptospirosis among the communities and dominant infecting Leptospira serovars. A total of 508 human sera were analyzed using ELISA and the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). The seroprevalence of leptospirosis in the study area was 37.4%, with the highest prevalence in Kapit division. More women were positive for leptospirosis (59.5%), and the mean age of seropositive individuals was 42.2 (SD = 18.7) years. Antibody titers between 1:50 and 1:1600 were reported, and serovars djasiman (22.1%), shermani (13.2%), and pomona (7.9%) predominated, with varied distribution between geographical locations. This study highlighted the endemicity and diversity of existing Leptospira serovars within the community. This information should be communicated to local health personnel and communities at risk, and rapid diagnostic capability should be made available to local health facilities.
Factors predicting screen time related to physical and behavioural complaints in primary school children

Ting SL, Saimon R, Rahman MM, Safii R, Ho SL, John N, et al.

Med J Malaysia, 2020 11;75(6):649-654.
PMID: 33219172

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Physical and behavioural problems from extended usage of electronic devices are issues among primary school children. This study is aimed to investigate the prevalence of physical and behavioural complaints arising from the electronic device usage and to identify the potential factors that predicted the complaints.
METHODS: This was a primary school-based cross-sectional study using multistage cluster sampling, conducted at Bau district in Sarawak, Malaysia in 40 primary schools. A questionnaire was used to collect information of usage pattern in insufficient lighting, timing and position. The physical and behavioural complaints were traced. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 22. A p-value < 0.05 with 95% CI was considered as statistically significant.
RESULTS: About 52.8% of the 569 students used digital devices in a bright room, 69.8% in the day time and 54.4% in sitting position. The physical complaints were headache (32.9%), neck, shoulder and back pain (32.9%) followed by by eye strain (31.8%). Regarding behavioural problems, 25.7% of the students had loss of interest in study and outdoor activities (20.7%), skipped meals (19.0%) and arguments/disagreements with parents (17.9%). After logistic regression analysis, the lying position (OR=1.71, 95% CI: 1.096, 2.688) and darkroom lighting (OR=2.323 95% CI: 1.138, 4.744) appeared to be potential predictors of the complaint.
CONCLUSION: One-quarter of the students studied experienced physical complaints, and one-fifth had behavioural problems associated with the use of electronic devices. Lying position and darkroom lighting are the potential predictors of complaints. Therefore, we suggest that the children should use electronic devices in the sitting position with adequate room lighting.
Fulltext Using TelePrimary Care to monitor immunization status in Sarikei Health Clinic, Sarikei, Sarawak

Lai BF, Safii R, Nyulang L, Dunggau C, Riffin MA, Khu FM, et al.

Int J Public Health Res, 2011;1(2):237-241.
MyJurnal

Introduction The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the effectiveness of using TelePrimary Care (TPC) to monitor immunization programmed in a clinic. Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccination was selected as an example because its coverage has not been satisfactory when compared to that of other vaccinations, which generally exceed 90%.
Methods Data for all children who were eligible for JE vaccination (age range from 9 months to 30 months) who attended Sarikei Health Clinic between 1 January 2007 till 31 June 2008, was extracted from the TPC database and analyzed for completeness and timeliness of JE vaccination.
Results The analysis showed that although 1,243 children were eligible to receive their first dose of J vaccine at 9 months of age, only 560 (45%) received it. 15 (3%) received on time, and 545 (97%) received it late (age range from 10 months to 20 months). Out of the 560 who were scheduled to receive their second dose of JE vaccine four weeks after the first, 382 (88%) received it on time, and 55 (12%) received it late. Only 78 (18%) out of 429 children aged between 18 months to 24 months received their booster dose; 52 (67%) received it on time and 26 (33%) received it late.TPC not only enables health staff to monitor immunization coverage and timeliness accurately, but it also helps them to identify defaulters quickly so that these children can be traced and immunized. Doing these tasks manually is time-consuming and tedious, leading to delays in tracing defaulters.
Conclusions TPC provides an effective system for staff to easily access real time child health data to monitor and audit their immunization programme and take remedial action where necessary.
Study site: Klinik Kesihatan Sarikei, Sarawak, Malaysia