Introduction: Leprosy is a chronic granulomatous disease which also known as Hansen’s disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. The social rights and health requirements should not be neglected among the remaining survivors. Although nutritional status and leprosy invasion has been studied in the past, there is still an unclear relationship between these two. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between nutritional status and disability among the leprosy survivors.
sampling was conducted at Sungai Buloh, Selangor area from June 2014 to July 2014. The degree of disability was assessed using Barthel’s Index and the nutritional status assessment was assessed using Mini Nutritional Assessment. The data was analysed using SPSS version 20.
Results: A total of 73 patients were involved in the study (60.3% were male and 89.0% were Chinese). The prevalence of disability was 56.2% (95% CI: 44.5 – 67.8) with walking up-stair s the highest item that need help (50.7%). There were 9.6% malnourished and 49.3% were at risk of malnutrition. There was a negative strong correlation between Nutritional score and the Barthel’s index score (Spearman rho, ρ = -0.714, p < 0.001).
Conclusions: Measures must be taken to improve their nutritional status in order to increase their ability to be more independent particularly those who are very old. The degree of disability increases with malnutrition.
KEYWORDS: Functional dependence, nutritional status, leprosy
The outbreak of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a Public
Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization. The incidence
of this pandemic continues to rise, with 40,665,438 confirmed cases and 1,121,843 deaths
worldwide by 21 October 2020. During this public health crisis, healthcare workers are at the
frontline of the COVID-19 outbreak response, and as such are at risk of being infected and
developing job burnout while in the line of duty. This study reviews the history of COVID-19
outbreak, infection control measures in hospitals during COVID-19 outbreak, healthcare
workers’ risk of infection and other health effects from battling COVID-19, and challenges and
recommendations for protecting healthcare workers during this pandemic. At present,
healthcare workers are every country’s most valuable resources, and their safety must thus
be ensured. Strong medical leadership, clear pandemic planning, policies and protocols,
continuous educational training, adequate provision of personal protective equipment,
psychological support, and the provision of food, rest, and family support for healthcare
workers would augment a climate of safety in the workplace, ensure their wellbeing, and
improve their capacity to battle this ongoing pandemic.
Patient satisfaction plays a crucial role in assessing the quality of services provided by healthcare services. The purpose of the present study was to determine the factors influencing patient satisfaction towards services of a specialist medical centre. A cross sectional study was conducted among 300 patients attending a semi-private multidisciplinary specialist centre in Malaysia. They were provided with a set of self-administered questionnaires on patient satisfaction with the services received at the facility. Patient satisfaction was divided into three main components: patient characteristics, delivery of services and hospital characteristics. Additional qualitative comments were also obtained. The mainstay of the analysis was multivariate logistic regression. Altogether, 273 (91.2%) of the patients rated their overall satisfaction as “good” or “very good”. Hospital characteristics (i.e., cleanliness; OR: 30.58 (95% CI: 3.52 – 265.79), hospital appearance; OR: 12.69 (95% CI; 1.51 – 106.53) had the strongest influence on the patient’s overall satisfaction. The findings revealed that the reason a majority of patients liked the hospital was related to good quality of services (18.7%), comfort (21.9%) and the friendly staff (8.8%). Hence, hospital characteristics are the most important determinants of overall patient satisfaction. In addition, the quality of delivery services and a friendly staff should also be considered when improving hospital services in a multidisciplinary specialist centre.
This study aimed to examine the association between second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure and psychological distress amongst non-smoking pregnant women. A cross-sectional study was used to obtain a representative sample of non-smoking pregnant women attending health clinics (n = 661) across six states in Malaysia. The duration of SHS exposure inside and outside the house was recorded from the participants. Psychological distress was assessed via General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12). The analyses were conducted using a logistic regression adjusted for demographic variables and other variables. Amongst non-smoking pregnant women, the prevalence of global SHS exposure and psychological distress was 80.4% and 64.2%, respectively. In the multivariate adjusted odds ratio (OR) models for psychological distress and the duration of SHS exposures, there was an OR of 1.04 (95% CI: 0.61-1.77) for individuals with SHS exposure of 1-4 hours/week, 0.44 (95% CI: 0.23-0.81) for SHS exposure of 5-14 hours/week and 0.84 (95% CI: 0.32-2.22) for exposures of >15 hours/week compared to those with no SHS exposure outside the home. Meanwhile, SHS exposure outside the house with the duration of 5-14 hours might have temporary calming effects against psychological distress. Nonetheless, more research is needed to ascertain this.
Introduction: Parents play an essential role in their children’s tuberculosis (TB) treatment
success despite many challenges from the beginning of their children’s symptoms until
completion of the TB treatment. The challenges can be described as perceived barriers,
according to the Health Belief Model, a theory of behaviour change. This study aims to explore
parents’ experiences on the challenges in achieving a successful TB treatment for their child
in two districts of Selangor state, Malaysia. Methods: The research was carried out using a
phenomenology study design. In-depth interviews were conducted among purposively
sampled parents of children with TB disease who have completed TB treatment or still
undergoing treatment from MyTB version 2.1, a national TB surveillance database. The
collected data was considered as achieving its saturation level if no new themes arise from
the latest interviews’ session. The R-based Qualitative Data Analysis (RQDA) package
version 0.2-8 was used for the thematic data analysis. Results: The total number of
participants in this study was 15 mothers of children with TB disease; 12 (80%) of the children
had completed TB treatment. There were six subthemes identified from this study focusing on
the theme of multiple challenges, such as health symptoms challenges, TB investigation
challenges, personal challenges, healthcare facilities challenges, administration medication
challenges, and community challenges. Conclusions: Parents highlighted many challenges
during the child’s illness phase, and they should be given adequate education and appropriate
support to ensure TB treatment adherence. TB program managers should take action
following the relevant parents’ feedback regarding the quality of TB care in a healthcare
facility
Nurul Mahfuzah Ahmad Yani, Nur Zakirah Zahari, Nur Fatini Haziqah Abu Samah, Muhammad Ammar Faidhi Mohamed Azahar, Siti Munira Yasin, Mohd Shahril Ahmad Saman, et al.
Homelessness continues to exist in our country even though we hear of various initiatives that have been put in place to solve this ongoing issue. The objectives of this study are, first, to explore factors that lead to homelessness, second, to determine the associated medical conditions and third, to shed light on the views of homeless individuals regarding their future perspectives.
Cigarette smoke produces more than 4,000 toxic chemicals and 53 of these chemicals can cause cancer. Smoking increases your health risks such as lung cancer, heart attack and stroke. In Malaysia, between 10% and 12% of causes of death are caused by smoking and this results in over 10,000 deaths a year. According to the National Health Morbidity Survey (NHMS) in 2015, the number of smokers aged 15 and above in Malaysia is estimated to be more than 5 million (22.8%). This alarming amount will lead to increased health costs. Smoking can also lead to a reduction in worker productivity and air pollution and the pollution due to cigarette smoke. Therefore, smokers need to be aware of the effects of smoking habits and the importance of maintaining a tobacco-free environment for the health and well-being of their families, friends and the community around them. To address this, Smoke Busters have created an innovation called Blue Ribbon Star Certification with an additional component of humanization into the TFI Buddies existing Blue Ribbon Certification. The main goal of this innovation is to make University of Technology MARA (UiTM) campuses 100% tobacco free. The first project at the Sungai Buloh Campus resulted in a decrease in the percentage of ‘hotspots’, whereby the number of cigarette butts was found to be greatly reduced. In addition, the percentage of staff with good knowledge and attitude on the effects of cigarettes increased. Feedback from users comprising staff and students also showed a very positive response. The direct impact on faculty and campuses include cost savings in terms of medical expenses and increase in staff productivity. The long-term effects include enhancing UiTM’s image nationally and internationally. From a social point of view, this in addition creates a more caring and responsible generation of colleagues and the environment.