Methods: A total of 110 respondents aged 18 years old and above were selected by convenience sampling. Data was collected using a structured interviewer-guided questionnaire with Likert-scale choices of answers.
Results: All respondents were Malay with the mean age of 41 years [Standard Deviation (SD)=11.828]. The total mean and SD of knowledge, attitude and practice scores were 74.33 (SD=6.25), 44.22 (SD=5.05) and 27.55 (SD=2.86), respectively. There were significant positive correlations between knowledge with attitude (r=+0.393; p<0.001) and practice (r=+0.378; p<0.001). However, there was no significant correlation between attitude and practice (r=+0.120; p=0.212). There were significant fair positive correlations between age with knowledge (r=+0.402; p<0.001), attitude (r=+0.265; p=0.005) and practice (r=+0.337; p<0.001) regarding hypertension. Meanwhile, gender, educational level, employment status and family history had no significant association with knowledge, attitude and practice regarding hypertension.
Conclusion: This study revealed that KAP regarding hypertension were associated with age, but not with other socio-demographic characteristics studied. The awareness, prevention and control programs of hypertension in their community should be increased, so that the residents could enjoy and maintain the healthy lifestyle.
METHODS: The cross-sectional study was performed during the third week of June among first to final year medical and dental students. As the country was in lockdown, a structured online questionnaire was used. The responses obtained were entered into IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows and the normality of the data checked using one-sample Kolmogorov Smirnov test. The demographic parameters were tabulated, and total score compared among different subgroups of participants. The frequency of different measures mentioned by respondents were also noted.
RESULTS: More than half of the participants were females (59.6%). Nearly half 282 (49.8%) belonged to age group 21-23 years. The majority 415 (73.5%) were undergraduate medical and 150 (26.5%) were undergraduate dental students. The largest number of respondents, 140 (24.9%), were from the second year of study and 344 (60.9%) were from urban areas. The median total score was 20 and the interquartile range 4. The maximum possible score was 29. The scores among students belonging to different years of study were significantly different (p=0.006). Total scores were not significantly different among other subgroups.
CONCLUSIONS: The knowledge of the participants was good. Deficiencies in knowledge were noted in certain areas and these should be addressed through an educational intervention. One of the challenges is the rapid evolution of our knowledge about this condition, which may require regular refresher sessions. Similar studies can be undertaken in other medical colleges in the country and in nursing and pharmacy colleges.
OBJECTIVES: This scoping review seeks to identify stressors, delineate subgroups of students who may be at greater risk of mental health problems, and examine possible recommendations by the respondents and the authors to reduce stress levels and support students.
METHODS: Eligibility criteria: studies published in English about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the mental health of health science students till 15th January 2021 were included. Sources of evidence: research articles and other publications obtained using the databases PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Charting methods: the criteria studied were the type of paper and study, the country, the institution, the mental health parameters studied, types and numbers of students/respondents involved, the main message, strengths and weaknesses and the main recommendation of the study.
RESULTS: Thirty articles were included. Stressors were divided into health, workplace, academic, general, and financial apprehensions. Respondents at greater risk were females, below 20 years of age, and those with family/friends infected. Among the authors' recommendations to reduce stress were implementing effective plans to safeguard students' health, especially of those who were parents or interns, engaging in physical activities, workshops for faculty members in online teaching-learning, financial support, online counselling, reducing misinformation, further studies at later stages of the pandemic, and including topics related to the pandemic and pandemic preparedness in the curriculum.
CONCLUSIONS: Different types of apprehensions were responsible for stress and mental distress. Females, younger students, students with family and friends who were infected were at greater risk of problems. Recommendations were provided by the authors. Studies from countries which were not represented, and longitudinal studies may be required.