Search

Falls are major public health issues which highly associated with older adults worldwide. Falls can cause a negative debilitating effect on the individual and may lead to fatal injury in certain cases. Current studies on falls characteristics are limited in Malaysia. The aim of this study was to pool the current studies conducted in Malaysia regarding the fall and its characteristics. Articles were identified by using the following electronic databases; EBSCOhost, ClinicalKey, ScienceDirect, Wiley Online Library, SpringerLink and Google Scholar. Article identification was limited to English language which were published between 2013 to 2019. This study looked into older adults aged 60 years old and above; conducted either in a residential, community-dwelling or medical institute. A total of nine articles was identified and investigated. Studies indicate a huge variation in the prevalence falls among older adults in Malaysia ranging between 4-74%. A study that was conducted in the community indicated lower prevalence of falls. Majority of the falls occurred in the morning as reported by three studies which covered and ranged between 49-64.7%. Indoor accounted as the highest number of falls in term of location and ranged between 50-87% while outdoor falls were between 13-49.3%. Location in bathroom and toilet had the highest percentage of indoor falls. Fallers that sustained injury ranged between 47-82%. A variation on the fall prevalence among older adults was determined by factors such as location and existing medical conditions. Pooled information in our study indicates that there is lack of standardised measuring tools for falls characteristics in Malaysia. There is a need for large scale longitudinal prospective study to establish the prevalence and the causal-effect relationship of falls in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Out of 20,887 persons who use drugs that came into contact with the National Anti-Drugs Agency (NADA) officials in the year 2013, 3.2% were women. Because women who use drugs (WWUD) are often a hidden population, this may be an underestimate. International literature shows that women who use drugs face increased risk of HIV, intimate partner violence, and mental health issues. Similar literature in Malaysia is lacking, and thus, the objective of our study was exploratory in nature., Methods: Thirty-eight women who use drugs were interviewed using a semi-structured topic guide in Kelantan, Penang, Johor, Kuala Lumpur, and Selangor. Locations were chosen purposively. Nineteen women were interviewed individually and the remaining 19 were in focus group discussions (FGDs). All interviews were transcribed verbatim, translated to English, and analyzed with NVivo., Results: Median age of respondents was 35.5 years old, 89.5% ethnic Malays, majority having married below the age of 20, and were of low socioeconomic backgrounds. Youngest age of initiation into drug use was 9 years old. Most reported is inhalation of amphetamine-type substances. Seven reported ever injecting. Three themes emerged: (a) repeating patterns of fluid family structures and instability; (b) "pain" and "difficulty" as features of home life; and (c) seeking marriage as a source of stabilization and practices of power within those marriages. Respondents often came from very fluid family environments and married to find stability, only to be drawn into a similar cycle. None of the women who had been separated from their children either institutionally, by family members, or by third parties, had accessed legal recourse for the loss of their parental rights., Conclusion: Unstable familial relationships or environments contributed to earlier initiation of drug use which raised questions about support services for WWUD and children who use drugs. Respondents were drawn into unstable and/or abusive relationships, perpetuating social inequalities that marked their own familial environments during childhood. These findings support the need for additional services to support the unique needs of WWUD, including domestic violence services, financial and life skills, parental rights assistance, and empowerment programs.

Background/aim: Maxillofacial injuries are among the commonest forms of body injuries. There are three divisions, namely, facial bone fractures, soft tissue injuries, and dentoalveolar injuries. Etiologies include motor vehicle accidents, assaults, falls, and sporting injuries. The aim of this study was to determine the profiles including the causes of maxillofacial injuries seen in an urban government hospital in the mainland of Penang State, Malaysia., Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that recruited cases reported within a period of 1 year. The source population was maxillofacial injury patients presenting to the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department of an urban hospital in the Penang Mainland, North Malaysia between May 2007 and May 2008. Cases of patients involved in accidents that occurred outside the reference vicinity were excluded. A case report form was developed and completed by the attending clinicians. Data were analyzed using spss version 12.0., Results: A total of 194 cases were studied, with the mean patient age being 27.8 (SD 15.20) years. The majority of patients were Malay men between 20 and 29 years of age. The main cause of injury was motorcycle accident (53.6%). The commonest injury (in isolation/combination with other injuries) involved the soft tissues (87.2%), dentoalveolar region (33.4%), and facial bones (23.9%). Laceration was the commonest soft tissue injury, and crown fracture was the most frequent dentoalveolar injury. The facial bone that was most highly involved in the injury was the zygoma. Subjects involved in motorcycle accidents had a significantly higher incidence of sustaining facial bone fractures., Conclusions: Motorcycle accidents were the commonest cause of maxillofacial injuries in the Penang Mainland, Malaysia. Most patients were young men. Hence, it is prudent to reinforce appropriate road safety and awareness interventions particularly focusing young male motorcyclists so as to reduce the risk of accidents., (© 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.)