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The objective of the study is to determine the prevalence of substance abuse for alcohol, cannabis, opiates, stimulants, solvent and other substances among patients with schizophrenia in Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta (HBUK), Perak , Central Peninsular of Malaysia. This study also aims to determine the association of substance abuse with aggression, the demographic characteristics and total duration of hospitalization. Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study whereby the first 194 subjects diagnosed to have schizophrenia based on International Classification of Disease, 10th edition (ICD-10) criteria were taken from data registry of patients admitted to HBUK from January until February 2004. The subjects’ medical files were examined for documentation of substances abuse, aggression and accumulative duration of hospitalization. Results: The results showed the prevalence of substances misuse among patients with schizophrenia in general (including alcohol) was 24.7%. Cannabis 16.7%, alcohol 13.4%, opiates(heroin) 6.7%, Amphetamine type stimulants (amphetamine, metamphetamine, ecstacy) 5.7%, and other substances (benzodiazepine, solvents) 1.5%. Conclusion: There is higher prevalence of substance misuse in patients with schizophrenia as compared to general population. Male patients with history of substance misuse are more likely to have aggression than female. This group needs special precaution and probably in need of specialist help.

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of a multicomponent exercise and therapeutic lifestyle (CERgAS) intervention at improving gait speed among older people in an urban poor setting in Malaysia. A total of 249 participants were divided into the intervention (n = 163) and control (n = 86) groups. The mean (SD) age of participants was 67.83 (6.37) and consisted of 88 (35.3%) males and 161 (64.7%) females. A generalized estimating equation with an intention-to-treat analysis was used to measure gait speed at four time points, baseline (T0), 6 weeks (T1), 3 months postintervention (T2), and 6 months postintervention (T3). The results showed significant changes for time between T0 and T3 (mean difference = 0.0882, p =.001), whereas no significant association were found for group (p =.650) and interaction (p =.348) effects. A 6-week intervention is inadequate to improve gait speed. Future efforts should introduce physical activity monitoring and increase exercise duration, frequency, and intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The World Health Organization calls for avoidance of screen-based media usage for children below the age of one and for limitation of screen time to not more than an hour per day for children under the age of five due to public health concerns. This study is aimed to determine the prevalence of excessive screen time and its association with early childhood social-emotional development among Malaysian children. Material and methods. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 600 Malaysian parents of children aged 18 and 36 months old. Child's social-emotional development was measured using the "Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social Emotional-2". Multivariate logistic regression method was utilized for data analysis. Results. A total of 82.2 % of children did not adhere to screen time recommendations. Mean screen time recorded was 141.7 (SD 131.6) minutes per day. The odds of children with excessive screen time having poor mastery of social-emotional development is 2.5 times higher than children adhering to screen time recommendations, with this association persisting after adjustment to confounders (AOR: 2.50, 95% CI: 1.07-5.86). Conclusions. Excessive screen time among children is linked to paucity in active parent-child interaction and hindrance in the process of learning and development which consequently leads to a delayed attainment of social-emotional milestones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: At the dawn of the new decade of the 20th century, the world was taken aback by the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aimed to study the nature of religious coping of frontline healthcare workers seen through the perspective of gender, socio-economic status, and occupation. Methods: An online-based study was carried out among frontline healthcare workers involved in the care of COVID-19 patients (n = 200). Sociodemographic data form and the Brief Religious Coping scale were used in this study. Results: There were more female healthcare workers (60.5%) and doctors (69.5% vs. 30.5%). Healthcare workers used more positive religious coping than negative religious coping (median score: 22 vs. 9). Positive religious coping was seen more in females (median score: 23 vs. 21, P = .015). Non-doctors applied positive coping more than doctors (median score: 26 vs. 21, P < .001). There were significant differences in positive religious coping scores across income groups, with the B40 group having the highest score (median score: 24). Post hoc pairwise comparison concluded that the B40 group had significantly higher positive religious coping scores than the M40 group. Conclusion: Positive coping was utilized more among female healthcare workers, nondoctors, and the lowest socio-economic group. As prior literature has shown that positive religious coping is desirable and has superior mental health outcomes, our findings show that more effort should be channeled into enhancing positive religious coping, particularly among male healthcare workers, doctors, and the middle and high socio-economic group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report focuses on a study that addresses the role of health literacy in the challenges surrounding aging. The study was conducted among n=533 public employees ages 40 to 60 years old in Johor state, Malaysia. The validated Malay version of World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument (WHOQOLBREF) and the Short-Form Health Literacy Instrument (HLS-SF12) were used to assess perceived quality of life and general health literacy respectively. The WHOQOL-BREF comprises 26 items with six outcomes and the HLS-SF12 consists 12 items. This study provides an overview of participant quality of life, which was operationalized as a precondition of active aging. The participants' preconditions related to active aging were worrisome as 28% perceived their quality of life as poor and 34% were dissatisfied with their health. More positively, health literacy was found to be a significant determinant that may enable active aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Limitations in the quality and access of cost data from low-income and middle-income countries constrain the implementation of economic evaluations. With the increasing prevalence of coronary artery disease in Malaysia, cost information is vital for cardiac service expansion. We aim to calculate the hospitalisation cost of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), using a data collection method customised to local setting of limited data availability. Design This is a cross-sectional costing study from the perspective of healthcare providers, using top-down approach, from January to June 2014. Cost items under each unit of analysis involved in the provision of PCI service were identified, valuated and calculated to produce unit cost estimates. Setting Five public cardiac centres participated. All the centres provide full-fledged cardiology services. They are also the tertiary referral centres of their respective regions. Participants The cost was calculated for elective PCI procedure in each centre. PCI conducted for urgent/emergent indication or for patients with shock and haemodynamic instability were excluded. Primary and secondary outcome measures The outcome measures of interest were the unit costs at the two units of analysis, namely cardiac ward admission and cardiac catheterisation utilisation, which made up the total hospitalisation cost. Results The average hospitalisation cost ranged between RM11 471 (US$3186) and RM14 465 (US$4018). PCI consumables were the dominant cost item at all centres. The centre with daycare establishment recorded the lowest admission cost and total hospitalisation cost. Conclusions Comprehensive results from all centres enable comparison at the levels of cost items, unit of analysis and total costs. This generates important information on cost variations between centres, thus providing valuable guidance for service planning. Alternative procurement practices for PCI consumables may deliver cost reduction. For countries with limited data availability, costing method tailored based on country setting can be used for the purpose of economic evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]