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Background: The Malaysian Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Association (MBfPCA) is a pioneer non-governmental organization (NGO) of trained breastfeeding peer counselors in Malaysia. We explored the effect of peer counseling support on breastfeeding outcomes among postnatal mothers who delivered at a national tertiary teaching hospital and their satisfaction with the peer counseling services.Method: A total of 210 postpartum mothers were recruited in a single-blinded, randomized, controlled trial. Block randomization was used to allocate the participants into the intervention (I) group (n=105), who received telephone-based peer counseling support at 72 hours, 2 weeks, 1, 2, 4 and 6 months postpartum; and the control (C) group (n=105), who received routine breastfeeding advice. The infant feeding practices information was obtained at 2, 4 and 6 months postpartum from both groups. Data on maternal satisfaction with peer counseling services was acquired from the intervention group participants 6 months postpartum.Results: Ninety-four mothers were lost to follow up, leaving 116 (I=60, C=56) for analysis. The number of participants who practiced exclusive breastfeeding was higher in the intervention group at all intervals, with significant difference seen at 6 months postpartum (p = 0.035). Significant differences were also seen in the prevalence of breastfeeding between the groups at 4 and 6 months postpartum (p = 0.017 and p = 0.010). All participants who practiced exclusive breastfeeding found that peer counselors helped them reach their breastfeeding goals (p =0.001) and would recommend peer counseling services to others (p = 0.037).Conclusion: Peer counselor support in Malaysia increased the duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding and was well accepted among postnatal mothers.

Depression in tuberculosis (TB) increases the risks of adverse health outcomes. However, little is known about depression in tuberculosis patients in Malaysia. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and associated factors of depression in tuberculosis patients in primary care clinics. A cross-sectional study was adapted for this study. A total of 235 TB patients were recruited in six primary care clinics in the district of Kuching, Sarawak in Malaysia using convenience sampling method. A self-administered questionnaire, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), was used to screen for depression, and social support was accessed using Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, MSPSS. This study showed that the prevalence of depression among TB patients was 7.7%. Socio-demographic factors, tuberculosis-related clinical data and social support are not significantly associated with participant’s depressive states. Findings also showed that there is no different in terms of social support received by depressive and non-depressive tuberculosis patients. Conclusively, depression in TB patients is considered low; however, screening for depression in TB patients should not be neglected because it can lead to better treatment outcomes.

Traditional and Complimentary Medicines (TCMs) can potentially cause Adverse Cutaneous Drug Reactions (ACDRs). The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of ACDRs due to TCMs and compare with those due to conventional medicine. This was a retrospective study with 134 cases being diagnosed with ACDR at the Dermatology Clinic of a tertiary hospital in Kuala Lumpur. Most (82.1%) ACDRs were caused by conventional drugs, while 17.9% were due to TCMs. Majority (70-75%) of the ACDRs were of mild to moderate severity. The most common ACDR to TCM was Exfoliative Dermatitis (ED) and Acute Generalized Exanthematous Pustulosis (AGEP) (both 16.7%) while maculopapular rash was the most common reaction for conventional medications (25.5%). The onset of adverse reaction to TCM was about 4 weeks (60.2%) while reactions due to conventional medication was earlier (1 to 6 days, 65.4%; p

Performing self-care activities can be challenging but it is important for favourable outcomes of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). It may be influenced by psychological problems. Therefore, this study examined the level of self-care activities and the presence of psychological problems among patients with T2DM. The association between these activities and the psychological problems was assessed too. This cross-sectional study was conducted at a public health clinic in Sabah. Data was collected between July and September 2017 using a validated self-administered questionnaire which include the depression, anxiety and stress scale-21 (DASS-21) and the summary of diabetes self-care activities (SDSCA) questionnaire. About 91% of 331 participants took diabetes medications in ≥6 days per week. They followed a healthful eating plan, inspected feet and exercised 30 minutes a day in 5.0 (IQR 4.0), 4.0 (IQR 7.0) and 1.0 (IQR 4.0) days per week respectively. Among owners of glucometer, the median (IQR) of monitoring blood glucose was 1.0 (1.0) days per week. The participants with depression, anxiety and stress were 4.5%, 8.8% and 5.7% respectively. Following a healthful eating plan (p

Introduction: T2DM is a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Many factors need to be considered when managing patients with T2DM. Social support and self-efficac y are among the components associated with good diabetic self-care, which in turn lead to good diabetic outcomes. These factors are often overlooked but play an important role in patients’ management. This study aimed to determine the association of social support and diabetic selfefficacy of T2DM patients with the duration and complications of T2DM in a governme nt primary care clinicMethods: This is a cross sectional questionnaire study, involving 329 patients with T2DM in an urban Malaysian primary care clinic, using the Medical Outcome Study (MOS) Social Support Survey and Diabetic Management Self-Efficacy Scale (DMSES). The scores were analysed with clinical characteristic of the patients (duration and complications of T2DM) using descriptive and inferential statistics.Results: The mean duration of T2DM were 6.2 + 4.8 years, 57.8% of patients had no complications. Majority of patients had only 1 complication (33.1%) and 1 patient had 4 complications (0.3%). The complications were retinopathy (18.2%), nephropathy (14.6%), peripheral neuropathy (12.8%) and cardiovascular complications (4.3%). There was a significant correlation for social support with the duration of T2DM (r= -0.129, p = 0.02). There were no significant findings for the diabetic self-efficacy scores with duration and complications of T2DM.Conclusion: We found a significant negative correlation between the duration of T2DM and social support, which suggests that those with a longer duration of diabetes usually requires lesser social support.International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Supplementary Issue: 2019 Page: 55

Perception of healthcare providers who worked with family medicine specialists (FMSs) could translate into the effectiveness of primary healthcare delivery in daily practices. This study examined perceptions of public healthcare providers/professionals (PHCPs) on FMSs at public health clinics throughout Malaysia. This was a cross-sectional study in 2012-2013 using postal method targeting PHCPs from three categories of health facilities, namely health clinics, health offices and hospitals. A structured questionnaire was developed to assess PHCP’s perception of FMS’s clinical competency, safety practice, ethical and professional values, and research involvement. It consists of 37 items with Likert scale of strongly disagree (a score of 1) to strongly agree (a score of 5). Interaction and independent effect of the independent variables were tested and adjusted means score were reported. The participants’ response rate was 58.0% (780/1345) with almost equal proportion from each of the three public healthcare facilities. There were more positive perceptions than negative among the PHCPs. FMSs were perceived to provide effective and safe treatment to their patients equally disregards of patient’s social background. However, there were some concerns of FMSs not doing home visits, not seeing walk-in patients, had long appointment time, not active in scientific research, writing and publication. There were significant differences in perception based on a respondent’s health care facility (p

Objective To examine impressions of public healthcare providers/professionals (PHCPs) who are working closely with family medicine specialists (FMSs) at public health clinics. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting This study is part of a larger national study on the perception of Malaysian public healthcare professionals on FMSs (PERMFAMS). Participants PHCPs from three categories of health facility: hospitals, health clinics and health offices. Main outcome measures Qualitative analyses of written comments of respondents’ general impression of FMSs. Results The participants’ response rate was 58.0% (780/1345), with almost equal proportions from each public healthcare facility. A total of 23 categories for each of the 648 impression comments were identified. The six emerging themes were: (1) importance of FMSs; (2) roles of FMSs; (3) clinical performance of FMSs; (4) attributes of FMSs; (5) FMS practice challenges; (6) misconception of FMS roles. Overall, FMS practice was perceived to be safe and able to provide effective treatments in a challenging medical discipline that was in line with the current standards of medical care and ethical and professional values. The areas of concern were in clinical performance expressed by PHCPs from some hospitals and the lack of personal attributes and professionalism among FMSs mentioned by PHCPs from health clinics and offices. Conclusions FMSs were perceived to be capable of providing effective treatment and were considered to be important primary care physicians. There were a few negative impressions in some areas of FMS practice, which demanded attention by the FMSs themselves and the relevant authorities in order to improve efficiency and safeguard the fraternity9s reputation.

Background: Patients with adverse cutaneous drug reactions (ACDRs) are frequently referred from primary care to tertiary centres for further management. This causes a loss of information regarding ACDRs as these patients discontinue primary care follow-up upon referral to tertiary care. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and characteristics of ACDR, and to use this valuable information to enhance awareness of primary care physicians regarding this condition.Method: A retrospective cross-sectional study on ACDR was done at the Dermatology Clinic, Kuala Lumpur General Hospital from January 2009 to December 2010.Results: The prevalence of ACDR was 0.2%. The majority of patients (71.6%) were below 59 years of age. ACDR commonly (55.2%) occurs within hours to days of drug ingestion and is of mild to moderate severity (74.6%). About 27.6% of affected patients took 1 to 5 drugs concurrently. Common cutaneous manifestation of ACDR includes maculopapular rash (22.4%) and Stevens–Johnson syndrome (SJS, 9.7%). Antibiotics (36.6%), traditional and complementary medicine (TCM, 17.9%) and analgesics (13.4%) were the most frequent agents responsible for ACDR.Conclusion: The prevalence of ACDR in this study is low and the majority were of mild to moderate severity. The most common cutaneous manifestation was a maculopapular reaction and Stevens–Johnson syndrome. Antibiotics were the commonest causative agent for ACDR followed by traditional and complementary medicine and analgesics. Patients presenting with cutaneous disorders in primary care should be assessed for possible ACDR. A detailed drug history, time of initiation and duration of drug consumption are all valuable information required for an accurate diagnosis and proper evaluation of ACDR. It is hoped that the findings of this study will facilitate early recognition of ACDR followed by identification and elimination of any possible offending drugs that may be prescribed in primary care practice.

Objective To examine the expectation of public healthcare providers/professionals (PHCPs) who are working closely with family medicine specialists (FMSs) at public health clinics. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting This study is part of a larger national study on the perception of the Malaysian public healthcare professionals on FMSs. Participants PHCPs from three categories of health facilities, namely hospitals, health clinics and health offices. Main outcome measures Qualitative analysis of written comments of respondents’ expectation of FMSs. Results The participants’ response rate was 58% (780/1345) with an almost equal proportion from each public healthcare facility. We identified 21 subthemes for the 623 expectation comments. The six emerging themes are (1) need for more FMSs, (2) clinical roles and functions of FMSs, (3) administrative roles of FMSs, (4) contribution to community and public health, (5) attributes improvement and (6) research and audits. FMSs were expected to give attention to clinical duty. Delivering this responsibility with competence included having the latest medical knowledge in their own and others’ medical disciplines, practising evidence-based medicine in prehospital and posthospital care, better supervision of staff and doctors under their care, fostering effective teamwork, communicating more often with hospital specialists and making appropriate referral. Expectations ranged from definite and strong for more FMSs at the health clinics to low expectation for FMSs’ involvement in research; to mal-expectation on FMSs’ involvement in community and public health programmes. Conclusions There were some remarkable differences in expectations on FMSs from the three different PHCPs. These ranged from being clinically competent and administratively available for patients and staff at the health clinics, to mal-expectations on FMSs to engage in public health affairs. Relevant parties, including FMSs themselves, could take appropriate self-improvement initiatives to enhance public practice of family medicine and patient care. Trial registration number NMRR ID: 08-12-1167.

Background Optimum management of dyspepsia in primary care is a debatable subject. Testing for Helicobacter pylori (HP) has been recommended in primary care as this strategy will cure most underlying peptic ulcer disease and prevent future gastro duodenal disease. Methods A total of 98 patients completed Modified Glasgow Dyspepsia Severity Score Questionnaire (MGDSSQ) at initial presentation before undergoing the 13Carbon Urea Breath Test (UBT) for HP. Those with positive UBT received Eradication Therapy with oral Omeprazole 20 mg twice daily, Clarithromycin 500 mg daily and Amoxycillin 500 mg twice daily for one week followed by Omeprazole to be completed for another 4 to 6 weeks. Those with negative UBT received empirical treatment with oral Omeprazole 20 mg twice daily for 4 to 6 weeks. Patients were assessed again using the MGDSSQ at the completion of treatment and one month after stopping treatment. Results The prevalence of dyspepsia at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia-Primary Care Centre was 1.12% (124/11037), out of which 23.5% (23/98) was due to HP. Post treatment assessment in both HP (95.7%, 22/23) and non HP-related dyspepsia (86.7%, 65/75) groups showed complete or almost complete resolution of dyspepsia. Only about 4.3% (1/23) in the HP related dyspepsia and 13.3% (10/75) in the non HP group required endoscopy. Conclusion The prevalence of dyspepsia due to HP in this primary care centre was 23.5%. Detection of HP related dyspepsia yielded good treatment outcomes (95.7%).

Introduction Direct contact with patients for medical education is essential in healthcare professional training. Patients who were recruited for a medical education home visit program in Malaysia did so on a voluntary basis without remuneration. This paper aims to explore their reasons for participation in this program. Methods An exploratory qualitative study was conducted on patients who had been visited during the 2012/2013 academic session. Purposive sampling was done to select adult participants from varying ethnicities and ages from the list of patients. In-depth interviews were conducted at the participants’ homes and were audio recorded. The transcripts of these interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results A total of nine in-depth interviews were conducted. Four main themes were identified from thematic analysis: 1) Perceived meaning of the visit; 2) Perceived benefits and risks; 3) Past healthcare experiences; 4) Availability for visits. The home visits meant different things to different participants, including a teaching-learning encounter, a social visit, a charitable deed or a healthcare check-up. The benefits and risks of accepting unknown students to their homes and sharing their health issues with them had been weighed prior to participation. Prior experience with healthcare services such as gratitude to healthcare providers or having a relative in the healthcare profession increased their receptivity for involvement. Lastly, enabling factors such as availability of time would determine their acceptance for home visits. Discussion Patients agree to participate in medical education activities on a voluntary basis for various reasons. Providing good healthcare service and sufficient preparation are crucial to increase patient receptivity for such activities.