Addiction Among Adolescents to Social Networking Sites in Malaysia: A Hierarchical Multiple Linear Regression Analysis

Background: Social networking sites (SNSs) have changed the ways that we interact with each other. The use of social networking sites by adolescents is addictive, with numerous negative consequences. Various factors influence social networking sites addiction among adolescents. Objective: We aimed to determine the prevalence of gender-specific social networking sites addiction among adolescents and the factors influence social networking sites addiction. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional community-based research was conducted by face-to-face interviews among adolescents in all 11 administrative divisions of Sarawak, Malaysia. The multistage cluster sampling technique was followed, with an adolescent selected systematically from each household. An adapted and validated questionnaire, which included 20 items of social networking sites addiction, was used to collect data. We analysed 1344 adolescent’s data using IBM SPSS Version 22.0. A partial least square structural path with mediation analysis was done using WarpPLS version 7.0. Results: Three-quarters of the adolescents (76.2%) used social networking sites, but only two-fifths of them (40.4%) were addicted, with 15% having moderate-severe addiction to social networking sites. The most frequently used social networking sites was YouTube (77.9%), followed by Facebook (75.2%) and Instagram (59.0%). Self-esteem had a negative correlation, while adolescent risk behaviours directly affected social networking sites addiction (p<0.001). The most potent predictors for social networking sites addiction were YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest (p<0.05). Conclusion: Tackling risk behaviours and enhancing adolescents’ self-esteem would reduce the tendency to be addicted to social networking sites

Gender-Stratified Factors Associated with Stigma Toward HIV/AIDS among Rural Communities in Sarawak, Malaysia

Introduction: Many factors hinder the effective responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Stigma is one of the major barriers to effective responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It is often considered the main reason for the low response to access proper services for prevention, treatment, and care for HIV/AIDS. In this context, we assessed the perceived level of stigmatisation towards people with HIV/AIDS among rural communities in Sarawak and determined its associated factors. Methods: This cross-sectional community-based study was conducted among the adult population aged 18 years and above among rural communities in Sarawak, Malaysia. A gender-stratified multistage cluster sampling technique was adopted to select the respondents. A total of 900 respondents were successfully interviewed using interviewer-guided questionnaires. Stepwise multiple linear regression with forward and backward selection method was used to determine the HIV/AIDS-related stigma. A p-value of ≤.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Analysis revealed that females are more stigmatised than males (p<.05). Multivariate analysis showed that those who did not know someone had HIV and Chinese ethnicity were potential predictors in both male and female groups. Having no gainful job, and discussion of HIV/AIDS, household income less than MYR 500, history of HIV testing, knowledge on HIV transmission and exposure to HIV/AIDS information were factors that influenced HIV/AIDS-related stigma among female respondents. On the other hand, age group 30 to 39, Bidayuh, Chinese ethnicity, and not knowing someone had HIV and media exposure on HIV were factors that influenced HIV/AIDS-related stigma among male respondents. Conclusion: HIV/AIDS-related stigma towards HIV/AIDS existed in rural communities. Enhanced health promotion related to HIV/AIDS activities in rural communities are needed to curb stigmatisation toward people with HIV/AIDS

Prevalence and factors associated with undernutrition among Dayak children in rural areas of Sarawak, Malaysia

Background: Undernutrition among children has become a major public health issue due to the high risk of morbidity and mortality involving this vulnerable age group. This study focused on the rural population, especially among the Dayak children in Sarawak, Malaysia. Methodology: This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Sarawak’s rural areas using a multistage stratified cluster sampling technique. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using an interviewer-guided questionnaire. The nutritional status of the under-five children was measured according to the World Health Organization guidelines. The nutritional indicators were calculated as z-scores. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS to identify the factors associated with nutritional status. Results: The prevalence of undernutrition among the under-five Dayak children in the rural areas of Sarawak was 39.6%. The analysis suggested that wasting was predominantly associated with parental education levels of primary and below, poor wealth index, environmental and sanitation issues, children with history of low birth weight, shorter duration of exclusive breastfeeding, and poor appetite. Stunting was high within the age group of <3 years old and was associated with parents’ occupation and household wealth index. Low parental education, poor wealth index, environmental and sanitation issues, poor appetite, and the children’s recent illness predicted underweight. Conclusion: These findings imply that a multi-sectoral and multi-dimensional approach is essential to address undernutrition in rural settings. Improvement on households’ socioeconomy, environment and sanitation should be emphasised to reduce undernutrition among the children

Under-five Nutritional Status and its Relationship with Household Dietary Diversity and Food Security Among the Dayak Communities in Sarawak, Malaysia

Background: Malnutrition among under-five children is one of the paramount public health concerns in the country. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the relationship between under-five nutritional status and household dietary diversity (HDD) and household food security (HFS). Methods: In this cross-sectional study analysed 808 under-five children’s data from 50 villages in five divisions of Sarawak using a multistage cluster sampling technique. Data were collected by face-to-face interview using interviewer-administered questionnaires. WHO Anthro version 3.2.2 was used for anthropometric, and IBM SPSS version 22.0 was used for multivariate data analysis. Results: Multivariate analysis showed that children with low HDD were 1.68 times more likely to be stunted than those with high HDD. Children from households with food insecurity but without hunger were 3.86 times and with hunger were 4.02 times likely to be wasted in the last three months and were almost six times more likely to stunted at the same time. The likelihood of being underweight was 2.86 times more likely to occur in households with food insecurity without hunger and 4.89 times in food insecurity with hunger households. In the past 12 months, children from households with food insecurity with hunger were 8.56 times and four times more likely to be stunted with food insecurity without hunger. Underweight children had twice the odds of occurring in households with food insecurity without hunger compared with food secured households. HFS in the last three months had a significant association with wasting, stunting and underweight of the children, while HFS in the last 12 months was associated with stunting and underweight children. Conclusion: Low HDD had resulted in stunting, and food insecurity had resulted in wasting, stunting and underweight in under-five Dayak children in rural areas of Sarawak. A food-based intervention programme should be undertaken for malnourished children

The epidemiology of haematological cancers in Sarawak, Malaysia (1996 to 2015)

Background Published epidemiological studies of haematological cancers are few. Hereby we present a 20-year epidemiological data of haematological cancers in Sarawak from a population-based cancer registry. Methods Haematological cancer cases with ICD-10 coded C81-C96 and ICD-O coded /3 diagnosed from 1996 to 2015 were retrieved from Sarawak Cancer Registry. Adult was defined as those 15 years and above. Incidence rate (IR) was calculated based on yearly Sarawak citizen population stratified to age, gender, and ethnic groups. Age-standardised IR (ASR) was calculated using Segi World Standard Population. Results A total of 3,947 cases were retrieved and analysed. ASR was 10 and male predominance (IR ratio 1.32, 95%CI 1.24,1.41). Haematological cancers generally had a U-shaped distribution with lowest IR at age 10–14 years and exponential increment from age 40 years onwards, except acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) with highest IR in paediatric 2.8 versus adult 0.5. There was a significant difference in ethnic and specific categories of haematological cancers, of which, in general, Bidayuh (IR ratio 1.13, 95%CI 1.00, 1.27) and Melanau (IR ratio 0.54, 95%CI 0.45, 0.65) had the highest and lowest ethnic-specific IR, respectively, in comparison to Malay. The ASR (non-Hodgkin lymphoma, acute myeloid leukaemia, ALL, chronic myeloid leukaemia, and plasma cell neoplasm) showed a decreasing trend over the 20 years, -2.09 in general, while Hodgkin lymphoma showed an increasing trend of+2.80. There was crude rate difference between the 11 administrative divisions of Sarawak. Conclusions This study provided the IR and ASR of haematological cancers in Sarawak for comparison to other regions of the world. Ethnic diversity in Sarawak resulted in significant differences in IR and ASR

Accuracy of Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) in Detecting Autism and Other Developmental Disorders in Community Clinics

This study determined the accuracy of Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) in detecting toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disorders (DD) in community mother and child health clinics. We analysed 19,297 eligible toddlers (15–36 months) who had M-CHAT performed in 2006–2011. Overall sensitivities for detecting ASD and all DD were poor but better in the 21 to 21 months) and a useful screening tool for all DD. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

Sentinel surveillance for human enterovirus 71 in Sarawak, Malaysia: lessons from the first 7 years

BACKGROUND: A major outbreak of human enterovirus 71-associated hand, foot and mouth disease in Sarawak in 1997 marked the beginning of a series of outbreaks in the Asia Pacific region. Some of these outbreaks had unusually high numbers of fatalities and this generated much fear and anxiety in the region. METHODS: We established a sentinel surveillance programme for hand, foot and mouth disease in Sarawak, Malaysia, in March 1998, and the observations of the first 7 years are described here. Virus isolation, serotyping and genotyping were performed on throat, rectal, vesicle and other swabs. RESULTS: During this period Sarawak had two outbreaks of human enterovirus 71, in 2000 and 2003. The predominant strains circulating in the outbreaks of 1997, 2000 and 2003 were all from genogroup B, but the strains isolated during each outbreak were genetically distinct from each other. Human enterovirus 71 outbreaks occurred in a cyclical pattern every three years and Coxsackievirus A16 co-circulated with human enterovirus 71. Although vesicles were most likely to yield an isolate, this sample was not generally available from most cases and obtaining throat swabs was thus found to be the most efficient way to obtain virological information. CONCLUSION: Knowledge of the epidemiology of human enterovirus 71 transmission will allow public health personnel to predict when outbreaks might occur and to plan interventions in an effective manner in order to reduce the burden of disease