The prevalence of ergonomic problems in computing among year 1 and year 2 medical students of the faculty of medicine and health sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

The purpose of this research is to study the prevalence of ergonomics problems in computing among year 1 and year 2 medical students of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. Students generally carry out a lot of computer related tasks which notably typing. Inadvertently, some cases of ergonomics problems will arise. Working with computer for hours can result in ergonomics problems such as neck stiffness, back pain, dry eyes and many more. Thus, as medical students ourselves, we decided to conduct a research in order to identify the problems related to ergonomics in computer usage. The main objective of this study is to identify the factors contributing to ergonomics problems and their prevalence among the students. Questionnaire-based survey was applied to collect data with targeted participants from year 1 and year 2 medical students. Eye discomfort is the most prominent ergonomic problem as only 22 students (13.6%) were not affected by eye discomfort. Neck pain is the second most prevalent ergonomic problem experienced by the students. 86 out of 162 participants (53.1 %) were affected by this symptom while operating computers. In a cross-tabulation study between the amount of time allocated on computer usage and eye problems, this study had concluded that prolonged exposure towards computer screen does not necessarily lead to eye problems. This is because certain measures could be taken in order to prevent eye problems due to computer usage such as using antiglare screens, having frequent intennittent eye rests, sufficient lighting, proper adjustment of computer screen positions and positioning of the eyes from the computer monitor at an appropriate distance

An interventional study on the knowledge, attitude and practice on hand, foot and mouth disease among the parents or caregivers of children aged 10 and below at Nanga Sekuau resettlement scheme from 26th March to 10th June 2012

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) is now considered an emerging infectious disease that affects the population worldwide. In order to cope with the high prevalence of HFMD in Malaysia, level of knowledge and awareness among the population should be assessed so that appropriate interventions can be carried out. The objective of this study was to study the knowledge, attitude and practice on HFMD among the parents or caregivers of children aged 10 years and below at Nanga Sekuau Resettlement Scheme from 26th of March to 10th of June 2012. The results obtained were then using as the baseline data to conduct an intervention beneficial to the community to enhance their level of knowledge, attitude and practice towards HFMD. Data collection was done by face to face interview using interview-based questionnaire. Data analysis was done using SPSS software version 20.0. Results showed that 61.1 % of the respondents had good knowledge, 52.2% had good attitude while 55.8% had good preventive practice towards HFMD. Analysis found a significant association between total knowledge score and the level of education (p0.05). In conclusion, there is a great need for intensive intervention in order to enhance their awareness on HFMD among the respondents