Knowledge, perception and experiences of primipara mothers on early breast feeding initiation in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center

World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recommend that all infants should be exclusively early breastfed immediately within one hour post-delivery. The decision and practices to early breastfeeding initiation (BFI) are influenced by many contributing factors. It is well recognized that poor knowledge and practice of early breastfeeding is pronounced among mothers. This research was conducted to assess the predictive factors of knowledge, perceptions, practices and experiences of primipara mothers as well as its related factors towards early BFI in University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with two hundred and fifteen primiparas (n=215) in postnatal wards, UKMMC. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the sample. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaires adapted from the Newborn Feeding Ability (NFA) and Breastfeeding Initiation Practices (BIP) after gaining ethics approval from USM and UKMMC. The questionnaires included socio-demographic data, knowledge, perceptions, practices and experiences of mothers towards early BFI. The results showed that half of the respondents (46.5%) had higher knowledge of early initiation of breastfeeding, however the majority of respondents (52.1%) revealed gaining insufficient support from the midwives to assist them in initiating early breastfeeding. There was a significant association between higher education and level of knowledge on early BFI (p=0.001). Additionally, there is a significant association between higher income and level of perceptions of early BFI (p=0. 015). It can be concluded that the mothers are still lacking in knowledge of early BFI while intentions regarding breastfeeding their infants is poor. Hence, the BFI training program for both mothers and midwives is needed. This study suggests that systematic assessment of knowledge and practice of ten steps successful breastfeeding among midwives in UKMMC should be established to evaluate their competency in supporting mothers to breastfeed infants

Student’s perceptions towards the teaching and learning of jawi (Arabic letter) under j-QAF programme: a case study at selected government primary schools in the District of Hulu Selangor.

In Malaysian Educational System, Islamic Education is one of the core subject offered in the primary schools for Muslim students. Anyhow, studies have shown that they are weak in Jawi skills (writing and reading Arabic letter). Therefore, the Ministry of Education, Malaysia has designed special programme called jQAF to enhance student’s ability in Jawi, Qur’an, Arabic and Fard ‘Ain. Thus, this study attempts to investigate the teaching strategies applied by Islamic Education teachers in teaching Jawi. The researcher has conducted a case study using self-constructed questionnaires. The respondents comprised of 255 year six students from the selected Government Primary Schools in the district of Hulu Selangor. A descriptive analysis was employed to provide meanings to the data. This simple descriptive statistical analysis includes percentages, frequencies and means. The findings revealed that there are several methods applied by teachers in teaching Jawi. It was also found that students have positive perceptions towards Jawi subject. Generally, this study provides useful insights that can be benefited by J-QAF teachers and the Ministry of Education

Working mothers’ knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding in Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM)

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is very crucial for the health of infant as well as mother. However, the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding is very low especially among working mother. Since the prevalence of EBF might be influenced by the level of knowledge on EBF, researcher comes to critical thinking to conduct this study to evaluate level of knowledge on EBF among working mother. A cross sectional design study was carried out to determine knowledge level on exclusive breastfeeding among working mother, and its relationship with demographic data in Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM). A total 283 respondents were recruited to participate in this study. The respondents’ knowledge level on exclusive breastfeeding was identified using Kim & Chapman (2013) Questionnaire on Knowledge and Practice about Exclusive Breastfeeding. The result showed that majority of the respondents (56.9%) had high knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding. For demographic data, factors such as age, level of education, and family income had shown a significant association (p < 0.05) with level of knowledge on exclusive breastfeeding. In conclusion, the level of knowledge of EBF was identified among working mother, yet it has been influenced by mother’s sociodemographic background

Student's perceptions of the Jawi (Arabic Script) curriculum in Malaysia

Islamic Education is one of the core subjects offered in Malaysian primary schools, but studies reveal a weakness in Jawi (Arabic script) skills. The Ministry of Education has therefore designed a special programme called jQAF to enhance students' abilities in Jawi, the Qur'an, Arabic and Fard'Ain. This study attempts to investigate the strategies applied by Islamic Education teachers in Jawi. The researcher has conducted a case study using questionnaires. The respondents comprised 112 male and 143 female year six students from selected government primary schools in the district of Hulu Selangor. A descriptive analysis has been employed to provide meanings to the data. The simple descriptive statistical analysis includes percentage, frequencies and means. It was revealed that four methods had been used; flash cards, drill technique, playing games and learning through songs. The findings also revealed that there are several methods applied by teachers of Jawi. It was also found that students have positive perceptions about Jawi. Generally, this study provides useful insights that can benefit those involved in the field of Islamic Education

The Association of Foot Care Strategies (FCS) through Ablution with Hba1c among Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 Patient

Diabetes Mellitus in Malaysia has become increasingly problematic along with issues of other cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension, heart disease and stroke. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the association of Foot care strategies (FCS) through ablution with Hba1c result among Diabetes Mellitus Type 2. The study design used is a Quasi experimental design. The intervention group received an Educational Package that focused on ablution, while the control group did not receive any form of intervention and received standard health care. A Wilcoxon test was used for the statistical analyses. There are no statistical changes in the mean difference of score in intervention and control group after implementation of Diabetic Foot Care Strategies for intervention group Pre-test (M=7.706, SD=2.598, P 1.000) and Post-test is (M=7.706, SD (2.598), P 1.000). It was found that 0% Changes from baseline to post test. In this study has found that there was no effect between the improvement of foot hygiene with Hba1c result even though respondent Hba1c result were well control and poorly control

The Quality of Life Among Nursing Students Related to Stress and Academic Pressure in North Borneo Local University

Nursing students often face high levels of stress and academic pressure due to the demanding nature of their coursework, clinical rotations, and the responsibility of caring for patients. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify the association between Quality of Life and stress plus academic pressure among nursing student in north Borneo local university. Material and Method – Cross sectional study design was used, with 55 respondents using Academic Pressure Scale (APS) and Overall Quality of Life scale (WHOQOLS) as the questionnaire was analyse using Chi-square test. Result – The probability value obtained from Pearson ChiSquare was 0.014 is less than predetermined alpha value (0.05), thus the null hypothesis was rejected. Conclusion: There is significant association between WHOQOL and the APS underscores the interconnectedness of students' perceived quality of life and their experience of academic stress

HUBUNGAN KONTEMPORER MALAYSIA–INDONESIA: TAHAP PENGETAHUAN DAN PEMAHAMAN GEN X DAN Y MALAYSIA

Looking at the relations between Malaysia-Indonesia, it could be seen that society has the power to direct the bilateral relations between two countries. In comparison, Indonesian society is more responsive than Malaysian society in responding to particular issues related to both countries. The most active group is generally from the younger generation known as Generation Y (Gen Y) where their reactions tend to be provocative. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the knowledge and perceptions of Gen Y and Gen X at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) on the Malaysia-Indonesia bilateral relationship and the factors that influence their knowledge and perception. This paper uses quantitative and qualitative methods. The results of the study showed that respondents accepted Indonesia as an important neighbor because of the current state's interests. The cultural and social aspects, particularly audio-visual products such as Indonesian soap operas and Indonesian pop songs have the most significant influence in influencing the respondents' level of knowledge about Indonesia. In addition, they also get a lot of information about Indonesia through electronic media. An important finding from this study is that all respondents acknowledge that Indonesia is still relevant as Malaysia's closest neighbor based on the similarity factor and those good relations between the two countries need to be maintained

The effectiveness of antenatal class towards improvement of knowledge among pregnant women in Hospital Chancellor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM)

Antenatal knowledge is associated with positive outcome for pregnant women as it provides information to allow them to identify any problems during pregnancy. Studies have underlined the problems of the information overload is possible during an antenatal class, it is unclear to what extend information given during antenatal class are retain by mother, thus the need for this study. Methods: This is a quasi-pre-post experimental study involving 82 participants. Baseline pre and post knowledge on antenatal class was evaluated among respondents using validate questionnaires. T-test was used to determine the relationship between various socio-demographic factors and knowledge of respondents. Results: Chi-square test used to test pre and post knowledge score. There was a significant increase in the difference between before and after antenatal classes run against the knowledge. In addition, the study found no significant difference for participants who are professional and non-professional and level of education. Conclusion: This study concludes that the antenatal classes run in HCTM shows a positive impact in improving maternal care during pregnancy, childbirth and care after birth. It is best to suggest that to increase promotion and information regarding antenatal classes so that pregnant women and couple could attend and get the benefit from the class

The Association Between Knowledge and Practice of Body Mechanic Technique Among Nurses in Emergency Department from Hospital in North Borneo

Introduction: Body Mechanic Technique (BMT) is a method of moving throughout daily activities, and good body mechanics can help you avoid injury and lower back pain. The aim of this study is to identify the level of knowledge and level of practice among nurses in Emergency Department, Hospital in North Borneo, Sabah regarding Body Mechanic Technique and their relationship. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 40 staff nurses from Emergency Department, Hospital in North Borneo. Data was collected using validated questionnaire with 15 minutes to timeframe to answer all questions. Data then was analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson Correlation Coefficient, aided with IBM’s Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) Version 25 statistic software. Result: From this study, it is revealed that majority of the respondents had fair level of knowledge (77.5%) and majority of respondents had good level of practice (55%) regarding BMT. The study also revealed that there is weak correlation between level of knowledge and level of practice regarding BWT, as the Pearson Correlation Test indicates that p value is 0.128. Conclusion: Overall, the level of knowledge and practice regarding BMT among in nurses in ED Hospital in North Borneo are generally fair and there still opportunity for improvement to prevent occurrence low back pain and its complication in the future

Loneliness among elderly in community residence at Pontian district, Johore

Loneliness is a major social problem among the elderly that has gone through almost all countries in the world. Even though loneliness is seen as the health-threatening but, the loneliness assessment is still marginal¬ized in routine medical check-up for every senior citizen. Methods: This is a sequential explanatory mixed-method study with a cross-sectional community survey was conducted among 380 community residence elderly followed by in-depth interview among eight respondents. This study aims to measure the loneliness and to explore loneliness experienced by older adults. Data were collected using the short form of Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults (SELSA-S) and data were analysed using SPSS (version 23.0) for windows. In the qualitative study, eight re¬spondents were interviewed face-to-face and data were analysed using thematic analysis Braun and Clarke (2006). Results: The results revealed that 37.2% of respondents had loneliness. Bivariate analyses showed the age, level of education and marital status were significantly associated with loneliness. The results of multiple logistic regression discovered gender (OR=1.75,95%CI:1.04-2.93; p=0.03) and marital status (OR=2.24,95%CI: 1.33-3.77;p= 0.002) were a significant predictor of loneliness. In a qualitative study, the result showed two main themes were recorded as causes of loneliness among the elderly are ‘changing the lifestyles’ and ‘ineffective communications. The sub-themes included ‘loss of someone who significant’, ‘limited physical mobility’, ‘all alone’ and ‘no support’. Conclusion: The issue of loneliness needs critically to be addressed even though Malaysia has not reached the ‘aging population’, but the loneliness prevalence experienced by the older adult has similarities with other countries that have attained that status