Religiosity, depression and cognitive impairment among hemodialysis patients in Hospital Kuala Lumpur / Dr. Nor Jannah Nasution Raduan

Background: Depression and Cognitive impairment are two most common complications of patients on hemodialysis. Religiosity has been found to have a positive effect and minimized these problems. Objective: To study religiosity and its relationship with depression and cognitive impairment among hemodialysis patients in Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study involving 110 hemodialysis patients in Hospital Kuala Lumpur. The samples were recruited through universal sampling. The assessments were done during the dialysis treatment and within two hours of the hemodialysis. The patients were assessed with Beck Depression Inventory- Malay (BDI), Malay Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview - Malay (MINI), Malay Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) and Duke University Religious Index Malay (DUREL-M). Descriptive analysis was performed, followed by multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: This study found that 18.2% patients had depression and 48.2% had cognitive impairment. The factors significantly associated with depression were patients having no current episode of depression in M.I.N.I Depression (OR= 0.047; 95% CI= 0.012-0.176), unmarried status (OR= 3.906; 95% CI= 1.409-10.830), high intrinsic religiosity (OR= 0.329, 95% CI= 0.116-0.935) and low education level (OR= 3.056; 95% CI= 1.108, 8.427). Factors found to be significantly associated with cognitive impairment were low education level (OR=7.714; 95% CI= 2.954-20.147) and unemployment (OR= 3.299, 95% CI=1.443-7.541). Conclusion: Depression and cognitive impairment are prevalent in hemodialysis patients; they are significantly associated with high intrinsic religiosity, unmarried status, unemployment and low education level. Routine screening, multidisciplinary management and enhancing religiosity of hemodialysis patients are important preventive measures

Burnout and Coping Skills amongst Medical Officers: A study in a tertiary hospital in Malaysia

Burnout among doctors is hazardous, leading to stress which results in poor decision making and exposure to medical errors.  This study aims to improve the knowledge gap of the issues of burnout and coping skills among medical officers. This study is a cross-sectional study involving 250 medical officers, using universal sampling. Of the total 250 participants, 63 (25.2%) were burnout. The presence of burnout was significantly associated with dysfunctional coping skills (t=-4.96; p <0.001).  Burnout is prevalent among medical officers. It is vital to take actions that can promote good mental health in the form of coping skills and resilience training.Keywords: burnout; coping skills; doctors; medicaleISSN: 2398-4287 © 2019. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v4i12.1940  

Coping skills and burnout among medical officers in a Malaysian tertiary hospital / Nur Faizah Ali … [et al.]

Burnout among doctors is hazardous, leading to stress which results in poor decision making and exposure to medical errors. This study aims to improve the knowledge gap of the issues of burnout and coping skills among medical officers. This study is a cross-sectional study involving 250 medical officers using universal sampling. Of the total 250 participants, 63 (25.2%) were burnout. The presence of burnout was significantly associated with dysfunctional coping skills (t=-4.96; p <0.001). Burnout is prevalent among medical officers. It is vital to take actions that can promote good mental health in the form of coping skills and resilience training

Depression and Cognitive Impairment in Patients on Hemodialysis: A cross-sectional study

Depression and cognitive impairment are the most common complications of patients on hemodialysis. The objective of this study is to identify contributing factors to depression and cognitive impairment in hemodialysis patients. This is a cross-sectional study involving 110 hemodialysis patients in Hospital Kuala Lumpur. The samples were recruited through universal sampling. Patients were assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory and Montreal Cognitive Assessment. This study found that 18.2% of patients had depression, and 48.2% had cognitive impairment. Factors associated with depression were unmarried status, low education level, and cognitive impairment. Factors associated with cognitive impairment were low education level, depression, and unemployment. Keywords: hemodialysis, depression, cognitive, ESRD eISSN: 2398-4287© 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning &amp; Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v5i15.246

Resilience and Psychological Distress among UiTM Medical Students: The transitional gap

The medical course is known to be demanding and critical. However, the relationship between resilience and medical students' psychological distress is barely known. This study investigated resilience and psychological distress among third-year UiTM medical students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 166 medical students in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in 2019, assessing resilience and psychological distress. The mean score of resilience was 26.6. The study found that 38.0% had depressive symptoms, 31.9% reported anxiety, and 70.5% showed stress symptoms. A higher level of resilience was significantly associated with lower psychological distress. Keywords: resilience, psychological distress, medical students. eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under the responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians), and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning &amp; Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i21.370

Grief & personal growth: reflection from Quran, hadith and modern medicine

Grief has been defined as the reaction towards loss with typical symptoms including sadness, anger, guilt, yearning, regret, loneliness, numbness and positive feelings related to individual’s personal experience. Grief has been postulated to occur when a safe and secure bond has been threatened. This loss can be an opportunity for personal growth. It is growth that emerges from difficult life events. It may occur during or after the process of grieving. We reviewed three cases related to grief and personal growth. Three cases were described where grief and personal growth were observed. Each case occurred in different situations. These different situations were; an adult child and caregiver of patient with dementia, a widow who loss her husband from drowning, and a cancer survivor who experienced psychological and spiritual growth from the loss and adverse life event. As a comparison three stories taken from the Quran and Hadith were analyzed to reflect on the three case discussions. The Quran and Hadith have mentioned stories of personal growth emerging from difficulties. The completeness of Islamic creed has never neglected the spiritual component in treating medical, physical and psychological illnesses. Islamic spirituality facilitates and enhances personal growth in the aftermath of any physical and psychological tribulations. It is important to merge the spiritual aspects of grief from Islamic perspective, as to aid those suffering from grief to attain personal and spiritual growth

The Intersection of COVID-19 and Mental Health: What's the Matter with Ethics?

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic rapidly sweeps across the world, despite the measure taken to contain the spread of the disease through quarantine, it induces a considerable degree of fear, worry and concern in the population at large. Health care providers, older people and people with underlying health conditions are the most vulnerable to the pandemic. Nations, even countries with advanced medical sciences and resources, have underestimated the perils of the pandemic. Efforts are focused on understanding the epidemiology, clinical features, transmission patterns, and management of COVID-19 disease. One aspect overlooked is the mental health crisis underpinning the effects of self-isolation/ quarantine and the deaths of loved ones—the number of positive cases in Malaysia at an exponential growth rate each day. With strict preventive measures and restrictions by the Malaysian Government in the form of nationwide Movement Control Order (also known as MCO), the citizens are going through a range of psychological and emotional reactions and fear and uncertainty of being one of the infected. Many studies have been conducted to identify the state of mental health of people during this calamity. This raises ethical concerns and legal issues with regards to the rights of individuals enduring mental illness. This paper explores the ethical issues about the research on mental health during Covid-19 pandemics and the regulatory mechanisms which protect the rights of the persons who have the symptoms of mental illness

Results of the COVID-19 mental health international for the general population (COMET-G) study.

INTRODUCTION: There are few published empirical data on the effects of COVID-19 on mental health, and until now, there is no large international study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, an online questionnaire gathered data from 55,589 participants from 40 countries (64.85% females aged 35.80 ± 13.61; 34.05% males aged 34.90±13.29 and 1.10% other aged 31.64±13.15). Distress and probable depression were identified with the use of a previously developed cut-off and algorithm respectively. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Descriptive statistics were calculated. Chi-square tests, multiple forward stepwise linear regression analyses and Factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tested relations among variables. RESULTS: Probable depression was detected in 17.80% and distress in 16.71%. A significant percentage reported a deterioration in mental state, family dynamics and everyday lifestyle. Persons with a history of mental disorders had higher rates of current depression (31.82% vs. 13.07%). At least half of participants were accepting (at least to a moderate degree) a non-bizarre conspiracy. The highest Relative Risk (RR) to develop depression was associated with history of Bipolar disorder and self-harm/attempts (RR = 5.88). Suicidality was not increased in persons without a history of any mental disorder. Based on these results a model was developed. CONCLUSIONS: The final model revealed multiple vulnerabilities and an interplay leading from simple anxiety to probable depression and suicidality through distress. This could be of practical utility since many of these factors are modifiable. Future research and interventions should specifically focus on them

My RESPITE: Malaysian resources for spiritual care training

Spiritual care in clinical practice is a relatively new domain in medicine, especially in Malaysia. The importance and relevance of spiritual care to patients' health and wellbeing should not be underestimated. Standardized training on basic spiritual care is required in order to deliver it effectively. Based on their cultural and spiritual backgrounds, some healthcare workers may hold pre-conceived ideas on what spiritual care is, which may not suit the patients. During these unprecedented times of COVID-19 pandemic, the classical learning method through face-to-face interaction is limited in order to reduce the risk of transmission. For this purpose, a webpage is developed to furnish students with a virtual counterpart of experiential learning for students. My RESPITE: Malaysian Resources For Spiritual Care is a team of healthcare providers who have become the pioneer in spiritual care among Malaysian healthcare providers. The team consists of clinicians; hospital chaplains and nurses, who have received 0.5 units of training from Clinical Pastoral Education of Central California. My RESPITE is a novel innovation developed with an objective of exposing healthcare workers, students and volunteers to the spiritual care of patients. Training via video series was developed in a webpage to provide access to spiritual care training and knowledge. Several short videos are pre-recorded and posted on the webpage, which serves as important resources for students. An expert on clinical, spiritual care was consulted prior to developing the content of the videos. The topics range from basic spiritual care concepts, skills and assessment tools, to other topics related to spirituality and mental health. My RESPITE provides accessibility for an engaging training in spiritual care. It will create awareness to healthcare workers, students and volunteers on the importance of spiritual care in patients from all types of backgrounds. All stakeholders will be more aware and open towards ones own spiritual needs to reach one’s ultimate meaning in life

A review on anticipatory grief: a lessons learnt from the history of Abu Bakr r.a.

Introduction: Grief is defined as ‘the internal experience of a person to the loss of something loved and valued’. It is a normal and expected reaction to loss. While anticipatory grief is defined as ‘an emotional response that is experienced before a true loss’, a concept focusing on that a person might experience grief when the loss of a close loved one was anticipated, but had not yet occurred. Description from history: The history of Abu Bakr r.a. was reviewed especially from the period of a few months before and recently after the death of the prophet s.a.w. It was noted that he appeared strong while others were down grieving upon the news of the prophet s.a.w.’s death. It was also noted that Abu Bakr r.a. has been grieving when he anticipated that the prophet was going to die. Discussion: Literatures on anticipatory grief were reviewed. Evidence are conflicting on the role of anticipatory grief. Factors that lead to these differences will be reviewed. And the factors in Abu Bakr r.a. that helped maintain his composure after the death of prophet Muhammad s.a.w. and later led him to be the pledged as the first caliph of the Muslim nation will be discussed