Green infrastructure as green health promotion agenda for urban community

The study investigates how the presence of green infrastructure network enhances urban residents’ physical health. The study reviews the literature related to green infrastructure benefits to physical health of urban individuals. In addition, it investigates the relationships of green infrastructure experience to physical health and well-being via a case study exploration on residents in Taiping, a small town in Central Peninsular Malaysia. Green infrastructure network is a composite of open space and greenery that is linked by walkways, streets and waterways around and between urban areas at all spatial scales. It is found that an accumulated literature review especially from the western world has produced a considerable amount of evidences on benefits of greenery and nature to health. Hence, this paper discusses the findings from various researches on the benefits of green infrastructure to physical health of urban residents. The paper also elaborates the results on green infrastructure experience and interaction derived from a survey (n=335) of residents in Taiping. Findings show that, regardless of ages, residents frequently visited the green infrastructure in the town. Effects from the existence of various types of green infrastructure in the town promote frequent visitation and participation in active recreation. The relationship suggests that the green spaces allow residents to experience active and leisure activities, which in turn afforded healthy feeling and wellness for residents. The findings implicates that the existence of green infrastructure network are essential in an urban fabric that may foster active living. Thus, as aspired by the Malaysian government, green infrastructure is a significant health promotion agenda that is seen as a way to improve healthy living in a communit

Green infrastructure in cities and towns in Southeast Asian countries: quest for research

The cities in Southeast Asia are rapidly urbanised. Urbanisation in the region causes urban residents to live in a city with less balanced ecological system. Green infrastructure is known to be a vital indicator for urban environmental sustainability. The green infrastructure is all landscape types comprise of greenery and open spaces. Its network of park, playing field, pocket and incidental green space and neighbourhood space that is linked by tree-lined streets and waterways around and between urban areas provides green lung for cities, hence promotes healthy society through spaces for recreational, social and leisure activities. These are the places where urban residents have access and contact with nature, and interactions with other individuals. This paper explores the roles of green infrastructure in the Southeast Asian cities and towns, and its implications to urban residents‟ well-being. The green infrastructure acts as an important countermeasure to alleviate negative effects of urbanisation to residents and urban ecological system. A multidisciplinary literature review on urban open space, greenery and urban natural ecosystem was conducted to assess the body of research that highlights green infrastructure in Southeast Asia cities which include Jakarta, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Bangkok. The major themes derived from the findings were categorised into three: (i) quantity of existing green infrastructure, (ii) studies on green infrastructure contributions to well-being of urban residents, and (iii) significant attribute parameters that emerged from the studies. The review has found that even though the concept of green infrastructure may be new for many countries in the region, the areas of research have gained recognition in the urban public health dimension. In other words, the governments of the region must consider urban residents‟ health derived from green infrastructure to be of important resources for future urban sustainability. There are also challenges especially on green infrastructure‟s implementation that need to be addressed in city planning and urban design. The findings implicates that accumulation of research can promote public health of Southeast Asian cities that ultimately lead to environmental sustainability

Experiential contacts with green infrastructure’s diversity and well-being of urban community

The study explores the significance of residents’ experience with an array of green infrastructure in Taiping, a small town in central Peninsular Malaysia. It argues that the existence of a composite of greenery and open spaces in a town that has diversity contributes to sense of well-being of residents. Green infrastructure network is a composite of various types of greenery and open spaces linked by streets, waterways and drainages encircling and connecting urban areas, at all spatial scales. In Taiping, the green infrastructure network consists of a town park, street planting, open spaces of public buildings, pocket spaces between shop-houses, school playfields, neighbourhood open space, home gardens, and river corridors. Questionnaires (n=335) and semi-structured interviews (n=33) explored the diversity of the green infrastructure in the town and the causal relationship to well-being—physical, cognitive and social. The data suggested that green infrastructure afford residents diversity of experience. Diverse experiences of green infrastructure network, physically and visually attract residents to participate in active activities, to socialize and to perform other transactional activities outside their homes. Therefore, the effects from the participation trigger many positive moods such as serenity, relaxation, comfort and satisfaction. Moreover, in physical and social terms, experiencing urban green spaces such as parks and gardens afford town residents active living, and community participation and harmony. There were modest relationships between the dimensions of diversity with the well-being dimensions, suggesting that residents felt diversity affect their sense of well-being. Hence, the results implicate that urban green spaces are essential amenity for towns and cities that afford an individual and a community physical, cognitive and social well-being

The Significance of Green Infrastructure Experience to Cognitive Well-Being of Residents in Small Town

The paper explored the significance of residents’ experience with an array of green infrastructure in Taiping, a small town in central Peninsular Malaysia. It argued that the existence of a composite of greenery and open spaces in a town with pleasing qualities contributes to cognitive performance, through contact and participation. In particular, it examined the relationship of participation in the green spaces to residents’ cognitive well-being. Green infrastructure network is greenery and open spaces linked by walkways, streets, waterways and drainage ways around and between urban areas, at all spatial scales. In Taiping, the green infrastructure network consists of the Lake Gardens (town park), river corridors, street plantings, school playfields, neighbourhood open spaces, home gardens and loose-fit spaces such as pocket spaces in between buildings and shop-houses. Ease of access to green infrastructure network, physically and visually facilitates residents to participate in active activities, to socialize and to perform other transactional activities outside their homes. Therefore, the effects from the participation trigger many positive moods such as serenity, cheerfulness, relaxation, calmness, comfort and satisfaction. Questionnaires (n=335) were used to explore frequency of residents’ visits to the green infrastructure and the causal relationship to cognitive performances that lead to their well-being. The data showed, regardless of ages, residents frequently visited the green spaces. Results also suggested that there was a modest relationship between frequent visits and cognitive wellbeing of residents. Hence, they implied the benefits of access to green spaces and implicated that the existence of green infrastructure network such as parks and neighbourhood open spaces are essential land use in an urban fabric that foster sense of well-being to its inhabitants

Diversity as the physical correlate to open space's experience in two historical towns

This research studies diversity as a parameter in the built environment in two types of open spaces in colonial towns of Taiping and Georgetown. The richness of natural landscape elements, scales of spaces, distribution of activity patterns, and variety of visual stimulants in the open spaces were among the dimensions of diversity explored in this study. This paper is exploratory in nature, which applies a qualitative method. It involves descriptive and affective aspects of environmental experience of users of the two open spaces. The study suggests that diversity means socialization, which can be achieved through gradual and natural occurring assimilation

A phytochemical comparison of saw palmetto products using gas chromatography and (1) H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy metabolomic profiling

© 2014 The Authors. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Pharmaceutical Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedPreparations containing saw palmetto berries are used in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). There are many products on the market, and relatively little is known about their chemical variability and specifically the composition and quality of different saw palmetto products notwithstanding that in 2000, an international consultation paper from the major urological associations from the five continents on treatments for BPH demanded further research on this topic. Here, we compare two analytical approaches and characterise 57 different saw palmetto products.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

AN INVESTIGATION OF ERRORS: THE PREPARATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF PARENTERAL MEDICATIONS IN AN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT OF A TERTIARY TEACHING HOSPITAL IN MALAYSIA

Objective: This study was carried out to investigate the incidence, types, and factors associated with parenteral medication preparation/administration errors. The study also investigates the concentration accuracy of prepared drug infusions and the adherence to good practices by the nurses.Methods: This was a prospective study conducted in a general intensive care unit (GICU) of a tertiary teaching hospital in Malaysia, using an observation method. The preparation and administration of the parenteral medications by the nurses were observed, and the details were recorded using a standard checklist. The drug infusions (noradrenaline) prepared by the nurses were collected for a concentration analysis using a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).Results: This study found that 79% of the parenteral medications prepared and administered had one or more error. There were 33% doses with 2 or more errors while 6% doses contained 3 errors. The most common errors involved incorrect drug preparation (57%), followed by incorrect administration rate (33%). There was no double-checking performed in the preparation/administration of all (100%) parenteral doses. In terms of concentration accuracy, 48% of the prepared drug infusions contained errors. Failure to label syringe properly was found to result in more errors per dose (P<0.001).Conclusion: Error during preparation and administration of parenteral medications is common in Malaysia's intensive care unit setting. Incorrect drug preparation and wrong administration rate were both error ‘hot spots' identified in this study, and must be targeted for intervention. Some of the recommendations to improve parenteral medication safety include providing education, centralised admixture services, and interdisciplinary collaboration.Keywords: Medication error, Nurses, Parenteral medication, Intensive care unit, Observatio

Examination of Influence of Ethnic Identity Development on the Counselling Trainees’ Multicultural Counselling Competencies

Background Ethnic identity awareness has become one of the important variables that impact the counsellor’s multicultural counselling competencies and to understand clients in the counselling relationship. Objective The purpose of the study was to assess the influence of ethnic identity development on the multicultural counselling competencies of counselling trainees at a public university in Malaysia. Methods Two scales were used in this study which include the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) and Multicultural Counselling Inventory (MCI). The first instrument measured the process of ethnic identity development of counselling trainees and the second instrument measured the students’ multicultural counselling competencies. Results The result showed that there was a significant influence of ethnic identity development on the multicultural counselling competencies of counselling trainees. Ethnic identity achievement, ethnic behavior, and multicultural training were the significant predictors of counselling trainees’ multicultural counselling competencies. Conclusion These results yield useful information for understanding the relative importance of ethnic identity awareness in developing the counsellor’s multicultural competencies