The prevalence of urinary incontinence among the elderly in a rural community in Selangor.

Background: Urinary incontinence is a common but poorly understood problem in the elderly population. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of urinary incontinence and its associated factors among the elderly in a community setting. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used. Stratified cluster sampling was used in this study. All elderly residents aged 60 years old and above who fulfilled the selection criteria were included as respondents. The translated Malay version of the Barthel's Index (BI) was used to identify the presence of urinary incontinence. Results: The prevalence of urinary incontinence was 9.9% among the elderly respondents. Urinary incontinence among the elderly was significantly associated with age, gender, depression, functional dependence, and diabetes mellitus (P < 0.05)

The prevalence and factors associated with obesity among adult women in Selangor, Malaysia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>The prevalence of obesity in developing countries especially among women is on the rise. This matter should be taken seriously because it can burden the health care systems and lower the quality of life.</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of obesity among adult women in Selangor and to determine factors associated with obesity among these women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This community based cross sectional study was conducted in Selangor in January 2004. Multi stage stratified proportionate to size sampling method was used. Women aged 20–59 years old were included in this study. Data was collected using a questionnaire-guided interview method. The questionnaire consisted of questions on socio-demographic (age, ethnicity, religion, education level, occupation, monthly income, marital status), Obstetric & Gynaecology history, body mass index (BMI), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Out of 1032 women, 972 agreed to participate in this study, giving a response rate of 94.2%. The mean age was 37.91 ± 10.91. The prevalence of obesity among the respondents was 16.7% (mean = 1.83 ± 0.373). Obesity was found to be significantly associated with age (p = 0.013), ethnicity (p = 0.001), religion (p = 0.002), schooling (p = 0.020), educational level (p = 0.016), marital status (p = 0.001) and the history of suffering a miscarriage within the past 6 months (p = 0.023).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The prevalence of obesity among adult women in this study was high. This problem needs to be emphasized as the prevalence of obesity keeps increasing, and will continue to worsen unless appropriate preventive measures are taken.</p

Mental health in the community – Malaysia: a 20-year journey of a family medicine consultant

Mental health is more than the absence of mental illness. It is a state of well-being in which a person realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community. Mental health includes: • How someone feels about him / herself • How someone feels about other people • How someone is able to handle the demands of life. One way of describing mental health is to describe mentally healthy people. To be mentally healthy, a person needs to have a balance of protective individual and community factors. Protective individual factors are high self-esteem, good coping mechanisms, a sense of meaningful life, effective communication, strong social network and a sense of humour, whereas protective community factors are safety, healthy physical environment, adequate resources and a sense of community. Mental health is thus the foundation for individual well-being and the effective functioning of a community

Validation studies: validating new tools and adapting old ones to new contexts

Validation studies determine the accuracy, dependability and consistency of a tool in measuring what it is supposed to measure. Validation of a tool which detects depression in the community should determine the accuracy of the tool to detect depression in the specified population and prove that it is measuring what it is supposed to measure and is consistent throughout its usage. Face validity' is confirmation from a group of experts or other stakeholders as to whether this tool appears to be a reasonable measure of the concept as they understand it. 'Content validity' checks whether all the items in the tool that should be included are included and identifies the relevance of each indicator and criterion. 'Construct validity' is the extent to which the items in the tool are as closely associated as expected, according to theory. 'Criterion-related validity' determines the ability of each criterion of the tool to measure accurately a specific concept or condition

Decompression illness secondary to occupational diving : recommended management based current legistation and practice in Malaysia.

Occupational divers are exposed to hazards which contribute to the risk of developing decompression illnesses (DCI). DCI consists of Type I decompression sickness (DCS), Type II DCS and arterial gas embolism (AGE), developed from formation of bubbles in the tissues or circulation as a result of inadequate elimination of inert gas (nitrogen) after a dive. In Malaysia, DCI is one of the significant contributions to mortality and permanent residual morbidity in diving accidents. This is a case of a diver who suffered from Type II DCS with neurological complications due to an occupational diving activity. This article mentions the clinical management of the case and makes several recommendations based on current legislations and practise implemented in Malaysia in order to educate medical and health practitioners on the current management of DCI from the occupational perspective. By following these recommendations, hopefully diving accidents mainly DCI and its sequalae among occupational divers can be minimized and prevented, while divers who become injured receive the proper compensation for their disabilities

Prevalence of depression among women attending a primary urban care clinic in Malaysia.

Depression affects more women than men in Malaysia. The objective of this paper was to determine the prevalence of depression and its associated factors among women attending a government primary care clinic. MeThODs A cross-sectional study was conducted in a government-funded primary care clinic in Malaysia. Consecutive adult female patients attending the clinic during the data collection period were invited to participate. The participants completed self-administered questionnaires (including the validated Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9], which was translated into the Malay language). ResUlTs A total of 895 female patients participated in the study (response rate 87.5%). The prevalence of depression (PHQ-9 scores ≥ 10) was 12.1%. Based on multiple logistic regression analysis, certain stressful life events were found to be associated with depression (p < 0.05). These factors, arranged from highest to lowest risk, were financial problems (odds ratio [OR] 3.7, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.2-6.2), unhappiness in the parent-child relationship (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.2-7.5), history of serious illness (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.1-5.2), unhappiness in family relationships (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.1-4.7) and unhappiness at work (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1-4.3) (p < 0.05). CONClUsION The prevalence of depression among participants in this study was clinically significant and corresponded with the findings of other international studies. Factors associated with depression need to be highlighted and addressed accordingly. Clinicians in Malaysia should be aware of this prevalence when making diagnoses in primary care

Computer aided learning knowledge among medical students in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia

Computer proficiency has become necessary in many areas of medicine, administration, clinical practices, research, as well as education. The need for greater competence in information and communication technologies (ICT) by doctors and medical students is increasingly recognised. Objectives: This study was undertaken to determine the knowledge, attitude and practices on ICT in the medical students of a local university. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among medical students (Years 1-5) from December 2005 to May 2006 in Universiti Putra Malaysia. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics were used to obtain frequencies for all variables studied. Results: There were 343 respondents aged 18-29 years old. The results showed 82.2% of the respondents (82.2%) were comfortable using computers after entering medical school and 89.2% believed that ICT and computers skills are important for doctors. About 81.3% of the respondents were aware of the role of ICT and computers in learning medicine, 90.4% had used presentation packages, and 83.4% used word processing and search engines as software tools. Conclusion: The findings of this study show that medical students are knowledgeable and do have skills in information technology (IT) and computers. They are also aware of the role of information technology (IT) and computers in medicin

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Current Depressive Symptoms among Staff of a Public University in Malaysia

Introduction: Depression is an important global public health problem and one of the most common and serious mental disorders. It initiates with the presentation of symptoms before it progresses to a lifetime disorder. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of and factors associated with current depressive symptoms among university staff of a public university in Malaysia. Methodology: A cross-sectional study design was employed using a probability proportionate to size sampling method to select 683 academic and non-academic staff. A structured validated questionnaire was used for data collection. Results: The prevalence of current depressive symptoms was 14.9% (19.0% among males, 12.5% among females). Gender, age, marital status, monthly family income and self-esteem were significantly associated with current depressive symptoms (p<0.05). The logistic regression model showed that male gender (AOR = 2.04; 95%CI 1.29, 3.20) and younger age (AOR = 2.79; 95%CI 1.16, 6.76) were predictors of current depressive symptoms. Conclusion: The prevalence of current depressive symptoms was 14.9% (19.0% among males, 12.5% among females) among university staff. A mental health promotion intervention is needed to prevent the threat depression poses on the health of the university staff

Prevalence and predictors of poor sleep quality among secondary school students in Gombak District, Selangor

Introduction: Poor sleep quality among adolescents is becoming a major worldwide concern and is widely recognized as a significant public health issue. Objectives: To determine the prevalence and predictors of poor sleep quality among secondary school students in Gombak District, Selangor. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Gombak District. The sample size was 1,092 based on two group comparison formula. Students were selected using sampling with probability to proportionate to size. Self administered pretested questionnaires were used to collect the data. The data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. Chi-square or Fisher's exact test was performed to determine the association between individual categorical variables and sleep quality. Variables with p-value <0.25 were selected to be subjected into multivariate logistic regression to determine the predictors. Results: The response rate was 93.0%. The prevalence of poor sleep quality was 24.0% (95% CI = 21.5, 26.6). Based on the analysis of simple logistic regression seven variables that were significantly associated with poor sleep quality were age, gender, marital status of parents, depression, anxiety, stress and academic performance found fit in the model. Multivariate logistic analysis showed that the significant predictors of poor sleep quality were age, marital status of parents, depression, anxiety, stress and academic performance. Factors that were not statistically significant were gender, religion, ethnicity, parent's educational level and family income. Conclusions: Prevalence of poor sleep quality among adolescents is high. The predictors of poor sleep quality are age, marital status of parents, depression, anxiety, stress and academic performance