Interventions on Improving Medication Adherence in Malaysia: A Mini Review

Medication non-adherence is a global issue. Past review on the interventions to improve medication adherence provided little practical implications for healthcare professionals and policy makers in Malaysia, due to the substantive differences across studies. Hence, this review attempted to evaluate the interventions on improving medication adherence conducted in Malaysia, to generate some insights and recommendations for future interventions. Method: Search of past literatures from Google Scholar, PubMed, MEDLINE, EBSCO, PsycINFO, CINAHL (via EBSCO) with search strategy: “medication adherence or medication compliance” [Mesh] AND “intervention” [Mesh] AND “Malaysia” AND English [lang- Lang] was conducted on September 28, 2016. The framework of judging methodological quality used by Zwikker and colleagues was employed. Results and Discussion: A total of 28 articles were identified. Studies which were not conducted using Malaysia population, not measuring medication adherence, without intervention on medication adherence, non-prospective and non-experimental design were omitted. Hence, 9 articles were retained for further evaluation. Eight out of the nine prospective randomized controlled studies were found to be low-quality studies. Overall, interventions that were pharmacist led, physician led, adoption of automated text messaging reminder and improvised medication labelling were found to be effective. Conclusion: This review provides valuable insights on contemporary interventions to improve medication adherence conducted in Malaysia. It is suggested that multifaceted approach with involvement of different healthcare professionals should be encouraged to synergize the strengths of each profession and to further enhance the effectiveness of interventions

Whole School Approach on Social and Emotional Guidance among Rural Elementary Schools : Regular Teachers’ Involvement

This study explored the implementation of the whole school approach (WSA) on social and emotional guidance (SEG) in rural primary schools in Sarawak, Malaysia. Regular teachers (N = 2,532) in Sarawak responded to an electronic survey. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the socio-emotional guidance model were employed to explore the level of implementing the WSA on SEG among the respondents. Factors affecting the intention to be involved in SEG were also explored. This paper provides insights for policymakers and educational administrators to promote the social and emotional well-being of rural students in a developing country

Teacher’s Engagement in the Social and Emotional Guidance ofElementary School Students

The present study aims to explore the criteria which motivate and prevent teachers from engaging in the social and emotional guidance of rural elementary school students in Malaysia. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 teachers using purposive sampling technique and they are from 15 rural primary schools within the Sarawak state of Malaysia. While emerging themes for motivations are teachers’ task perception, colleagues’ support, students’ family support, and teachers’ professionalization, barriers include burdensome workloads and time constraints. The results are discussed to provide insights for policymakers and educational administrators on the development of a whole-school approach that aims to promote the social and emotional well being of rural students in a developing country

Factors Associated with Intention to Donate Hematopoietic Stem Cells among Blood Donors

Introduction: Past studies pay little attention to the inten-tion to donate hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) among blood donors. This study investigated the level of and the influence of socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude, subjective norm and self-efficacy on the intention to donate HSC among blood donors. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited blood donors at selected public hospitals in the Malaysian State of Sarawak in 2019. A structured ques-tionnaire was developed based on the review of relevant lit-erature. It gathered information on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude, subjective norm and self-efficacy on the intention to donate HSC. Variables with a p value <0.200 in bivariate analysis were included in the variable selection for regression modeling to examine their associations with the intention to donate HSC. Results: A to tal of 569 blood donors participated (94.5% response rate). Overall, 87.1% reported a positive intention to donate HSC. In the regression model, the factor with the greatest associa-tion with intention to donate HSC was subjective norms about HSC donation (β = 0.35, 95% CI 0.27–0.42), followed by attitude about regulations of HSC donation (β= 0.21, 95% CI 0.13–0.35), self-efficacy on HSC donation (β = 0.15, 95% CI 0.09–0.32), attitude about the potential side effects of HSC donation (β = 0.14, 95% CI 0.02–0.10) and highest education level (β = 0.10, 95% CI 0.03–0.44). Conclusions: The findings can be used to formulate a better strategy in promoting HSC donation among blood donors in the regio