A review of spiritual reminiscence therapy for older people with mental health problems

Spiritual reminiscence therapy (SRT) is an intervention that involves evaluation of life experiences by sharing memories with others that guide individuals to understand the purpose of their life and future hopes. The effectiveness of SRT more specifically for older people needs greater interrogation before this intervention can be recommended. An integrative review of the literature was conducted to explore this question. The search involved published and unpublished studies using the keywords: spiritual reminiscence OR spiritual life review OR religious life review OR spiritual therapies AND older people OR older adults. The search strategy resulted in 847 studies from the electronic databases. Of the 847 studies, five met the inclusion criteria. Out of these five studies, three were quantitative studies, and two were qualitative studies. The evidence regarding the effectiveness of SRT was limited. Despite limited evidence from the quantitative findings, the qualitative findings suggested that SRT can be a worthwhile intervention for older people. Therefore, there is a need in future research to further understand SRT as an intervention for older people

Prevalence of depression and its association with suicidal ideation among older people

Objective: Suicidal ideation is common in older people worldwide. However, there is a lack of data about suicidal ideation and its risk factor among Malaysian population. Aims: To determine the prevalence of suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms, and risk factors contributing to suicidal ideation among older people.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on 200 older people aged 60 years and older who attended Medical Outpatient Department (MOPD) Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan, Kuantan. A questionnaire consisted of three parts; (1) Socio demographic background, (2) Depressive symptoms (Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) and (3) Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire Revised (SBQ-R). The data were analyzed by Statistical Package Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.Results: The prevalence rate of older people who experienced suicidal ideation was 3% and 29.5 % older people reported depression. It was found that there was an association between ethnicity (p < 0.00), marital status (p= 0.008), depressive symptoms (p < 0.00) and suicidal ideation. Conclusion: Ethnicity, marital status and depressive symptoms are associated with suicidal ideation among older people in Malaysia. Future interventions should focus on these factors while planning for the intervention specific for this group of older people

The relationship between painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy and functional status of older people in Kuantan, Pahang

This study aimed to determine the relationship between painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy and functional status among older people in Kuantan, Pahang. A cross-sectional study was performed by using an interviewer-administered questionnaire among 300 participants recruited from selective Primary Health Centres and endocrine clinics, Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan in Kuantan, Pahang. The data were analyzed by using SPSS version 22. The findings indicated that most participants reported neuropathic pain experience. The severity of pain was found to be significantly related to patients who had been diagnosed over 10 years ago, Indians patients and those who were treating their diabetes with insulin alone. No significant relationship was found between pain severity and functional status. The severity of pain and the associated factors suggest the need for a multidisciplinary approach to provide effective treatment to patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy

Smoking cessation and its relationship with religiosity: a review of literature

This study aims to systematically review the literature regarding the relationship between religiosity/spirituality and smoking behaviour. Systematic searches were conducted to identify the literature published since 2013-2019 based on sets of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Four electronic databases were used to identify the literature, including Scopus, Science Direct, ProQuest and PubMed. The search was limited to full-text articles/ review papers and in English or Malay language only. Articles on smoking prevention and other nicotine delivering devices such as vape or electronic cigarette were excluded from the study. Initially, 26,938 articles were retrieved, but only 12 were finalised to be critically appraised. Out of the 12 studies, five studies revealed a significant relationship between religious/spiritual activities and cessation while the others showed an inverse association between religiosity and smoking. Religiosity/spirituality played an essential role in influencing smoking behaviour, making it an important vehicle to complement other existing tobacco control efforts. Limited studies were focusing on the Islamic religion despite the growing number of the Muslim population worldwide. Thus further research on the integration of Islamic religion in the smoking cessation program is highly recommended, especially in a Muslim country like Malaysia

Religiosity and its relationship with smoking cessation: a systematic review

Objective: This study aims to systematically review the literature regarding the relationship between religiosity and smoking behaviour. Methods: Four electronic databases were used to identify the literatures including Scopus, Science Direct, ProQuest and PubMed. The search was limited to full text articles and in English or Malay only. Articles on smoking prevention and other nicotine delivering devices such as vape or electronic cigarette were excluded from the study. Results: Initially, 10,154 articles were retrieved and 12 met the inclusion criteria. Out of the 12 studies, five studies revealed a significant relationship between religious activities and cessation while the others showed inverse associations between religiosity and smoking. Conclusion: Religiosity played an important role in influencing smoking behaviour, making it an important vehicle to complement other existing tobacco control efforts. Limited studies were focusing on the Islamic religion despite the growing number of Muslim populations worldwide. Thus, further research on the integration of Islamic religion in smoking cessation program is highly recommended especially in a Muslim country like Malaysia

Prevalence and associated factors of smoking among male Undergraduate students in International Islamic University Malaysia

Objective: The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence and associated factors of smoking among male undergraduate students in International Islamic University Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was done on 552 samples of male undergraduate students of International Islamic University Malaysia, using a set of questionnaire and further verification of breath carbon monoxide (CO) level using PiCO Smokerlyzer was done. Questions concerned socio-demographic variables, religiosity level, and nicotine addiction level for smokers. Data entry and analysis were done using SPSS version 25 and were presented in descriptive statistics, chi-square, and logistic regression test results. Results: The overall prevalence of smokers was 12%. The most demanding reason for smoking was stress (47%) followed by peer pressure (31.8%). In multiple logistic regression, significant predictors of smoking in the model were study background (p = 0.020) and religiosity level (p = 0.001). Conclusion: The findings provide baseline data to develop a new cessation program to overcome smoking problem at the university level for future tobacco control strategy

Smartphone use and addiction among secondary school students in Kuantan, Malaysia

Background: Smartphone addiction has become a social problem in Malaysia as smartphone users increase drastically. Previous study revealed that smartphone addiction has a negative effect on the physical and psychosocial of a human being. Aims: This study aims to examine smartphone use and addiction among secondary school students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was employed involving 203 secondary school children at a secondary school in Malaysia. A set of a questionnaire consisting of two parts was used; (1) Part A: Sociodemographic, (2) Part B: Smartphone Addiction Scale in Malay version (SAS-M). Results: Finding from this study showed that there was a long duration of smartphones use was detected during the weekend with more than three hours per day and social media (81.8%) was the frequently visited function in the smartphones. These group of students were not addicted to smartphones, however, more than half of the students (57.6%) have a high risk of smartphones addiction. There is also a significant negative weak correlation between smartphone use and smartphone addiction during weekday and weekend with (p < 0.05; r2 -0.354, -0.360), respectively. Conclusion: This study provides insight into the use of smartphone and smartphone addiction in secondary school students from a Malaysian perspective