Background: The paper examined the quality of life of haematological cancer patients according to their socio-demographic profiles and clinical diagnoses. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the tertiary referral centre of Ampang Hospital, Kuala Lumpur, involving 105 patients. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life (EORTC QLQ-C30) questionnaire was used to measure their quality of life. Results: The study involved patients diagnosed with all types of haematological cancer, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML), acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), and multiple myeloma (MM), with a response rate of 83.3%. The patients with ALL, HL, without NHL, and without MM were younger than other patients. There were significant differences in quality of life scores in different socio-demographic groups and types of cancer diagnosis. The global quality of life of the female patients was much better than that of the male patients. Patients who were 40 years old or younger had a better global quality of life and physical functioning, as well as fewer symptoms of constipation, nausea, and vomiting. Employed patients were in less pain but showed greater impairments of cognitive function than did unemployed patients. Patients who earned a monthly wage of RM1000 or less had reduced physical function, more symptoms of pain, and more financial difficulties compared with patients who earned more. Patients with AML tended to have better physical functioning than did patients with MM, whose physical functioning was impaired. Comparatively, more symptoms of dyspnoea were found in ALL and HL patients than in other types of lymphoma. Compared with other patients, those with ALL had a greater loss of appetite, and other lymphoma patients had fewer symptoms of pain. Patients with NHL had impaired role functioning and more constipation compared with other patients. The results were all statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The quality of life of haematological cancer patients is affected by sociodemographic factors and clinical diagnoses. Efforts should be made to improve the overall quality of life of these patients.

Introduction: Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma(NPC) is the second most common cancer among men in Malaysia. Establishing local data will help to improve the treatment strategies and lower the anxiety and depression level among NPC patients. Our aim was to compare the level of symptoms of anxiety and depression and the coping strategies employed between NPC and cancer-free patients. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study with universal sampling was conducted on 22 NPC patients and 30 cancer0free patients from the Oncology and Radiotherapy Department and Ear,Nose and Throat clinic of Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) between 12 to 29 May 2008. In this study, the symptoms of depression and anxiety were obtained by using the Hospital Annxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) while Brief COPE questionnaire was used to understand patients' coping strategies. Results: The prevalence of NPC was higher in the Chinese, men,aged between 40 and 59 years, and those from the lower income group. The levels of anxiety and depression symptoms were found to be higher in the NPC group as compared to the cancer-free group. However, only the level of depression was found significantly related to the NPC group (p=0.002) This study also found that the two comparison groups were using different types of coping strategies. The NPC patients mainly used 'acceptance' as their coping strategy while the comparative group most often used 'religion'. Among the types of coping strategies reported by the patients, 'use of instrumental support' type was found to be associated with a lower level of anxiety (p=0.035) and 'humour' type was associated with lower depressive symptoms (p=0.269). On the contrary, 'self-blame' type was associated with both anxiety (p=0.0001) and depression (p=0.001) symptoms. In addition, patients with different gender, ethnicity, educational levels, and monthly income were also found to have significant differences in their levels of anxiety and depression as well as type of coping strategies. Conclusions: NPC patients had higher anxiety and depression levels as compared to the comparative group. Different socio-demographic backgrounds and different types of coping strategies had an influence on patients resulting in different levels of anxiety and depression

Introduction: Internet is important to university students, especially for medical students who use it to search for literature and relevant information. However, some of the users are experiencing a gradual loss of the ability to reduce the duration and frequency of their internet activities, despite the negative consequences. The literature on internet usage among Malaysian medical students is limited. This study aims to determine the prevalence and factors associated with internet usage among medical students in a public university in Malaysia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed among all the medical students (Year 1-5). Students were assessed on their internet activities using the internet addiction questionnaires (IAT). A Multiple Logistic Regression was used for data analysis. Results: The study was conducted among 426 students. The study population consisted of 156 males (36.6%) and 270 females (63.4%). The mean age was 21.6 ±1.5 years. Ethnicity distribution among the students was: Malays (55.6%), Chinese (34.7%), Indians (7.3%) and others (2.3%). According to the IAT, 36.9% of the study sample was addicted to the internet. Using the multivariate logistic regression analysis, we have found that the use of internet access for entertainment purposes (odds ratio [OR] 3.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-12.00), male students (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.01-3.21) and increasing frequency of internet usage were associated with internet addiction (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.09- 1.67). Conclusion: Internet addiction is a relatively frequent phenomenon among medical students. The predictors of internet addiction were male students using it for surfing and entertainment purposes.
Internet ; Students, Medical

Introduction: Secure attachment to parents prevents adolescents from externalizingbehaviours especially in developing countries. The aim of this study was to identify thecontributors to parental attachment in a developing society. Methodology: This crosssectional study was performed on urban secondary students (aged between 13 and 17 years)based on multistage sampling in Pasir Gudang District, Johor, Malaysia. The depression,anxiety and stress (DASS-21) and Inventory of parent and peer attachment (IPPA)questionnaires were used along with a questionnaire for demographic information. Analysisof covariance (ANCOVA) was used to identify the main effect of study parameters on IPPAscores for father and mother. Results: A total of 2980 students (46.9% male and 53.1%female) participated in this study. Mean and SD for age was 14.39±1.28. Depression scoreand school form had a significant main effect on both paternal and maternal attachment(p<0.05). Age (p=0.003), ethnicity (p=0.01), history of intimate relationship (p=0.03),paternal education level (p=0.006) and maternal education level (p=0.04) had a main effecton paternal attachment, while gender (p=0.02) and stress (p=0.001) were shown to havesignificant main effect on maternal attachment. Discussion: The findings of this studyrevealed different contributors for adolescent attachment with father and mother. Local,cultural and economic structure of the community should be taken into account in order toplan for an intervention strategy to secure adolescent’s relationship with parents.

Introduction: There is a strong body of evidence advocating parent training programmes in the management of behavioral problems in children. In these programmes, attrition is a major challenge. We aimed to examine the sociodemographic and clinical profiles, parental motivation, and pre-intervention severity of children’s behavioural problems as rated by mothers who completed (PC) and mothers who dropped out (PD) of a parent training programme. We also aimed to determine whether there was any change in their children’s behaviour scores before and after intervention. We hypothesized that parent and child sociodemographic and clinical profiles, parental motivation, and pre-intervention severity of children’s behavioural problems would be different between PC and PD, and that children of PC would experience significant improvements in their behaviour. Methods: Data from a randomised controlled trial (RCT) involving 35 mothers and children aged 6–12 years old with behavioural problems who were enrolled in a parent training programme were examined. Child behaviour was measured using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Results: No significant differences were found between PC and PD in terms of the sociodemographic and clinical profiles, parental motivation, and pre- or post-intervention child behaviour. After programme completion, PC (n=27) reported improvements in all the behaviour subscales; total difficulties (p<0.001), emotional problem (p=0.004), conduct problem (p=0.001), hyperactivity symptoms (p<0.001), peer problems (p=0.036), and prosocial behaviour (p=0.001). Conclusion: The parent training programme produces significant child behaviour improvements in mothers who complete the programme. Nonetheless, the study has some limitations which restrict the generalizability of these findings.