The Short Form Health Survey SF-36 is a well-known generic health-related quality of life measure that has widely been used worldwide. However, given the cultural, social and ethnic differences in some countries, it might not follow the intended structure of the instrument. Hence, this study aims to determine the psychometric properties of the Malay version of Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) among postpartum mothers. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1-month postpartum mothers attending Obstetric and Gynecology clinic, Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital, Kelantan, Malaysia. Reliability was estimated using internal consistency and the factor structure was extracted by performing confirmatory factor analysis using SPSS v. 20 and AMOS v. 20. A total of 108 women responded. The mean (SD) score for the Physical Component Summary (PCS) score and Mental Component Summary (MCS) score were 43.3 (7.08) and 42.4 (6.87) respectively. The Cronbach alpha for PCS-12 was 0.749 and MCS-12 was 0.701. Spearman correlations of individual items and the SF-12 component summary scores showed PF, RP, BP and GH items correlated higher with the PCS score, whereas the VT, SF, RE, and MH items correlated higher with the MCS score lending support to its good convergent validity. The confirmatory factor solution showed final model with two factors structure and six items each with acceptable factor loadings, satisfactory absolute and parsimonious fitness (RMSEA=0.1, x2/df=2.4). The psychometric tests of the Malay version of SF-12 generally showed acceptable validity and reliability among postpartum women.
Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Mothers

The identification of psychosocial burden and general health among women with abnormal Pap smear results was fundamentally important because women play the significant role in the family and community. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of psychosocial burden, level of general health and relationship between psychosocial burden with general health among women with abnormal Pap smear after colposcopy. This crosssectional study was done towards 218 women with abnormal Pap smear after colposcopy. Universal sampling at gynecology clinic from three tertiary hospitals in the East Coast of Malaysia was conducted. Respondents selfanswered the validated Malay version of Psychosocial Effect of Abnormal Pap smear Questionnaire and General Health Questionnaire-12 in Malay version. Data were analyzed by using statistical software IBM-SPSS version 22, descriptive statistical method, Pearson and Spearman Correlation coefficient analysis were used. The results revealed that 43.1% and 16.5% of women with psychosocial burden were having distress due to abnormal Pap smear after colposcopy. The correlation coefficient showed a significant moderate correlation between psychosocial burden and general health (r = 0.41 and p=0.000). The women are facing psychosocial burden and distress in life after being diagnosed with abnormal Pap smear, because it is related to physical and psychological aspects. This shown that psychological aspect is important in health, therefore health care needs to perform the assessment of the psychosocial burden and general health among women with abnormal Pap smear in Malaysia.
women&rsquo ; s health ; psychosocial burden ; abnormal Pap smear ; general health ; distress

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the level of psychosocial burden and its associated risk factors among women with abnormal Pap smear and post colposcopy. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted employing universal sampling of 218 respondents with abnormal Pap smear and post colposcopy. They fulfilled the specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Three tertiary hospitals in the East Coast of Malaysia were participated. Self-administration of validated Malay-version Psychosocial Effect of Abnormal Pap smear Questionnaire was used to assess the psychosocial burden. The General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) was applied to assess the general health factor. Data was analyzed using IBM-SPSS of version 22. Results: The results showed that respondents with an abnormal Pap smear and post-colposcopy women (43.1%) demonstrated a high level of psychosocial burden. The significant risk factor of psychosocial burden was living in an urban and semi-urban area of residence (p = <0.001) and distress condition (p = <0.001) respectively. Conclusions: A substantial number of women with abnormal Pap smear results were experiencing psychosocial burden. Women with an abnormal Pap-smear who were living in the urban and semi-urban and distressed were more likely to experience a higher psychosocial burden.

Floods can lead to direct economic and property losses and result not only in physical injuries and deaths but also in psychological trauma. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a commonly used indicator to evaluate psychological injuries after disaster. This study aimed to determine the relationship between PTSD prevalence and related perceived severity of post flood impact by economical, non-economical and flood status severity domains besides relevant socio-demographic factors according to gender specific analysis. This cross-sectional study was conducted among community in Kampung Hulu Takir, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia in 2015 two weeks after flood. It included a total of 98 males and 110 females aged 18 years and above. Data was collected by interview-guided questionnaire to determine the prevalence of PTSD. SPSS version 21.0 was used for analysis of the relationship between socio demographic factors, perceived economic, non-economic and flood severity with PTSD. Finally chi square test was used to assess the predictors of PTSD according to gender. The prevalence of PTSD was 9.2% in males and 10.9% in females, giving a total of 10.1%. Significantly higher prevalence of PTSD was found in severely perceived economic and flood impact categories (33.3% and 23.8% in males; 23.8 % and 37.5% in females) and giving in overall 44.0% and 31.3 % respectively. Effective PTSD management strategies targeting females post flood victims who severely perceived economically and nature flood impact should be implemented in order to prevent further consequences of PTSD.

The communities settled in this traditional flood-prone area are potentially at risk of frequent inundation. This compelled the affected population to cope or adapt some strategy to reduce the negative impacts on their lives. The objective of this study was to explore the coping approach among the residents in a flood affected traditional village in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu and determine its associated factors. A cross sectional study which involved 210 adults who lived in traditional village houses was conducted from April to May 2015. Universal sampling was applied. This community-based study was part of the curriculum requirement for undergraduate medical students of UniSZA. The participants’ background, experience during the recent flood and their coping response were assessed using self-administered validated Malay version Brief COPE inventory that consists of three domains (emotion-focused, problem-focused and less-useful), 14 subscales and 30 items. The mean (SD) age of participants were 46.7(15.54) years with almost equal sex ratio. Most of the participants were married (78.1%) and unemployed (54.8%). The most common coping approach applied by the villagers was emotion-focused followed by problem-focused and less-useful coping. There were four adjusted variables significantly associated with higher total coping score namely awareness on evacuation site (b=5.38, 95%CI:1.68,9.08, p=0.005), knowledge on health risk of flood (b=3.79, 95%CI:0.92,6.66, p=0.010), discussed on flood preparedness with family (b=2.50, 95%CI:0.84,4.16, p=0.003) and stored food before flood (b=4.506, 95%CI 1.67,7.34, p=0.002). The emotion-focused coping was the most preferred coping approach among the villagers. A significant better coping was associated with the villagers who were aware of the gazetted evacuation site and have knowledge on the flood health hazard. The villagers who planned with their family and practiced storage of adequate food as part of household preparedness also demonstrated significant higher coping level.

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of physical inactivity and factors associated with it among adults in a rural village in Kuala Terengganu. A cross-sectional study was conducted among adults age 18 years and above. Data were collected via face to face interview using a set of structured questionnaire. Those who were terminally ill, mentally or physically disabled were excluded. A total of 211 adults were studied. The prevalence of physical inactivity was 46.0%. Being female, not working, having negative attitude towards physical activity and without good environmental support were found to be significantly associated with being physically inactive. Multiple factors of individual characteristic and environmental factor determine one’s physical inactivity.

Secondhand smoke (SHS) carries many health risks and is associated with diseases and premature deaths among nonsmoking adults and children. Despite many health promotions and legislative measures executed by the government to protect the public from SHS, the prevalence of SHS exposure is still high. Personal appropriate practices to avoid exposure are crucial especially at home or private area. Therefore, the current study focused on describing individual preventive practices on SHS and determining its associated factors. A cross sectional study was conducted among 250 adults in a village, Kuala Terengganu. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the association between all independent variables and the SHS preventive practice status. The prevalence of SHS exposure was 66.0%. Majority of the respondents (77.2%) has good knowledge on SHS. Nevertheless, despite having good knowledge, a large proportion of them showed poor attitude toward SHS (77.6%) and poor preventive practices (61.2%). Poor preventive practices on SHS were significantly associated with being older (OR­adj: 1.0206, 95% CI: 1.0004, 1.0412), female (OR­adj: 2.0644, 95% CI: 1.0753, 3.9635), smoker (OR­adj: 12.1107, 95% CI: 4.0630, 36.0991), not having existing tobacco-related morbidity (OR­adj: 3.6795, 95% CI: 1.1795, 11.4786), and poor attitude towards SHS (OR­adj: 4.1871, 95% CI: 2.0955, 8.3665). The preventive practices of SHS among the villagers were poor despite showing acceptable level of knowledge. Hence, health awareness on the potential impact of SHS to the public as well as instilling appropriate behavior for them to avoid SHS and educate smokers need to be emphasized.

Statistical editors of the Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences (MJMS) must go through many submitted manuscripts, focusing on the statistical aspect of the manuscripts. However, the editors notice myriad styles of reporting the statistical results, which are not standardised among the authors. This could be due to the lack of clear written instructions on reporting statistics in the guidelines for authors. The aim of this editorial is to briefly outline reporting methods for several important and common statistical results. It will also address a number of common mistakes made by the authors. The editorial will serve as a guideline for authors aiming to publish in the MJMS as well as in other medical journals.

Background: No previous study has assessed the impact of childhood disability on parents and family in the context of Malaysia, and no instrument to measure this impact has previously been available. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to determine the reliability of a Malay version of the PedsQL™ Family Impact Module that measures the impact of children with disabilities (CWD) on their parents and family in a Malaysian context. Methods: The study was conducted in 2009. The questionnaire was translated forward and backward before it was administered to 44 caregivers of CWD to determine the internal consistency reliability. The test for Cronbach’s alpha was performed. Results: The internal consistency reliability was good. The Cronbach’s alpha for all domains was above 0.7, ranging from 0.73 to 0.895. Conclusion: The Malay version of the PedsQL™ Family Impact Module showed evidence of good internal consistency reliability. However, future studies with a larger sample size are necessary before the module can be recommended as a tool to measure the impact of disability on Malay-speaking Malaysian families.

Introduction: General population across different countries have shown an overall support for anti-smoking measures that vary significantly by certain population parameters. However, characteristics of the public attitude in a community who has been exposed to prolonged awareness campaigns and smoke-free area legislation is unclear. Consequently, we investigate residents who reside next to Batu Buruk beach in Kuala Terengganu city which has been gazetted as a smoke-free area since 2017. Methods: The cross-sectional study involves self-administered validated questionnaires. Multiple linear regression with forward method was applied to identify significant factors associated with the attitude towards anti-smoking measures. Results: A total of 295 residents participated. Most of them were Malays (96.6%), married (64.4%), attained up to the secondary school level (45.4%) and employed (59.7%). The mean value of the total attitude scores was 181.86 (range: 70-200). Multivariate analyses revealed those having higher monthly income had a higher total attitude scores (adjusted b: 6.91, 95% CI: 2.15, 11.66), while current daily smokers had a lower total attitude scores towards anti-smoking measures than non-smokers (adjusted b: -23.30, 95% CI: -29.55, -17.05). These findings highlight comparatively stronger and more consistent support for anti-smoking measures that may vindicate high-stake investment and legislation against smoking. Conclusion: The novel evidence may also better-inform the strategy to expand the initiatives further through profiling the target population with heightened emphasis on the economic standing and prevalence of current daily smokers. Future research may adopt experimental design to establish causality relationship between predictors and outcomes revealed in this community.