1.Perceptions of nurses on inter-shift handover: A descriptive study in Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Diane Woei Quan Chong ; Iqbal Ab Rahim ; Baljit Kaur Jaj ; Zainab Ali ; Azizul Nordin ; Noor Dayanawali Abd Majid ; Ainah Jusoh
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2020;75(6):691-697
practice and care environments are important aspects ofnursing care. The use of a reliable and valid scale canmonitor the quality of handover and provide information forcontinuous improvement of practice. This study aims todescribe the perception of nurses, on the domains of qualityof information, efficiency, interaction and support andpatient involvement. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conductedamong 450 nurses from 37 wards in Hospital Kuala Lumpur.Nurses on shift duty were recruited by conveniencesampling from the Medical, Surgery, Obstetrics &Gynaecology, Orthopaedic and Paediatric wards. Using avalidated questionnaire (Handover Evaluation Scale), nursesself-rated their perceptions using a 7-point scale andprovided open-ended responses to the strengths andchallenges that they faced. Descriptive and inferentialanalyses were done while open-ended questions weresummarised based on key themes. Results: A total of 414 nurses completed the survey (92.0%response rate). Nurses had an overall mean (SD) perceptionscore of 5.01 (SD 0.56). They perceived good interaction andsupport during handover and on the quality of informationthat they received, with mean scores of 5.54 (SD 0.79) and5.19 (SD 0.69), respectively. There was an associationbetween the departments where the nurses worked and theiroverall perceptions on nursing handover (p<0.001).Interruptions being the most common theme emerged fromthe open-ended section.Conclusion: Despite having substantial interaction andsupport amongst nurses, opportunities for improvementswere noted. Improvements in the quality of handoverinformation and reducing interruptions should be the mainemphases as these were perceived to be essential in thecurrent handover practices by nurses.
2.Estimating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on infectious disease notifications in Klang district, Malaysia, 2020–2022
Vivek Jason Jayaraj ; Diane Woei-Quan Chong ; Faridah Binti Jafri ; Nur Adibah Binti Mat Saruan ; Gurpreet Kaur Karpal Singh ; Ravinkanth Perumal ; Shakirah Binti Jamaludin ; Juvina Binti Mohd Janurudin ; Siti Rohana Binti Saad
Western Pacific Surveillance and Response 2025;16(1):40-48
Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted disease surveillance systems globally, leading to reduced notifications of other infectious diseases. This study aims to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the infectious disease surveillance system in Klang district, Selangor state, Malaysia.
Methods: Data on notifiable diseases from 2014 to 2022 were sourced from the Klang District Health Office. The 11 diseases with more than 100 notifications each were included in the study. For these 11 diseases, a negative binomial regression model was used to explore the effect of the pandemic on case notifications and registrations by year, and a quasi-Poisson regression model was used to explore the changes by week.
Results: The results showed a reduction in the number of notifications and registrations for all 11 diseases combined during the pandemic compared with previous years. Changes between expected and observed notifications by week were heterogeneous across the diseases.
Discussion: These findings suggest that restrictive public health and social measures in Klang district may have impacted the transmission of other infectious diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic. The differential impact of the pandemic on disease notifications and reporting highlights the large ancillary effects of restrictive public health and social measures and the importance of building resilience into infectious disease surveillance systems.