Introduction: This study aimed to determine the views and practices of healthcare providers and barriers they encountered when implementing the national health screening program for men in a public primary care setting in Malaysia. Methods: An online survey was conducted among healthcare providers across public health clinics in Malaysia. All family medicine specialists, medical officers, nurses and assistant medical officers involved in the screening program for adult men were invited to answer a 51-item questionnaire via email or WhatsApp. The questionnaire comprised five sections: participants’ socio-demographic information, current screening practices, barriers and facilitators to using the screening tool, and views on the content and format of the screening tool. Results: A total of 231 healthcare providers from 129 health clinics participated in this survey. Among them, 37.44% perceived the implementation of the screening program as a “top-down decision.” Although 37.44% found the screening tool for adult men “useful,” some felt that it was “time consuming” to fill out (38.2%) and “lengthy” (28.3%). In addition, ‘adult men refuse to answer’ (24.1%) was cited as the most common patient-related barrier. Conclusions: This study provided useful insights into the challenges encountered by the public healthcare providers when implementing a national screening program for men. The screening tool for adult men should be revised to make it more user-friendly. Further studies should explore the reasons why men were reluctant to participate in health screenings, thus enhancing the implementation of screening programs in primary care.

INTRODUCTION: Stable distal radius fractures in children are frequently treated by immobilisation with a cast and heal readily without complications. This randomised clinical trial aimed to assess patient satisfaction and casting-related clinical outcomes when using polyolefin cast, a new cast material, compared to the conventional fibreglass cast. METHODS: A total of 80 patients (age range 7-16 years) with radiograph-confirmed stable distal radius fractures were recruited. They were randomised to either the fibreglass group or polyolefin group, with short arm cast immobilisation for 20-30 days. After cast removal, the incidence of skin rash, growth of hair and cast breakage was recorded along with the administration of patient satisfaction questionnaires. Mann-Whitney U test or Fisher's exact test was applied to compare results. RESULTS: Overall, 34 patients from the fibreglass group and 31 patients from the polyolefin group were included in the final analysis. Significantly fewer patients from the polyolefin group reported itchiness during the casting period (p = 0.038). However, significantly more cast breakages were observed for the polyolefin group in the palmar bar region (p = 0.009). Patients from the polyolefin group were overall more satisfied (fibreglass group = 3.15/5 vs. polyolefin group = 3.74/5; p = 0.002). CONCLUSION Polyolefin cast reduces itchiness during casting and provides higher overall patient satisfaction during the treatment of stable distal radius fractures in children in tropical climates. However, patients should be counselled regarding potential cast breakage, which did not compromise safety, and the higher costs involved.