The article introduces readers to the Master of Public Health and Doctor of Public Health programmes, offered by the Department of Community Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia. The programme vision, structure and accomplishments over the decade are presented to provide an understanding of the programme. It is hoped that this professional programme will continue to flourish and produce new generations of public health medicine specialist equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to make significant contribution towards improving the health of the population.

Introduction: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disorder that requires a lifelong treatment regimen which may affect psychosocial development. Objective: To identify behavioural and emotional problems in children and adolescents with T1DM. Methodology: A cross-sectional study using the Child Behaviour Check List (CBCL) was conducted among all T1DM patients receiving treatment at the Paediatric Endocrine Unit, Hospital Tunku Azizah Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Results: Forty T1DM patients were included. The mean age of the participants was 12.4 years (SD=2.69), with 52.5% males, and 75% Malay. The average duration of illness was 4.8 years, 9 were pre-pubertal, while mean HbA1c was 9.4%. Thirty-five percent of the respondents had parent-reported internalizing problems and 17.5% had parent-reported externalizing problems. Those >12 years old had more internalizing problems (p=0.004) compared to those ≤12 years old. The differences were in the anxious/depressed syndrome subscale (p=0.001) and withdrawn/depressed syndrome subscale (p=0.015). There were no statistically significant differences in the 3 main global scores by gender, glycaemic control, duration of illness and pubertal status by univariate analysis. Conclusion T1DM patients >12 years old were at higher risk of developing psychosocial difficulties. This highlighted the benefit of screening of behavioural and emotional issues in children and adolescents with T1DM.
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1