1.Coping Among Flood Affected Traditional Village Residents In Kuala Nerus, Terengganu
Aniza Abd. Aziz ; Arunodaya Barman ; Rahmah Mohd Amin ; San San Oo ; Norizhar Kadarman ; Ahmad Fadhlinoor Marican
Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine 2016;16(2):8-14
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.
2.Knowledge, Attitude, Practices Related To Dengue Fever Among Rural Population In Terengganu, Malaysia
Myat Moe Thwe Aung ; Norizhar Bin Kadarman ; Tengku Mohammad Ariff Bin R. Hussin ; Arunodaya Barman ; Salwani Binti Ismail ; Syaratul Emma Binti Hashim
Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine 2016;16(2):15-23
Aedes mosquito-borne Dengue morbidity is predominantly high in the tropics and subtropics regions. Dengue is also a
public health problem in Malaysia since the first epidemic in 1973. Reducing the vector population and personal
protection still plays an important role in dengue prevention and control. With the information of community’s dengue
knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP), the authorities could construct evidence-based, community- empowered vector
control program. Upon the understanding of the value of baseline data, a cross-sectional study was carried out in dengue
hotspot areas in Seberang Takir using universal sampling. The study results showed that 54.6% of the population had high
level of knowledge, 18.6% had good attitude and 91.7% were performing good practices against Dengue infection. After
adjusting confounding variables, age and educational levels of respondents, knowledge as well as attitude were found to
be significant associated factors for having good practice against Dengue. The study findings provide the need for further
information to undertake a holistic approach which is in need of community participation and cooperation.