Abstract Introduction: Family planning allows couples to have their desired number of children and optimum birth spacing. While the contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) in Malaysia was reported as 52.2% in 2014, little is known regarding the practice of family planning among marginalised groups such as the Orang Asli women. This study aims to determine family planning practice among married Orang Asli women in Sepang district and its associated factors. Methods: A cross sectional study using a pretested questionnaire was conducted in five Orang Asli settlements in Sepang using cluster sampling. Chi-square test and simple logistic regression were used in bivariate analysis, whereas binary logistic regression was used to determine the predictors of family planning practice. Results: 212 (58.4%) participants were current users of family planning, with 68.3% of the users reported using oral contraceptive pills. In the logistic regression models, family planning practice was significantly more common among women who had children (AOR= 43.659, 95% CI: 5.788, 329.323), being housewives (AOR=1.973, 95% CI: 1.205, 3.230) and had higher attitude score (AOR=1.113, 95% CI: 1.006, 1.232). Conclusion: The CPR of current study was about the same as the national CPR in 2014. The predictors of family planning practice among Orang Asli women were having children, being a housewife and having a better attitude towards family planning. Future intervention to increase the CPR should focus on improving women’s attitude regarding family planning.

Introduction: The practice of Pap smear has long been an issue worldwide especially in the developing countries. Malaysia National Health and Morbidity Survey IV reported an uptake of 12.8% in 2011. It was found that Malay women has the lowest prevalence of uptake compared to other major ethnicities in the country. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of Pap smear practice and its predictors among staff in a public university with majority of Malay ethnicity. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among female staff in a public university in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan using a self-administered and validated questionnaire. All female staff from the seven faculties and the library were invited to participate. Data were analysed using SPSS version 22 for descriptive and inferential statistics, whereby Multiple Logistic Regression were performed to identify the predictors. Results: One-hundred-and eighty-seven respondents participated this study. The prevalence of Pap smear practice was 65.2%, of which, two-thirds (65.6%) had done it within the past three years. Predictors of the practice were higher parity, attending annual medical check-up, husband’s support and positive attitude towards the test. Conclusion: The prevalence of Pap smear uptake among this population is higher than other studies in Malaysia, however, not all of them have done it regularly within 3 yearly interval as suggested by the World Health Organisation.

Introduction: One of the known factors that hindered smoking cessation is nicotine dependence. Measurement of the nicotine dependence is important to better understand cigarette smoking addiction dependence and ways to overcome it. Among methods of nicotine dependence measurement are self-reported Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) and biochemical assessment such as saliva cotinine. Biochemical assessment can be used to measure the accuracy of the self-reported measurement of nicotine dependence. Objective: To explore the correlation between the FTND and the saliva cotinine of the smokers in three different timeline. Methods: A total of 61 male smokers who currently smoke cigarette on daily basis were recruited. The study used the one-group pretest-posttest study design and the data were collected three times. The self-reported measurement were measured by using FTND and the biochemical assessment measured by using saliva cotinine from Saliva Bio oral swab (SOS) with the sensitivity of 0.15ng/ml. Data analysis was conducted by using Pearson correlation. Results: There was a significant association between the FTND score and saliva cotinine level of the smokers at baseline, second and third data collection (p=0.014, p=0.003, p<0.001). Conclusion: Both the self-reported measurement of nicotine dependence and biochemical assessment of the smokers are correlated and it could provide reliable information of the nicotine dependence.

Introduction: Outbreak of vaccine preventable disease still persists despite good coverage of immunization in Malaysia. Health literacy on childhood immunization is one of essential factor for the outbreak to happen. Thus, this study determined the predictors of health literacy on childhood immunization among antenatal mother in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted among 424 antenatal women using a cluster sampling approach. Antenatal women who were Malaysian and not illiterate were chosen in this study. A self-administered, validated and pretested questionnaire was used to collect data on sociodemographic, socio economic, awareness on immunization, utilization of health care services and health literacy on childhood immunization. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 22.0. Chi Square test was used in bivariate analysis and multiple logistic regression was used to determine the predictors of inadequate health literacy on childhood immunization. Result: Out of 362 respondents, 81.2% were inadequate health literacy. The predictors were maternal education (AOR= 2.608, 95% CI 1.477-4.604), parity (AOR= 1.067, 95% CI 1.103-3.876), residential area (AOR= 2.344, 95% CI 1.184-4.641) and utilization of government hospital (AOR= 2.344, 95% CI 1.184-4.641). Conclusion: Accessibility of health education with regard to immunization need to be strengthen among primigravida, low education and those staying in rural area. In addition, health education also needs to emphasize on the individual that is employed and low economic status with underutilization of government hospital. A simplified education material with interesting pictures and using visual aids help illiterate people for better understanding.

Introduction: This article aims to describe the effect of an intervention to promote the practice of voluntary Islamic fasting and its barriers among a group of overweight and obese Muslim women working in the public sector in Malaysia. Materials and methods: In this quasi-experimental study, an intervention to encourage voluntary fasting was delivered in a half day seminar, supported by relevant booklets prepared. A self-administered questionnaire was used to capture data on voluntary fasting practices and its perceived barriers before and four months after the intervention. Data was analysed using Mc Nemar test to compare the proportion before and after the intervention. Significant level was set at p<0.05. Results: A total of 56 women were recruited. Their mean age was 36.65 years, most were married, had formal education up to secondary level and median income of RM 3000 per month. At baseline, 60.7% of them have practiced voluntary fasting. After intervention, the number of participants who practices voluntary fasting increased with a significant increase in three types of voluntary fasting (i.e. Mondays only, Thursdays only and 6 days in Shawal). The highest barrier to practice voluntary fasting was having no motivation to do so, followed by work commitment, health problems and family commitment. Discussion and Conclusion: Most of the respondents could practice voluntary fasting regularly if motivated to do so and backed by social support both at work and at home.

Introduction: Pap smear screening may increase the quality of women’s health through early detection of cervical cancer thus providing a better prognosis for women with cervical cancer. While the benefit of Pap smear screening is well documented, the screening uptake among Malaysian women in general was unsatisfactory with only 47.3% being screened. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Pap smear uptake and its associated factors among Orang Asli women who lives in rural areas in Selangor. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Hulu Langat and Kuala Langat districts from April to July 2017. Through cluster sampling, five Orang Asli settlements in the two districts were chosen. All women in the selected village aged between 18 to 65 years were invited to participate and interviewed using a structured, pretested questionnaire. Data were analysed using SPSS Version 22. Univariate and bivariate analysis were conducted to identify factors associated with Pap smear uptake among the participants. All hypotheses tests were two-sided and level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: Out of the 147 respondents, 114 (77.6%) had undergone Pap smear for at least once in the past. Women aged more than 35 years (p=0.013) were shown to be significantly more likely to take Pap smear compared to women who were 35 years old and less. There were significant associations between marital status (p<0.001), knowledge (p<0.001), attitude (p<0.001) and use of oral contraceptive (p=0.001) with Pap smear uptake. Conclusion: This study showed a high prevalence of Pap smear uptake among Orang Asli women in Selangor.

Background: Lack of awareness, poor knowledge and attitude regarding cancer have been identified as possible reasons accounting for the late presentation which lead to the poor survival of cancer patients in Malaysia. Method:A cross sectional study was conducted in three traditional Malay villages in Negeri Sembilan among adult males. Those who were already diagnosed with prostate cancer or Non malaysians were excluded from the study. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires which consist of several sections namely socio-demographic, awareness about prostate cancer, sources of information, family history of prostate cancer, lifestyle associated with risk of cancer, knowledge and attitude towards prostate cancer. Data was analysed using SPSS version 22.0. Chi-square test was used to determine associations. Level of significance was set at p<0.05. The knowledge and attitude scores were then categorized into 2 levels (50% or more of total score equals to ‘good’ and less than 50 % equals to ‘poor’). Results: A total of 168 respondents participated in this study and 62.1% of them had heard about prostate cancer and it is associated with level of education, monthly income and age (p= 0.023, 0.007 and 0.022). Most common sources of information are television, newspaper and friends (52.8%, 43.4% and 39.6% respectively). Among those who had heard about prostate cancer, 58.5% had good knowledge and this was significantly associated with smoking status (p =0.022). Conclusion: The percentage of awareness, knowledge and attitude regarding prostate cancer among the study population are still low. More effort should be carried out especially among men in rural communities to improve the situation.

Cervical cancer is a worldwide health issue. Each year, it kills hundreds of thousands of women worldwide. Despite the availability of screening tests, the incidence of cervical cancer remains high in low and middle-income countries. In this review, we survey the current literature on factors affecting cervical cancer screening uptake among women in low and middle-income countries. It also highlights potential strategies for improving screening uptake and suggests directions for future research. Knowledge about cervical cancer and its screening, socio-demographic factors, personal and behavioural factors, cultural factors and beliefs, and health service factors are considered the main barriers and facilitators to cervical cancer screening uptake among women in low and middle-income countries. Understanding the facilitators and barriers to cervical cancer screening encountered by women in low and middle-income countries can improve screening uptake by overcoming inequalities in resource and information access. Culturally sensitive screening programs, improvement of the health system, and health education interventions to raise awareness of screening and its benefits can be effective strategies to improve screening uptake among women in low and middle-income countries.

Early childhood caries (ECC) is a serious public health problem in both developing and developed countries. Given that children mainly depend on their parents for their day-to-day activities, it is important to investigate the extent of parental influence on the oral health of their children. The objective of this study is to review the association of parental knowledge, attitude, and practice of oral health with ECC among preschool children. PubMed, Medline, and Google scholar were used to search for related articles published within the past 10 years. All of the studies that investigated parental oral health practice have shown association with the development of dental caries. However, there were discrepancies in the outcome of studies that examined the association of parental knowledge and attitude with ECC. More investigations on parental knowledge and attitude are needed to clarify their association with ECC.

Introduction: Screening of cervical cancer had decreased its morbidity and mortality in developed countries. Health education interventions are expected to enhance knowledge, attitude and practice of screening. Their success rely on designs and methods. Thus, this systematic review aims to identify the methods used and the effectiveness of health education interventions in improving knowledge, beliefs, and practices of cervical cancer screening among women of reproductive age. Methods: A systematic review of all published eligible studies in (PubMed, Science Direct and MEDLINE) databases from 1st of January 2016 to 31st of October 2020 was run using different keywords. A total of 14 research articles were included. The quality and risk of bias of studies was assessed by using EPHPP and the average score was given accordingly. This study was registered in PROSPERO (record #CRD42020188462). Results: The review combined 14 studies. Five studies were conducted in the USA, two in Hong Kong, one in Korea, one in England, one in Denmark, one in Norway, one in Turkey, one in Malaysia and one in Tanzania. Almost all interventions boosted the knowledge, attitude or screening uptake. Conclusion: This review showed that the most popular methods of delivering health intervention were health talk, Group discussion and pamphlet. Health education interventions was effective in improving the knowledge, attitude and screening uptake. Although, this effect differs according to methods of delivery, study background and populations. Therefore, it is better to understand the existing situation to develop the best intervention and more studies are needed to recognise barriers to screening.