1.Prevalence and factors associated with internet addiction among medical students - A cross-sectional study in Malaysia
Siew Mooi Ching ; Hamidin Awang ; Vasudevan Ramachandran ; Sazlyna Mohd Sazlly Lim ; Wan Aliaa Wan Sulaiman ; Yoke Loong Foo ; Anne Yee ; Fankee Hoo
The Medical Journal of Malaysia 2017;72(1):7-11
Introduction: Internet is important to university students,
especially for medical students who use it to search for
literature and relevant information. However, some of the
users are experiencing a gradual loss of the ability to reduce
the duration and frequency of their internet activities,
despite the negative consequences. The literature on
internet usage among Malaysian medical students is limited.
This study aims to determine the prevalence and factors
associated with internet usage among medical students in a
public university in Malaysia.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed among
all the medical students (Year 1-5). Students were assessed
on their internet activities using the internet addiction
questionnaires (IAT). A Multiple Logistic Regression was
used for data analysis.
Results: The study was conducted among 426 students. The
study population consisted of 156 males (36.6%) and 270
females (63.4%). The mean age was 21.6 ±1.5 years.
Ethnicity distribution among the students was: Malays
(55.6%), Chinese (34.7%), Indians (7.3%) and others (2.3%).
According to the IAT, 36.9% of the study sample was
addicted to the internet. Using the multivariate logistic
regression analysis, we have found that the use of internet
access for entertainment purposes (odds ratio [OR] 3.5, 95%
confidence interval [CI] 1.05-12.00), male students (OR 1.8,
95% CI 1.01-3.21) and increasing frequency of internet usage
were associated with internet addiction (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.09-
1.67).
Conclusion: Internet addiction is a relatively frequent
phenomenon among medical students. The predictors of
internet addiction were male students using it for surfing
and entertainment purposes.
Internet
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Students, Medical
2.Risk Perception and Emergency Preparedness Against Flood Affected Participants From the Primary Health Care Centre, Malaysia: A Comparison Between Genders
Siew Mooi Ching ; Lee Kai Wei ; Mari Kannan Maharajan ; Hani Salim ; Ng Jun Ying ; Ng Kar Yean ; Aneesa Abdul Rashid ; Dhashani A/P Sivaratnam ; Nurainul Hana Shamsudin ; Imran Ahmad ; Vasudevan Ramachandran
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2023;19(No.4):8-14
Introduction: Flooding has become a major natural disaster in Malaysia in recent decades. There may be a gender difference in many aspects related to flood response and practice. This study aimed to examine the gender gap in knowledge, attitudes, and practice of flood preparedness in Malaysia. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted among patients attending the primary care clinic at Universiti Sains Malaysia health campus, Kelantan. A validated questionnaire was used for data collection.
Results: 328 subjects were recruited, 56.1% of them were females. The female respondents were younger than the males (36 vs. 41 years old). However, females have better knowledge, and practice on flood preparedness compared to male respondents. Among those, women were more aware of the local emergency plan than males (p=0.01). More female respondents kept their vaccination and
personal medical records in a waterproof container or sealed plastic bag during past and future flood preparations (3-5 day supply of non-perishable food) than male respondents (p<0.05). In addition, with the practice of keeping a one-week supply of medication, and having their medical records in a waterproof container along with a first-aid kit (p=0.001). For future flood preparation, more women would filter the cloudy water through clean clothes for boiling (p=0.035). The determinants of good preparedness for future floods for female were older-age (p=0.001), blue-collar (p=0.043); whereas male were lower household income (p=0.014), being blue collar (0.014) and white collar (0.039) compared with student/retiree based on multivariate logistic regression.
Conclusion: Our study reported that the determinants of good preparedness for future floods were older-age, blue-collar and having a lower-household income.
3.Survival Analysis and Prognostic Factors for Peri-ocular Malignancies in Malaysia
Dhashani Sivaratnam ; Radzlian Othman ; Navin Kumar Devaraj ; Yap Ming Teck ; Vincent Ng Teng Fung ; Ew Shao Chen ; Ramizah Md Rozi ; Nur Najlaa Baharudin ; Kirbashini Kanasan ; Abdul Hanif Khan Yusof Khan ; Vasudevan Ramachandran ; Siew Moi Ching
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2024;20(No.1):60-69
Introduction: This study aims to determine the prognostic factors and survival outcomes of patients that underwent
this surgery. Method: A retrospective review of 43 patients who underwent exenteration for periocular malignancies
over a 14-year period was carried out. Patient demographics, tumour histology, treatment details, surgical margins’
status and post-operative survival were recorded. The survival outcome examined was the overall survival (OS)
rate. Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analysis were used to evaluate post-exenteration survival. Results: In total,
20 females and 23 males with a median age of 62 ± 17.3 years were identified. The most common indication for
exenteration was basal cell carcinoma (20.9%), followed by squamous cell carcinoma (18.6%), adenocystic carcinoma (14%), malignant melanoma (14%) and sebaceous gland carcinoma (11.6%). The independent predictors for
worse OS on multivariate analysis were Chinese ethnicity (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 4.95, p =0.017), sebaceous
gland carcinoma (aHR 57.61 p=0.006), adenocystic carcinoma (aHR 45.87, p=0.008), clear surgical margins (aHR
5.41, p=0.025), receiving only chemotherapy (aHR 169.13, p=0.004), and receiving both adjuvant chemotherapy
and radiotherapy (aHR 41.51, p=0.010). Conclusion: We recommend targeted public health initiatives for Chinese
patients due to their increased mortality risk from peri-ocular malignancies. In addition, we advise comprehensive
adjuvant therapy for all patients regardless of whether a clear surgical margin is achieved. Basal cell carcinoma and
adenocystic carcinoma may also benefit from genetic research. We advocate more training for ophthalmologists to
identify periocular malignancies earlier for better treatment options and increased chances of survival.
4.Prevalence of Burnout and Its Associated Factors among Medical Students in a Public University in Selangor, Malaysia: a CrossSectional Study
Hui Zhu Thew ; Siew Mooi Ching ; Nurin Amalina Sallahuddin ; Puteri Nur Dayana Nooralirakiz ; Thessa Sharmila David ; Imran Kamal Hafiz Zaidi ; Navin Kumar Devaraj ; Kai Wei Lee ; Hanifatiyah Ali ; Abdul Hadi Abdul Manap ; Fadzilah Mohamad ; Subapriya Suppiah ; Vasudevan Ramachandran
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2023;19(No.1):197-204
Introduction: Burnout is a growing trend among medical students worldwide. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with burnout among medical students at a public university in Malaysia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1st through 5th year medical students at a public university
using a simple random sampling method in recruiting participants. In this study, The Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey for Student (MBI-SS) was used and burnout is defined as severely emotionally exhausted and
severely depersonalised. Results: A total of 328 medical students were recruited with a with response rate of 88.6%.
The burnout prevalence was 10.1%. Based on multivariate logistic regression, presence of smartphone addiction
with adjusted (odds ratio (OR) 7.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.67, 32.49), course choice not based on personal interest or due to family pressure (OR 2.72, 95% CI = 1.08, 6.85) and the presence of family relationship problems (OR = 3.58, 95% CI = 1.27, 10.04) are more likely to be associated with burnout among the medical students.
Conclusion: Our study has shown that every tenth medical students suffers from burnout. Medical students who are
addicted to smartphone, have chosen medical course against individual interest or because of family pressure and
have family relationship problems are at risk of getting burnout. Intervention is required to address this issue for the
future well-being of medical students.