Humans ; Ophthalmology ; Practice Patterns, Physicians' ; Retinal Diseases ; therapy ; Singapore

The Academy of Medicine (AMS) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) have developed the clinical practice guidelines on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to provide doctors and patients in Singapore with evidence-based treatment for ADHD. This article reproduces the introduction and executive summary (with recommendations from the guidelines) from the MOH clinical practice guidelines on ADHD, for the information of SMJ readers. Chapters and page numbers mentioned in the reproduced extract refer to the full text of the guidelines, which are available from the Ministry of Health website: http://www.moh.gov.sg/content/moh_web/healthprofessionalsportal/doctors/guidelines/cpg_medical.html.The recommendations should be used with reference to the full text of the guidelines. Following this article are multiple choice questions based on the full text of the guidelines.
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; therapy ; Caregivers ; Child ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; Humans ; Methylphenidate ; therapeutic use ; Parents ; Psychiatry ; methods ; standards ; Singapore ; Societies, Medical

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention (Safe D.U.M.P) to improve the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding the return and disposal of unused medications. Community-dwelling adults in Malaysia who could understand English were recruited from two healthcare events. Participants were asked to fill out the validated Return and Disposal of Unused Medications (ReDiUM) questionnaire (pre-intervention), view six educational intervention posters on how to dispose of unused medications (Safe D.U.M.P), then answer the ReDiUM questionnaire immediately after viewing the posters (post-intervention). A total of 390 out of 456 participants participated (response rate=85.5%). Most were female (71%) with a median age of 42 years. The overall knowledge of participants significantly increased from 60% to 80% (p<0.001). However, no improvement was seen regarding their overall attitude and practice. This outcome was as expected as it may be more difficult to improve attitude and practice (when compared to knowledge) with a single educational session.

Introduction: University students’ perspectives on mental health issues remain scarce despite the growing prevalence of mental illness among this population. Therefore, this study aimed to explore university students’ perceptions and beliefs about mental health and mental illness. Methods: Virtual in-depth interviews were conducted from December 2021 to March 2022. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Sixteen informants from a Malaysian university were interviewed. Four major themes emerged: (1) understanding of mental health and mental illness; (2) perceived causes of mental illness; (3) attitudes towards mental illness; (4) strategies to maintain good mental health. Most informants related mental health to an individual’s thoughts, emotions and behaviours, while a minority equated ‘mental health’ with ‘mental illness’. The majority of informants cited socio-environmental factors as the primary cause of mental illness. Unexpectedly, informants did not view religious factors as a cause of mental illness, although it was thought to be deeply rooted in the older generation. Nearly all informants expressed positive attitudes and willingness to help people with mental illness. However, some informants decided to cover up their mental health problems to avoid the likelihood of experiencing negative emotions. Most informants believed that living a fulfilling and balanced life, staying optimistic and being religious could help them to maintain good mental health. Conclusion: To mitigate the deterioration of students’ mental health, it is necessary to understand their perceptions and beliefs about mental health and mental illness as these may influence their help-seeking behaviours. The study findings showed that university students have a basic understanding of mental health and mental illness and most of them are supportive in handling people with mental illness.