Objective: This study was designed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ophthalmology training from the perspective of ophthalmology residents and fellows in the Philippines. Methods: A 55-item online survey on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on ophthalmology training was sent to 168 ophthalmologists-in-training from March 15, 2021 to April 19, 2021. Participants from all ophthalmology training programs in the Philippines were selected via random sampling and proportional allocation. Results: A total of 158 ophthalmologists-in-training (138 residents and 20 fellows) completed the survey. The areas of ophthalmology training that were found to be most disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic were surgical training (95%), clinical activity (94%), and in-person interaction with consultants in the out-patient department (94%) and operating room (85%). In contrast, trainees found an increase in didactic teaching activities (75%) and research activities (39%). Overall, 78% of the trainees felt that the pandemic had a negative impact on their ophthalmology training. The aspects which were most frequently found to be negatively impacted by the pandemic were mental health (70%), followed by technical skills (69%), and clinical skills (61%). No major differences were found on the impact of COVID-19 on training when compared across year levels and across institutions compared by location (National Capital Region vs. non-National Capital Region) and funding type (government vs. private funding). Ninety-nine percent (99%) of institutions shifted most of their didactic teaching activities to online platforms. Surgical video conferences and simulator training or skills labs were thought to be helpful to surgical training by 89% and 81% of the trainees, respectively. Majority of trainees attended to patients via telemedicine averaging 40% of their clinic consults. However, only 16% reported confidence in handling their patients through telemedicine. Conclusion The COVID-19 pandemic has had an overall negative impact on ophthalmology training in the Philippines. It caused significant disruption in trainees' clinical and surgical activities, and affected their mental health. Despite this, the situation provided an opportunity to boost trainees' theoretical knowledge. Majority are receptive to new technology-based learning tools to preserve the effectiveness of their training. Efforts to re-evaluate current training programs are needed to ensure sustainability and quality of ophthalmology training in the Philippines.
COVID-19 ; ophthalmology ; survey

Background: The low detection rate of tuberculosis (TB) cases in Malaysia remains a challenge in the effort to end TB by 2030. The collaboration between private and public health care facilities is essential in addressing this issue. As of now, no private-public health care collaborative program in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) screening exists in Malaysia. Aim: To determine the feasibility of a collaborative program between private general practitioners (GPs) and the public primary health clinics in PTB screening and to assess the yield of smearpositive PTB from this program. Methods: A prospective cohort study using convenient sampling was conducted involving GPs and public health clinics in the North-East District, Penang, from March 2018 to May 2019. In this study, GPs could direct all suspected PTB patients to perform a sputum acid fast bacilli (AFB) direct smear in any of the dedicated public primary health clinics. The satisfaction level of both the GPs and their patients were assessed using a self-administered client satisfaction questionnaire. IBM SPSS Statistical Software was used to analyze the data. Results: Out of a total of 31 patients who underwent the sputum investigation for PTB, one (3.2%) was diagnosed to have smear-positive PTB. Most of the patients (>90%) and GPs (66.7%) agreed to continue with this program in the future. Furthermore, most of the patients (>90%) were satisfied with the program structure. Conclusion: It is potentially feasible to involve GPs in combating TB. However, a more structured program addressing the identified issues is needed to make the collaborative program a success.
Food Insecurity ; Malaysia ; Adult ; Nutrition Survey

Food insecurity affects food intake, and it could prevent an individual from consuming enough nutritious food to support and maintain health. The aim of this paper is to determine the prevalence and factors influencing food insecurity among Malaysian households. In 2014, the Malaysian Adult Nutrition Survey (MANS) was carried out, and one of the components measured was food insecurity. Six out of sixteen questions from the food security core-module questionnaire were adopted and answered by 2962 adults. The results showed that about 25.0% adult experienced food quantity insufficiency, 25.5% had food variety insufficiency, 21.9% practised reduced size of the meal, and 15.2% skipped main meal due to lack of money to spend on. For the parents, 23.7% only rely on cheap food to feed children, and 20.8% could not afford to purchase various foods to feed their children. Location, strata, race, level of education, working status and household income shows significant difference while none of the nutritional status components found to be difference in all six parameters of food insecurity measured. Logistic regression with adjusted odds ratios discovered race, education level and household income were related to risk to all six parameters of food insecurity. In conclusion, food insecurity can be a serious problem in Malaysia. An effective and comprehensive effort by the government in terms of policy solution is required to increase education level and ensure an adequate income for every household. Therefore, future research should focus on some of those promising policy solutions and at the same time, study the other possible underlying factors that may lead to food insecurity.
Food Insecurity ; Malaysia ; Adult ; Nutrition Survey