Objective: This study aims to establish the validity and reliability of the Malaytranslated version of the CES-D. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional study design. The participants were female inmates (n=90) from local prisons which were selected based on purposive-selective sampling. The analyses include face validation, factor analysis, and reliability testing. A test-retest was conducted within a one-week interval. Results: The mean score for depression among the participants is 18.97 (SD=6.51). Further descriptive analysis showed that 58.9% of them scored above the mean score, which is considered high. Preliminary construct validation analysis confirmed that factor analysis was appropriate for the Malay-translated version of the CES-D. Furthermore, the factor analysis showed similar factor loadings to the original English version. The total internal consistency of the translated version, which was measured by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, was equal to 0.75. The test-retest reliability of the total score, measured by Pearson’s correlation was equal to 0.69. Conclusions: Face validity, construct validity, and reliability analysis were found satisfactory for the Malay-translated version of the CES-D. The Malay-translated version of the CES-D was found valid and reliable to be used in future studies, with comparable properties to the original version and to previous studies.
Depression ; Female ; Prisons ; Validation Studies

Objectives: The aim of this study is to validate the Malay version of the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ) for the purpose of the future study related to aggression. Furthermore, the study seeks to identify types of aggression hold by the female inmates. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed involving 90 Malaysian female prisoners. The analyses include descriptive analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and reliability testing. After one-week interval, a test-retest was conducted. Results: The preliminary analysis confirmed that factor analysis was appropriate for the Malay-translated version of the AQ. The four factors structure was assessed but the factor loadings are remarkable different from the original versions. The total Cronbach’s alpha coefficients is very high (α= 0.91). The Pearson’s correlation however is low (r = 0.48) but acceptable for the instrument. Reliability of the subscales and the factors were also found satisfactory. Consequently, anger and hostility were identified as the most common types of aggression among the participants, followed by verbal aggression. In contrast, physical aggression was the least scored type of aggression. Conclusion: The Malay-translated version of the AQ was found to be valid and reliable to be used in future studies.

Awareness, involvement and training in dysphagia management are essential to ensure that patients are appropriatelyassessed for dysphagia and provided with intervention. The study aimed to identify levels of awareness, involvement andtraining of medical officers in dysphagia management. A total of 51 medical officers from the family medicine, medical,otorhinolaryngology, surgery, and neurosurgery departments in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia participated in thestudy. Levels of awareness, involvement and training of medical officers in dysphagia management were reported usingdescriptive analysis. Results indicate that medical officers lacked awareness and training in dysphagia management.Referral rates to speech-language pathologists for dysphagia management were low with 58.4% of medical officers havinghad seldom or never referred patients. The results provide valuable information for addressing dysphagia managementin the hospital.

Readiness for treatment reflects the individual’s motivation to seek help and preparedness to engage in treatment activities. The READI-SF aimed to assess parental readiness to engage in treatment. The present study aimed to translate the English version of READI-SF into the Malay language and subsequently assess its content validity using the content validity ratio (CVR), content validity index (CVI) and modified kappa analyses. Four independent translators carried out the translation procedures. Eight clinical professionals were involved as content experts. Of 17 items, six items needed to be revised due to low CVR values (< 0.75). Based on unfavourable individual CVI (I-CVI) results (< 0.78), two items (for item relevancy) and six items (for item clarity) had to be modified. The overall CVI of the questionnaire (S-CVI) was found to be good (i.e., 0.91 for item relevancy and 0.83 for item clarity). Nine items needed to be revised, and the modifications were carried out accordingly. At the end of the study, a valid Malay-translated READI-SF was produced. It has good potential to serve as a clinical tool to assess the readiness of Malay-speaking parents to engage in treatment. However, prior to its intended clinical application, further research is warranted to assess other aspects of validity (e.g., face validity, construct validity, and criterion-related validity), as well as READI-SF reliability.

The interaction between adults and children during shared reading contributes to the conversation and reading in hand and makes the activity interactive. It is, therefore, imperative to understand parents’ goals for shared reading with their children as it will influence their behaviour and, in turn, affect their children’s development of language and literacy skills. In Malaysia, no local psychometric instrument identifying parent goals for shared reading is available. This study aims to translate the English version of the Parent Goals for Shared Reading Questionnaire (PGSRQ) into Malay and validate the translated questionnaire. Four qualified translators carried out the translation processes, and a panel of eight experts subsequently validated the Malay-translated version of PGSRQ. Of 33 items, the validation assessment revealed that 17 items had a content validity ratio (CVR) value of 1.0, while 12 items had a CVR value of 0.8. Only four items had a CVR value lower than 0.78 and were retranslated and modified. The findings of this study can pave the way for more research efforts in the field of shared reading in Malaysia. The questionnaire can also assist a speech therapist in assessing the goals that parents have on shared reading to come up with better designs for shared book reading intervention.

Speech-language therapists (SLTs) are experienced in recognising the symptoms and signs of speech-language disorders and can help the afflicted children overcome those disorders with appropriate intervention. Furthermore, with the increase in the number of children with special educational needs, teachers are expected to identify students with speech-language disorders, which is also a shared responsibility of SLTs. However, the teachers’ awareness and knowledge of speech-language therapy are relatively unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the primary school teachers' awareness and knowledge of speech-language therapy services in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. A total of 105 primary school teachers participated in this survey-based study. The findings discovered that the teachers' awareness and knowledge were limited. Among the participants, only 25.7% indicated a high awareness and knowledge regarding the SLTs' roles, yet 68.6% of the teachers had never read about speech-language therapy, and 63.8% had never heard anything about SLPs previously. Consequently, more emphasis on awareness and knowledge of SLPs should be executed for schoolteachers. This will assist the schoolteachers in identifying children with special needs in need of SLT services in the future.