Coping with dual sensory impairment or deafblindness can be a challenging task for an individual and for the caregiver. Currently limited information is available hence the objective of this study is to determine the profile and quality of life for children with dual sensory impairment or deafblindness. It is hoped that with this information, better rehabilitation programs can be designed for children with deafblindness in Malaysia. A purposive sampling was adopted. Children with dual sensory impairment were invited to participate in the study. Demographic and hearing loss information was extracted from the children’s medical records. Face to face interviews with parents were conducted using the SF-36 quality of life questionnaire. Vision assessment comprising visual acuity, refraction, cover test, external ocular examination and children’s behaviour observations was conducted. Four children were identified based on sample size calculation and fulfilled the dual sensory impairment criteria out of the 44 children screened. The mean age was 9.3 ± 2.9 years old. Majority of the children were of Indian ethnicity. The category of deafblindness was congenital deafblindness with rubella as the main cause. All the children were premature babies but had a normal birth weight. The hearing profile showed the majority of them had bilateral profound hearing loss with mean pure tone average ranging between 50 dBHL and 120 dBHL. The main type of hearing problem was sensorineural and the majority of children owned hearing aids. The visual profile of the deafblindness children revealed either light perception (LP) and categorised as blind or low to moderate myopia. A majority had esotropia. All the children used braille as a visual aids and children with residual vision used closed circuit television (CCTV). Tactile methods were the main means for communication and majority of the children used a white cane. Behaviour and external observation assessments concurred with the hearing and vision impairment manifested. Quality of life in these subjects was lower in 7 out of 8 SF-36 dimensions as compared to normative values. Congenital deafblindness is the main category found among the children in this study and they had profound vision and hearing losses. Tactile methods are the main means of communication for these children. Their quality of life was affected and introducing deafblindness rehabilitation, which includes a combination of hearing and low vision rehabilitation, will be able to assist them in coping with their daily activities.

Evaluation of pre-qualifying interprofessional education (IPE) programmes is important in exploring its effectiveness. The University of the West of England Interprofessional Questionnaire (UWE IPQ) has been rigorously validated, yet few studies using this tool have been published. We aimed to explore the attitudes of final year allied health profession (AHP), midwifery and nursing students towards IPE in this study. Differences between students’ attitudes towards IPE according to gender, undergraduate programmes, academic background and experience were also explored. A total of 103 participants, AHP (n=10), midwifery (n=19) and nursing (n=74) students took part in the study. This study design used a cross-sectional questionnaire survey, and was conducted within the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southampton. The validated UWE IPQ was administered to a volunteer sample of final year AHP, nursing and midwifery students in June 2010. Findings revealed that majority of the students rated their communication and teamwork skills (76.7%), interprofessional learning (74.8%) and interprofessional relationships (92.2%) positively, but they held negative attitudes towards interprofessional interactions (69.9%). Significant differences were found between participants’ attitudes towards interprofessional learning in relation to undergraduate programmes (p=0.01) and prior working experience in health and social care (p=0.03). IPE has shaped the students’ views regarding their collaborative learning and teamwork. Therefore, introducing IPE initiative from the beginning of the pre-qualifying stage at universities would motivate them to become interprofessional collaborative-ready professionals.

The development of writing ability is not only important in building a child’s self-esteem, but also essential for academic success in school. Handwriting is an important skill that could affect students’ performance in most academic areas. This study aimed to review the effect of occupational therapy intervention in improving handwriting skills among preschool children. Relevant studies were systematically searched by using standardized keywords across three databases. The initial search identified 1,386 references. Of these studies, there were five quantitative studies that met the inclusion criteria and were methodologically appraised using the McMaster Critical Review Form–Quantitative Studies. All studies reported that preschool children with or without disabilities showed significant improvements in handwriting skills after receiving occupational therapy intervention. One study involved collaboration between teachers and occupational therapists in implementing intervention program to preschool students. Collaboration between teachers and occupational therapists was able to provide teachers with tools and skills that they can use to help students, with or without direct presence of occupational therapists. Overall, findings of this review indicated that preschool children could gain improvement in handwriting skills regardless of their conditions after receiving occupational therapy intervention programs.

Older adults who fall recurrently have sub-optimal physical performance especially muscle strength, mobility and balance. Recurrent falls lead to a heightened fear of falls. However, there is limited information regarding other domains of physical performance, namely, flexibility and endurance. In addition there is still limited knowledge pertaining fear of falls and physical activity levels among Malaysian community-dwelling older adults who are recurrent fallers. The aim of our study was to compare fear of falls, physical performance and physical activity levels among older adults with falls and recurrent falls. This cross- sectional study was carried out in two Malaysian urban districts. Physical performance was examined using Functional Fitness MOT (FFMOT). Modified Baecke Questionnaire and Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC-6) Scale were administered to evaluate the level of daily physical activity and fear of falls respectively. A total 35 older adults participated in this study, 20 fallers (mean age :71.95±8.22) and 15 recurrent fallers (mean age: 76.73±8.82) respectively. Our study results showed that older adults with recurrent fallers had significantly reduced lower extremity strength, dynamic balance, endurance, balance confidence in ADL and physical activity levels compared to faller group (p<0.05). Although flexibility and upper limb strength were not significantly different among fallers and recurrent fallers, overall improvement in physical performance should be targetted in falls prevention and management. This is vital to prevent further deterioration in physical performance among older adults with recurrent falls.

Despite being becoming popular and heavily used in rehabilitation, the evidence on the effectiveness of Virtual reality-based therapy (VRBT) among persons with knee osteoarthritis (OA) remains limited. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of VRBT on walking endurance and quality of life of older persons with knee OA in comparison to conventional exercise therapy. This was a randomised controlled trial involving 44 participants (mean age and standard deviation = 66.32 + 5.73 years) who received either a VRBT (experimental group, n=22) or a conventional exercise therapy (control group, n=22) for 45 minutes, twice per week for 12 weeks. The outcome of both therapies on walking endurance was measured using Six-minute Walk Test (6MWT), while quality of life was assessed using the Malay-version of Short Form-36 (SF-36). Analysis was done by ‘intention-to-treat’ approach, using Mixed Model ANOVA. A significant time-effect (p < 0.05), with large effect size between 0.54 and 1.0 were found for all outcomes following the therapies. An increase of 17% and 19% of 6MWT scores were obtained in experimental and control group, respectively. Meanwhile, the scores for the physical and mental components of the SF-36 increased by 37.8% and 19.4% in the experimental group, and 45.7% and 20.6% in the control group. However, no significant group and interaction effects were found for all outcomes. In conclusion, VRBT is comparable with conventional exercise therapy in improving walking endurance and quality of life of persons with knee OA, and can be used as a therapy option for this population.

Children with dyslexia are commonly associated with gross motor difficulties. However, this non-literacy symptom is often overlooked as an important feature of dyslexia. Therefore, the aims of this study were to determine gross motor skills status among children with dyslexia and to compare the gross motor skills between younger and older children. A cross-sectional study was conducted on children with dyslexia from government schools and Dyslexia Association Malaysia. The participants were divided into two groups, namely younger (4 to 10 years) and older children (11 to 17 years old), and were recruited randomly. The gross motor skills were measured using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition (BOT-2) (subtests: Body Coordination, and, Strength and Agility) and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (MABC-2) (subtest: Aiming and Catching). Standard scores and percentile rankings were used for statistical analysis. A total of 82 children with dyslexia were recruited for this study, consisted of younger (n = 57) and older groups of children (n = 25). The younger children were found to have a significantly lower performance in gross motor skills in Body Coordination (Mdn = 48, IQR = 26-63), compared to the older children, (Mdn = 54, IQR = 30-77), with a small effect size (r = -.25). There were no significant different for other findings. The older children were found to demonstrate the highest level of gross motor skills. This study may suggest the need for an early intervention program for young age children with dyslexia. Future studies that assess gross motor skills using longitudinal design are recommended to investigate the changes in gross motor performance over time.

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common musculoskeletal condition that leads to decreased physical performance and falls among older adults. However, there is limited information comparing physical performances among older adult fallers with and without knee OA. The aim of this study was to compare physical performance between older adult fallers with and without knee OA. Participants were divided into two groups using the clinical diagnosis of knee OA based on National Institute of Health and Care Excellence guidelines; with and without knee OA. Participants performed a battery of physical performance tests that included chair sit and reach, back scratch, dominant handgrip strength, timed up and go (TUG), 30 seconds chair stand and 2 min walk. Independent t-test was used to compare physical performance between groups. Thirteen older adult fallers with knee OA (mean age = 70.92 ± 8.83 years) and 20 older adult fallers without knee OA (76.4 ±7.92 years) participated in this study. There were no significant differences in sociodemographic profiles and physical performance among older adult fallers with and without knee OA (p>0.05). However, hamstring flexibility was not within norm in 64% of older adult fallers with knee OA compared to 42% without OA. Physical performance between fallers with and without clinically diagnosed knee OA was similar. Hence, physiotherapy interventions for both groups may be similar and focused on strength and endurance training. In addition, to minimize falls risk and further improve physical performances, hamstring stretching must be emphasized among older adults with knee OA.

This study was carried out to observe thermotolerance ability of Acanthamoeba spp. A total of 32 Acanthamoeba spp. isolates obtained from water taps, sinks, swimming pools and sea water were used. Trophozoites of Acanthamoeba spp. were inoculated onto non-nutrient agar (NNA) seeded with heat-killed Escherichia coli using aseptic technique and incubated for 14 days at 30°C to obtain the cyst. The cysts were subcultured onto new agar plates for thermotolerance test at 37°C and 42°C. The plates were observed until 96 hours after incubation for excystation of Acanthamoeba before being declared negative. Overall, 81.25% of samples were able to excyst at 37°C while 37.5% were able to excyst at 42°C. Thermotolerant Acanthamoeba is associated with high pathogenicity potential.

The study was conducted to create specific formulae for stature estimation of adult male population in Malaysia based on measurements of femur, tibia and fibula lengths using radiographic method. A number of thirty two Malaysians from hospitals involved as subjects in this study. The subjects were Malays (14), Chinese (8) and Indians (10) from 25-45 years old. The standing height of the subject was recorded before femur, tibia and fibula were scanned with an x-ray machine. The bones length was measured on the x-ray film in centimetres (cm) and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19.0 for Windows. The results showed a significant relationship (p < 0.05) between stature and measurements of length of femur, tibia and fibula. Stature of Malays and Indians were significant (p < 0.05)with measurements of length of femur, tibia and fibula but insignificant in Chinese. Simple Linear Regression Analysis was used to derive regression equation for single bone and Multiple Linear Regression Analysis was used to derive regression equation for combination of femur, tibia and fibula. Six formulae for stature estimation of adult male population in Malaysia were derived. The formulae consist of three formulae for single bone, a formulae for combination bones with unknown race, a formulae for combination bones of Malays population and a formulae for combination bones of Indians population. Formulae for combination bones had the highest correlation coefficient compared to the formula using a single bone. Standard error was found to be high in all the formulae due to small sample size. Extension for this study is essential to provide Malaysia with accurate formulae.

Acanthamoeba is a free-living amoeba that has been identified to cause Acanthamoeba keratitis and granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. Their physiological characteristics can be related to pathogenic potential which have a medical importance. This study was carried out to investigate the value of minimum cysticidal concentration of chlorine against them. Acanthamoeba strains tested were from clinical isolates from hospitals (HSB 1, HKL 48 and HKL 95) and environmental isolates (PHS 2, PHS 11 and PHS 15). The minimum cysticidal concentration of chlorine was determined by dilution process using 12 wells microtitre plate starting with 2500 ppm. 100 μl cyst suspensions standardized at 105/ml were pipetted into all wells and incubated overnight at 30°C. Cysts were then washed using Page saline and cultured on non nutrient agar overlaid with Escherichia coli. The presence of trophozoites was then observed. The lowest concentration able to prevent trophozoites formation was noted as the minimum cysticidal concentration. Minimum cysticidal concentration test showed the same concentration of 156 ppm (156 μg/ml) chlorine solution was needed to kill all cysts of Acanthamoeba isolates. This indicates that the physiological traits of environmental and clinical isolates are the same. Isolates from the environmental specimens are also able to show the pathogenic potential similar to clinical specimens, thus capable of causing disease to human.