1.A Systematic Review On Complementary Approach For Depression Among Adult Prison Inmates
Gunenthira R ; Minhat H.S ; Nor Afiah M.Z ; Anisah B ; Norliza A
Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine 2018;18(2):20-27
Prisoners tend to be marginalized and deprived of the rights and privileges that others may enjoy, this make them susceptible to depression. Extensive research have been carried out on treatment of depression, however a review is essential to determine the evidence based complementary approach for examining depression among prisoners. Thus, the objective of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of the complementary approach to reduce depressive symptoms among adult prison inmates. Literature on the randomized control trial of complementary approach on depression published between 2012 and June 2017 was searched using various keywords. Literature resources were mainly from PubMed, EBSCOhost, Science Direct, and Wiley Online Library. The inclusion criteria were English full text, adult prison inmates with a diagnosis of depression, while the exclusion criteria include diagnostic instruments or other pharmacological trials. A total 158 studies were identified and after eliminating 21 duplicates, there were 137 articles to review. 22 studies have met the criteria for full-text review, however, some papers were excluded due to valid reasons, and only five studies were eligible for final review. Yoga, music therapy and cognitive bibliotherapy have showed potential to be used as complementary approaches for reducing depressive symptoms. However, the approach of ‘seeking safety’, which is a short-term behavioural intervention, was found to have an insignificant effect. Meanwhile, Beck Depression Inventory were most commonly used study instrument for measurement of outcome. Future research is needed to account for the varying modes of depression intervention which includes pharmacology trial or other study design.
2.Predictors For Inadequate Knowledge And Negative Attitude Towards Childhood Immunization Among Parents In Hulu Langat, Selangor, Malaysia
Azreena Che ABDULLAH ; Nor Afiah M.Z. ; Rosliza A.M
Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine 2018;18(1):102-112
Vaccine hesitancy among parents has led to re-emergence of vaccine preventable diseases. In Malaysia, measles cases had increased by three times in 2015 compared to previous year. Immunization coverage has always been above 95% since 2009. However, in 2014, Mumps-Measles-Rubella (MMR) coverage has a significant drop to 93.4%. The aim of the study was to identify predictors for inadequate knowledge and negative attitude towards childhood immunization among parents in Hulu Langat, Selangor. A cross sectional study design was conducted from January to July 2016 with760 respondents. Respondents were selected by cluster random sampling and a validatedself-administered questionnaire was used. The majority of respondents were female (70%), Malay (87%), employed (92%) and parents with tertiary education (99.7%). In this study, 12.8% parents have an inadequate knowledge on childhood immunization and 47.6% parents have a negative attitude towards childhood immunization. The predictors for inadequate knowledge on childhood immunizations were last child’s age of 2 years old or more (AOR=1.413 95% CI 0.28-0.69); parents without tertiary education (AOR=2.02 95% CI 1.15-3.54); parents withouteducational exposure on childhood immunization (AOR=2.87 95% CI 1.59-5.18) and parents who obtained information on childhood immunization from non-healthcare provider (AOR=2.66 95% CI 1.50-4.70). Predictors for negative attitude on childhood immunizations were being male (AOR=1.44 95% CI 1.04-2.01); parents without tertiary education (AOR=1.67 95% CI 1.04-2.68); household income of less than RM5000 (AOR=1.85 95% CI 1.28-2.67) and unsatisfactory religious belief (AOR=2.76 95% CI 2.03-3.75). Therefore, these predictors should be considered in any health intervention on childhood immunizations for parents in Malaysia.