Pets and Mental Health Among Postgraduate University Students: A Narrative Review with Implications for Malaysia Introduction Postgraduate students experience disproportionately high levels of depression, anxiety, and stress compared to undergraduate peers and the general population. Pets are increasingly recognised as potential sources of psychosocial support, yet their role in shaping student wellbeing within Asian contexts remains underexplored. This narrative review synthesises evidence on the relationship between pet ownership and postgraduate student mental health, with a particular focus on Malaysian public university students. Methods Relevant studies were identified through PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO and Google Scholar using combinations of terms related to “postgraduate students,” “mental health,” “pet ownership,” and “companion animals.” Articles published in English between 2015 and 2024 were included if they reported on student populations and examined psychosocial outcomes associated with pets. Data were narratively synthesised into major themes. As a narrative review integrating heterogeneous quantitative and qualitative evidence, the findings reflect associative patterns and conceptual trends rather than causal relationships. The absence of formal meta-analysis limits the ability to quantify effect sizes across studies. Results Four recurring themes emerged: (i) pets as sources of social support mitigating loneliness and enhancing belonging; (ii) pets and psychological wellbeing through stress and anxiety reduction; (iii) pets as facilitators of coping and academic adjustment; and (iv) risks and contextual nuances including financial burdens, cultural sensitivities, and zoonotic concerns. Evidence from Western settings demonstrated consistent benefits, while emerging data from Asia highlighted the importance of cultural and religious factors in moderating outcomes. Conclusions Pet ownership may provide meaningful psychosocial benefits to postgraduate students, yet these are context dependent. In Malaysia, the cultural acceptability of specific animals, financial pressures, and caregiving responsibilities shape how pets influencewellbeing. Further empirical research is required to establish culturally grounded, evidence-based approaches to incorporating animal companionship in student mental health promotion.

Introduction: Prolonged COVID-19 pandemic with high morbidity and mortality may cause traumatic events to Healthcare Workers (HCW), resulting in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Hence, this study aims to determine the prevalence of PTSD symptoms and its association with coping strategies among HCW in managing COVID-19 pandemic at Klang Valley Public Hospitals in Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study with total of 424 eligible respondents were recruited through stratified random sampling. Data was collected from 6th May until 6th June 2021 using a self-administered online questionnaire adopted from MPCL-5 and Brief COPE instruments. IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 26 was used to analyse data. Result: 25% of the respondents demonstrated PTSD symptoms. Respondents who are single (aOR=3.319, 95% CI: 1.912, 5.762, p-value <0.001) and had history of positive COVID-19 (aOR= 2.563, 95% CI:1.058, 6.209, p-value=0.037) were more likely to experience PTSD symptoms. Frequently coping with self-blaming (aOR= 7.804, 95% CI: 3.467, 17.568, p-value < 0.001), behavioural disengagement (aOR= 7.262, 95% CI: 1.973, 26.723, p-value =0.003), humour (aOR= 5.303, 95% CI: 1.754, 16.039, p-value =0.003), venting emotion (aOR= 3.287, 95% CI: 1.521, 7.105, p-value =0.002) and less planning (aOR= 2.006, 95% CI:1.154, 3.487 p-value =0.014) are significant predictors for PTSD symptoms. Conclusion: One in four HCW managing COVID-19 in Klang Valley public hospitals experienced PTSD symptoms. Therefore, urgent interventional program targeting HCW who are single with history of positive COVID-19 is beneficial to prevent PTSD. Maladaptive coping strategies like self-blaming, venting emotion, humour and behavioural disengagement should be replaced with more adaptive coping strategies like planning, self-compassion, self-care and self-reflection.

Introduction: Dog bite is a global public health concern because it is the main risk factor for human rabies and it particularly affects children. In Nigeria, most dog bites are from stray dogs and their vaccination status remains unknown. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of dog bite among public primary school children in Madawaki district Gusau, Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an unequal stratified sampling technique among 999 children aged 11 to 13-year-old at seven public primary schools from September 2017 to January 2020. A self-reported history of dog bites, socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge on interaction with dogs, knowledge on the implication of dog bites, risk behaviours of children and dog ownership were collected using a validated questionnaire. Results: The prevalence of dog bites was 54.5%. The predictors of dog bite among the children were being a male (Adjusted Odds Ratio; AOR = 2.252; Confidence Interval; CI = 1.719, 2.949), dog ownership by respondent’s family (AOR = 1.456; Cl = 1.089, 1.946), dog ownership by neighbours of the respondents (AOR = 1.752; Cl =1.334, 2.303), total score for knowledge on interaction with dogs (AOR = 0.884; Cl = 0.858, 0.911), and total score for risk behaviours of children (AOR = 1.020; Cl =1.004, 1.035). Conclusion: Poor knowledge on interaction with dogs, children’s risk behaviours around dogs, dog ownership and being male were the factors associated with a high prevalence of dog bite among primary school children from this study. These factors should be considered in order to develop an effective awareness campaign in schools to reduce the prevalence of dog bites among children.

Introduction: Hypertension treatment aims to reduce morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular and renal com- plications. In Malaysia, there is a high prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension among patients on treatment. This study aimed to identify the predictors of uncontrolled hypertension among patients receiving treatment from public primary care clinics in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. Methods: An unmatched case-control study with 1:1 ratio was con- ducted among 334 hypertensive patients receiving treatment from selected public primary care clinics. Mean blood pressure measurements from the last two clinical visits were used to determine the hypertension status, and uncon- trolled hypertension was defined as 140/90 mm Hg or higher. The cases were those with uncontrolled hypertension, while the controls were those with controlled hypertension. Participants were recruited by simple random sampling. Independent variables were sociodemographic factors, clinical and psychosocial factors, medication adherence, lifestyle modification, and clinical inertia. Data were collected using validated questionnaires and review of medi- cal records. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed by using IBM SPSS Statistics 25. Results: The mean age of respondents was 59 years (SD=11). Patients with medication non-adherence had 11.36 times higher odds of uncontrolled hypertension (aOR=11.36, 95% CI=6.59, 19.56, p<0.001). Clinical inertia increased 7.82 times the odds of uncontrolled hypertension (aOR=7.82, 95% CI=2.65, 23.09, p<0.001). Conclusion: Addressing medication adherence and clinical inertia are vital in reducing uncontrolled hypertension. The findings would help to prioritise interventions to improve the clinical management of hypertension and patient outcomes.