1.Barriers and Drivers of Physical Activity Participation Among Older Adults in Malaysia: A Systematic Review
Halimatus Sakdiah Minhat ; Wan Syahirah Wan Ghazali ; Muhammad Ikhwan Mud Shukri ; Norhafizah Mohd Noor ; Mohd Hafiidz Baharudin ; Zhao Yuanyuan ; Raja Nurzatul Efah Raja Adnan
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2024;20(No.1):253-262
Introduction: Ageing is commonly linked with physical inactivity. This review was performed to identify the factors
associated with participation in physical activity among older adults in Malaysia. Methods: A systematic review was
conducted using five databases; Pubmed, Sagepub, Scopus, Cochrane Library and Science Direct. Observational
and intervention studies published between January 2010 and December 2020 were included, with Malaysian older
adults aged 55 years and older being the main subject. Results: A total of 9 articles were included in the review.
Analysis was guided by the Social Ecological Model for Health Promotion. The review had successfully identified
gender, age, education level, health reasons, ethnicity and attitude as intrapersonal factors, social support (friend)
and marital status as interpersonal factors, and locality as well as availability of facilities as environmental factors.
Conclusions: Physical activity participation among Malaysian older adults were mainly determined by intrapersonal
factors, particularly gender, health condition and educational level.
2.Obstacles and Facilitators in Daily Living Activities Among Persons with Spinal Cord Injury: A Systemic Review
Faizan Jameel Khanzada ; Mohammad Ghazali Masuri ; Erna Faryza Mohd Poot ; Mohd Zulkifli Abdul Rahim ; Ahmad Zamir Che Daud
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2024;20(No.1):271-280
Introduction: This systematic review aimed to investigate the level of participation, obstacles, and facilitator factors
that influence activities of daily living among persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). Methods: A comprehensive
search was conducted in four online databases, namely Google Scholar, PubMed, OT Seeker, and Cochrane Library
covering the ten-years period from January 2012 to December 2022. Inclusion criteria encompassed original published studies in English focusing on daily activities, work, participation, obstacles, and facilitators in persons with
SCI. Non-peer review sources (e.g., abstracts, grey literature, preprints), and studies unrelated to occupational therapy were excluded. The selected studies were assessed for quality using McMaster University Occupational Therapy
Evidence-Based Practice critical review form. Results: Out of the 678 articles identified, ten studies were included
after the screening, exploring participation in daily living activities, employment, return to work, leisure activities,
family tasks, and community mobility among persons with SCI. Obstacles and facilitators influencing participation
in activities of daily living were classified using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health
(ICF) framework. This review highlighted that long-term participation is challenging for persons with SCI, affected
by obstacles such as body functions, pain, low self-esteem, and environmental and social factors. Conclusion: The
findings underscore the importance of adopting a multidisciplinary rehabilitation approach to enhance participation
in daily activities for persons with SCI. Occupational therapy plays a significant role in improving participation levels
among persons with SCI.
3.Factors associated with poor appetite among residents at selected long-term care facilities in Selangor, Malaysia
Duaa Al-junid ; Chan Yoke Mun ; Siti Nur Asyura Adznam ; Chin Yit Siew ; Zalilah Mohd Shariff ; Lim Poh Ying ; Sazlina Shariff-Ghazali ; Tanti Irawati Rosli
Malaysian Journal of Nutrition 2024;30(No.1):1-14
Introduction: Poor appetite is prevalent among older adults and may negatively
impact on their overall health. This is especially true for institutionalised residents.
Despite this, there is a paucity of research on appetite and its associated factors
among institutionalised residents, which signified the present study. Methods: A
cross-sectional study was conducted among elderly residents at long-term care
facilities in the state of Selangor, Malaysia to ascertain their appetite status and its
associated factors. Results: A total of 97 residents with mean age of 74.2±8.4 years
old were recruited. They comprised 61.9% females and 38.1% males. More than
50% had poor appetite with early satiety. There were 63.0%, 82.4%, and 94.8% who
had poor oral health, poor sleep quality, and depression, respectively. Ethnicity
(OR=2.73; 95% CI=1.00-7.44; p=0.049) was the only factor that predicted poor appetite
among older adults in long-term care facilities, with Malay residents having poorer
appetite than their Chinese and Indian counterparts. Conclusion: The prevalence
of poor appetite was high among residents staying at long-term care facilities in
Selangor, Malaysia, especially among Malays. This issue deserves further studies
to identify the specific underlying factors contributing to poor appetite among older
adults from different ethnicities. Acknowledging the high prevalence of poor appetite
among older adults and its possible unfavourable outcomes, appropriate nutrition
interventions are therefore needed to address this issue among institutionalised
elderly.
4.Effectiveness of Virgin Coconut Oil in Treating Dry Eyes
Haliza Abdul Mutalib ; Bashirah Ishak ; Mohd Norhafizun bin Mohd Saman ; Ahmad Rohi Ghazali ; Elly Liyana Zainodin
International e-Journal of Science, Medicine and Education 2024;18(2):25-34
Background:
There are a few dry eye remedies available in the market. Currently, artificial tears and lubricants are still the most common management for dry eyes.
Objective:
We proposed a new method in managing dry eyes.
Methods:
A pre-soaked contact lens in virgin coconut oil (VCOCL) is being used as a vehicle to deliver virgin coconut oil (VCO) in dry eyes. VCOCL was prepared in sterilised conditions where daily soft hydrogel contact lenses were immersed in raw VCO. The efficacy of VCOCL in delivering the VCO to eyes was assessed by measuring the Tear Break-Up Time (TBUT) values, corneal staining of the anterior eye, Schirmer Test values and the measurement of residual VCO volume in tears at baseline and at 15 minutes after insertion on subjects with dry eyes. Pre- and post-data were used to analyse all the measurable variables.
Results:
This study showed a significant difference in the TBUT, corneal staining, and residual VCO volume for both eyes (p<0.05). However, there were no changes in the Schirmer Test value (p>0.05). VCOCL was proven to improve tear quality in dry eye subjects and was able to maintain its presence in the eye even after 15 minutes.
Conclusion
This study suggests a new method for dry eye management.
Contact Lenses
;
Therapeutics
;
Dry Eye Syndromes
5.Evaluation of the public health clinical rotation in medical school: a qualitative case study design
Pariawan Lutfi GHAZALI ; Sani Rachman SOLEMAN
Korean Journal of Medical Education 2023;35(1):93-102
Public health clinical rotation in the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Islam Indonesia, was conducted in Puskesmas (community health center). This study aims to evaluate the public health clinical rotation in Puskesmas, part of the clinical clerkship of the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Islam Indonesia. Several concerns have been highlighted regarding the implementation of clinical rotations in public health in Puskesmas. A briefing session before placement in the village must be coherent with a guidebook. The placement of students in the village was based on community health issues determined by the Puskesmas supervisor. Priority in the curriculum was given to converting the alertness village (Desa Siaga) into a Program Indonesia Sehat–Pendekatan Keluarga (Healthy Indonesia Program–Family Education) program throughout implementation. Moreover, scheduling after four major clinical programs was difficult, and the writing of reports served as a guide for establishing the correct format. Therefore, the objective of the evaluation was to assess knowledge, skill, and psychomotor, and the burden of assignment in Puskesmas was difficult to accomplish a primary task in the community.
6.Convolutional neural networks for automated tooth numbering on panoramic radiographs:A scoping review
Ramadhan Hardani PUTRA ; Eha Renwi ASTUTI ; Aga Satria NURRACHMAN ; Dina Karimah PUTRI ; Ahmad Badruddin GHAZALI ; Tjio Andrinanti PRADINI ; Dhinda Tiara PRABANINGTYAS
Imaging Science in Dentistry 2023;53(4):281-281
Purpose:
The objective of this scoping review was to investigate the applicability and performance of various convolutional neural network (CNN) models in tooth numbering on panoramic radiographs, achieved throughclassification, detection, and segmentation tasks.
Materials and Methods:
An online search was performed of the PubMed, Science Direct, and Scopus databases.Based on the selection process, 12 studies were included in this review.
Results:
Eleven studies utilized a CNN model for detection tasks, 5 for classification tasks, and 3 for segmentationtasks in the context of tooth numbering on panoramic radiographs. Most of these studies revealed high performance of various CNN models in automating tooth numbering. However, several studies also highlighted limitations of CNNs, such as the presence of false positives and false negatives in identifying decayed teeth, teeth with crown prosthetics, teeth adjacent to edentulous areas, dental implants, root remnants, wisdom teeth, and root canal-treated teeth. These limitations can be overcome by ensuring both the quality and quantity of datasets, as well as optimizing the CNN architecture.
Conclusion
CNNs have demonstrated high performance in automated tooth numbering on panoramic radiographs.Future development of CNN-based models for this purpose should also consider different stages of dentition, such as the primary and mixed dentition stages, as well as the presence of various tooth conditions. Ultimately, an optimized CNN architecture can serve as the foundation for an automated tooth numbering system and for further artificial intelligence research on panoramic radiographs for a variety of purposes.
7.Association of New Generation Anti-CCP Antibodies with Disease Severity and Functional Status in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients
Maryam Syahidah Azalan ; Wan Majdiah Wan Mohamad ; Norkhafizah Saddki ; Wan Syamimee Wan Ghazali
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2023;19(No.1):96-101
Introduction: Detection of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
(RA) is associated with higher disease activity and lower functional ability. This study investigated the presence of
the new generation of anti-CCP antibodies (anti-CCP2 IgG, anti-CCP2 IgA and anti-CCP3.1 IgG/IgA) and their association with disease severity and functional status of RA patients. Methods: A total of 46 RA patients and 40 healthy
controls participated in this cross-sectional study that was conducted at the Rheumatology Clinic, Hospital Universiti
Sains Malaysia. Blood samples were taken from all participants for anti-CCP2 IgG, anti-CCP2 IgA, and anti-CCP3.1
IgG/IgA analysis. Disease severity and functional status of RA patients were measured using the Disease Activity
Score-28 (DAS28) and the modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (mHAQ) respectively. Results: Significantly higher proportion of RA patients were found with positive anti-CCP2 IgG (63.0%), anti-CCP2 IgA (37.0%), and
anti-CCP3.1 IgG/IgA antibodies (63.0%) than the healthy controls. No significant association was found between
anti-CCP antibodies status and mean DAS28 score of the RA patients. However, RA patients with negative anti-CCP2
IgG status had higher mean mHAQ score than patients with positive anti-CCP2 IgG status. Conclusion: Our study
has demonstrated detection of the new generation anti-CCP antibodies in RA patients, supporting the use of autoantibodies in RA diagnosis. While no significant association was found between the presence of anti-CCP antibodies
and disease severity of RA patients, the absence of anti-CCP2 IgG was associated with worse function and greater
disability of the patients.
8.Forecasting the effects of vaccination on the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia using SEIRV compartmental models
Mei Cheng LIM ; Sarbhan SINGH ; Chee Herng LAI ; Balvinder Singh GILL ; Mohd Kamarulariffin KAMARUDIN ; Ahmed Syahmi Syafiq MD ZAMRI ; Cia Vei TAN ; Asrul Anuar ZULKIFLI ; Mohamad Nadzmi Md NADZRI ; Nur'ain MOHD GHAZALI ; Sumarni MOHD GHAZALI ; Nuur Hafizah MD IDERUS ; Nur Ar Rabiah Binti AHMAD ; Jeyanthi SUPPIAH ; Kok Keng TEE ; Tahir ARIS ; Lonny Chen Rong Qi AHMAD
Epidemiology and Health 2023;45(1):e2023093-
OBJECTIVES:
This study aimed to develop susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered-vaccinated (SEIRV) models to examine the effects of vaccination on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case trends in Malaysia during Phase 3 of the National COVID-19 Immunization Program amidst the Delta outbreak.
METHODS:
SEIRV models were developed and validated using COVID-19 case and vaccination data from the Ministry of Health, Malaysia, from June 21, 2021 to July 21, 2021 to generate forecasts of COVID-19 cases from July 22, 2021 to December 31, 2021. Three scenarios were examined to measure the effects of vaccination on COVID-19 case trends. Scenarios 1 and 2 represented the trends taking into account the earliest and latest possible times of achieving full vaccination for 80% of the adult population by October 31, 2021 and December 31, 2021, respectively. Scenario 3 described a scenario without vaccination for comparison.
RESULTS:
In scenario 1, forecasted cases peaked on August 28, 2021, which was close to the peak of observed cases on August 26, 2021. The observed peak was 20.27% higher than in scenario 1 and 10.37% lower than in scenario 2. The cumulative observed cases from July 22, 2021 to December 31, 2021 were 13.29% higher than in scenario 1 and 55.19% lower than in scenario 2. The daily COVID-19 case trends closely mirrored the forecast of COVID-19 cases in scenario 1 (best-case scenario).
CONCLUSIONS
Our study demonstrated that COVID-19 vaccination reduced COVID-19 case trends during the Delta outbreak. The compartmental models developed assisted in the management and control of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.
9.Sjogren’s Syndrome with Interstitial Lung Disease
Mohamad Syamil Mazri ; Nurashikin Mohamed ; Ummi Nadira Daut ; Wan Syamimee Wan Ghazali
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2023;19(No.1):382-384
Sjogren’s syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disease affecting exocrine glands with known properties to cause chronic
systemic multi-organ disease involvement. It produced the typical features of sicca syndrome, but due to insidious
onset of the disease, patient may present with complications of the condition at the initial presentation. We present
a case of primary Sjogren’s syndrome (SS) who first presented with pulmonary manifestations and was subsequently
diagnosed as Lymphocytic Interstitial Pneumonia (LIP). The patient was extensively investigated and received appropriate treatment modalities.
10.Relationship between Parental Emotional Styles and Family Values to Anxiety Level among Primary School Children
Siti Fatimah Ab Ghaffar ; Ghazali Ahmad ; Mazne Ibrahim ; Nur Dalila Mat Yussof ; Nur Hafizah Muhammad ; Ramli Musa ; Irma Izani Mohamad Isa
Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences 2023;19(No.3):302-309
Introduction: Childhood anxiety is one of the common mental health problems in children. Untreated childhood
anxiety will lead to a higher risk of developing mental health problems in adulthood. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between parental emotional styles and family values to anxiety level among primary school
children. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a selected primary school in Kelantan, Malaysia. A set
of questionnaires consisted of the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale–Parents’ Report (RCADS-P 25), the
Parental Emotional Style Questionnaire (PESQ), and the Asian Family Characteristics Scale (AFCS) was used for assessing anxiety, parental emotional styles, and family values, respectively. Data were collected via an online survey
using Google Form, and were analysed using Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) to determine the factors associated
with childhood anxiety. The significance value was set at p < 0.05. Results: A total of 150 parents of primary school
children from the selected school was involved in this study. The majority of respondents were females (82.0%), married (94.7%), hold a degree (66.7%), and were working in the government sector (60.0%). Most of the respondents’
child were twelve years old (20.7%) and males (62%). Based on the MLR, emotional dismissing parental style (p =
0.025) and family values (p = 0.016) were significantly associated with anxiety in these children. Conclusion: Emotional dismissing parental style and family values were significant predictors of anxiety in primary school children.
Future intervention research on childhood anxiety is needed.


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