INTENTION OF SMARTPHONE APPLICATION USAGE IN DIABETES SELF-MANAGEMENT AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG PATIENTS WITH DIABETES: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY Introduction: Many Malaysians with diabetes lack sufficient knowledge about diabetes self-management. With the widespread adoption of smartphones, mobile health (mHealth) solutions could help empower patients with diabetes to self-manage their condition effectively. This study aimed to determine the intention of patients with diabetes to use diabetes self-management applications (DSMAs) and its associated factors in a primary care setting. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a government health clinic in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur from 1 July to 30 September 2019. We recruited 723 patients with diabetes using systematic random sampling. A validated self-administered questionnaire was used to evaluate patients’ intention to use DSMAs and its associated factors were determined via multiple logistic regression. Results: Among 719/723 patients with diabetes included in the analysis, 49.9% intended to use DSMAs. Those who had a household income of >RM 6000 (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=10.652, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.709–66.398, P<0.011), agreed (AOR=8.959, 95% CI=3.327–24.128, P<0.001) or neutrally agreed (AOR=3.403, 95% CI=1.188–9.749, P=0.023) with the perceived usefulness of DSMAs, did not have resistance to change (AOR=2.458, 95% CI=1.293–4.672, P=0.006) and had a facilitating condition (AOR=9.454, 95% CI=2.718–32.881, P<0.001) had higher odds of intending to use DSMAs than their counterparts. Conclusion: Nearly half of patients with diabetes intend to use DSMAs, indicating the potential of DSMAs as alternative tools for assisting in diabetes self-management. Education focusing on the usefulness of DSMAs and exploring facilitating conditions with patients can help increase the intention of patients to use DSMAs.

9th Asia Pacific Primary Care Research Conference (APPCRC) 2-4 June 2023 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Conference Abstracts: 25th Family Medicine Scientific Conference (FMSC) 23-26 August 2023 Negeri Sembilan

Introduction: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of suspected depression and its associated factors among patients with hypertension in a Malaysian primary care clinic. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a primary care clinic from 1 June to 31 August 2019 using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a primary care clinic from 1 June to 31 August 2019 using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Results: The prevalence of suspected depression was 9.0%. The significant predictors of depression were Indian ethnicity (adjusted odd ratio [AOR]: 2.373; confidence interval [CI]: 1.147–4.907), divorce (AOR: 3.5; CI: 1.243–9.860), singleness (AOR: 2.241; CI: 1.182–4.251), heavy episodic drinking (AOR: 7.343; CI: 2.494–21.624), low physical activity level (AOR: 1.921; CI: 1.093–2.274), low fibre intake (AOR: 1.836; CI: 1.061–3.178), uncontrolled blood pressure (AOR: 1.800; CI: 1.134–2.858) and presence of hypertension complications (AOR: 3.263; CI: 2.053–5.185). Conclusion Primary health care providers must screen for depression among patients with hypertension, particularly those within high-risk groups, and implement interventions that address modifiable risk factors.
Hypertension ; Primary Health Care ; Depression

Introduction: Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN), the most common complication of Diabetes Mellitus (DM), is often under-diagnosed and inadequately treated. This study identified the proportion of undiagnosed DPN and its associated risk factors among patients with established type 2 DM (T2DM) in community health clinics in the Gombak district. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2 community health clinics within the Gombak district between September and December 2017. Adults with T2DM were selected via systematic random sampling and screened using the Neuropathy Symptoms Score (NSS). Clinical records of participants’ foot examinations were reviewed to identify positive findings of DPN and compared with the NSS. Results: The study’s sample comprised 425 patients. Most had co-morbidities, including hypertension, dyslipidaemia and pre-existing DM-related complications. About two-thirds of them performed no daily foot inspection and had no proper footwear. The proportion of patients with positive NSS was 49.4%. However, only 0.2% were diagnosed with positive DPN in their clinical foot examination record. Conclusion Although a positive NSS was identified in 1 out of 2 patients with established DM, only 0.2% of patients had DPN on their examination records. Most patients had never done daily foot inspections and lacked proper footwear. A positive NSS was associated with uncontrolled diabetes and lower BMI. Proper screening and examination for patients, especially those with uncontrolled diabetes and low BMI, is crucial in identifying DPN to ensure that these diabetic patients receive better preventative care, especially proper foot care and strict diabetic control, to prevent DPN-related complications.
Diabetes ; Diabetic Neuropathies ; Malaysia

There were several mathematical symbol errors in the review article entitled ‘A practical approach to chronic kidney disease in primary care’ which was published online on 2 Mar 2022.1 The ≥ and ≤ symbols were not detected by the system and wrongly converted to > and < during the formatting process. The article was corrected and reuploaded on the journal’s website. We urge readers to download and refer to the correct version uploaded on our website.

Conference Abstracts: 24rd Family Medicine Scientific Conference 21-24 September 2022 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah