COVID-19 pandemic results in unprecendeted impacts globally. New discoveries and knowledge on this pandemic is evolving. A study was conducted to determine factors that are associated with knowledge, attitude and practice among medical students at one of the public universities in Malaysia towards COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted through online surveys by using a set of questionnare. The questionnaire was adapted and adopted from validated sources. It was found that, the scores for knowledge, practice and attitude were high among medical students. Male students had higher level of knowledge whereas females had significantly higher level of attitude and practice. Level of knowledge differed between years of study. Clinical year students had higher level of knowledge and practice compared to pre-clinical year students. Findings from this study might prove as the baseline for planning awareness campaigns for students for better containment of COVID-19 and its further spread

The study evaluates the prevalence, knowledge, attitude, and practices of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among adult Orang Asli and Malay ethnicity in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. This cross-sectional study involving 634 respondents aged 18 years and above of Orang Asli (51.3%) and Malays (48.7%) from the rural villages. Structured interview questionnaire for disease history and KAP level conducted. Weight, height, waist circumference, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels then measured. Prevalence of NCDs was higher among Malays compared to Orang Asli with hypertension (35.0% vs 14.8%), hypercholesterolemia (31.1% vs 5.2%), and diabetes mellitus (16.2% vs 4.3%), respectively. Malays also had a higher percentage of being abdominal obese (70.6% vs 59.7%) and increased blood pressure (54.4% vs 29.8%). Multivariate analysis indicates hypercholesterolemia [OR=6.035 (95%CI: 3.150,11.561)], abdominal obesity [aOR= 1.807 (95%CI: 1.065, 3.067)], and increased in blood pressure [aOR= 2.359 (95%C1: 1.619,3.437)] have a significant relation with Malay ethnicity. For Orang Asli, 51.7% had poor knowledge, 72.3% had a good attitude, and 16.0% had a good practice. Knowledge and attitude scores were significantly less among Orang Asli with no significant difference for practice compared to the Malays. The prevalence of NCDs among the Malays is alarmingly high, with an increasing trend among Orang Asli, which needs immediate attention. The NCDs and obesity were significant among Malays but also showed a worrying trend in the Orang Asli as the good practice on a healthy life-style was low in both ethnicities. Thus, proper education and promotion regarding NCDs needed for diseases screening and prevention.

Abstract Introduction: This study is part the Investigator Initiated Research (IIR) project under the mental health suicide and para suicide cluster. Self-harm is an important predictor of suicide and leaves a significant long-lasting psychological effect. Despite the increasing prevalence of rate of self-harm, very little research had been done in Asian countries. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of self-harm in selected hospitals, demographic profiles and factors associated with development of self-harm. Methods: This is a multi-centred cross sectional study. Six months of data collection was performed between the 1st November 2013 and 30th April 2014. All cases that were identified to have carried out Self-Harm were interviewed using The World Health Organization (WHO) SUPRE-MISS Questionnaire Annexe 1 which had been adapted to the Malaysian culture by the research committee members. Results: A total of 99 samples were obtained for this study. They mostly came from low socioeconomic background. Majority of the patients were females, and this was consistent with studies worldwide. Poisoning by pesticides was the most frequent method of choice and about 30% of the patients had previous attempts. Conclusion: Sociodemographic factors play a significant role in self-harm. It is important to know the sociodemographic profile to identify which group of people are at risk and intervention can be focused.