Background: Diet is an important modifiable factor that may influence sleep quality, with several foods, nutrients, and dietary patterns reported to affect sleep-related outcomes. However, evidence regarding the relationship between Halal dietary practices and sleep quality remains limited. This study aimed to determine the association between the frequency of consumption of Halal-certified food groups and sleep quality among adult Filipino Muslims. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 323 adult Filipino Muslim members of the Greenhills Muslim Traders Association in San Juan City, Philippines. Participants were selected using purposive sampling based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), while dietary intake was measured using a structured questionnaire on the frequency of consumption of Halal-certified food groups. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize participant characteristics, dietary patterns, and sleep quality. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the association between Halal-certified food group consumption and sleep quality. Results: Halal-certified grain products were the most frequently consumed food group (mean = 2.39), while Halal-certified combination foods were the least frequently consumed (mean = 1.21). The mean global PSQI score was 4.62, indicating generally good sleep quality, and 67.8% of participants were classified as good sleepers (PSQI ≤5). Sleep efficiency had the highest mean component score (1.16), whereas subjective sleep quality had the lowest (0.00). Multivariable logistic regression showed no significant association between the frequency of consumption of most Halal-certified food groups and sleep quality (p > 0.05). However, more frequent consumption of Halal-certified combination foods was significantly associated with lower odds of good sleep quality (OR = 0.697, 95% CI: 0.529–0.919, p = 0.010). Conclusion The frequency of consumption of most Halal-certified food groups was not significantly associated with sleep quality among adult Filipino Muslims. However, increased consumption of Halal-certified combination foods was associated with lower odds of good sleep quality. Further studies should explore other dietary and behavioral factors that may influence sleep outcomes.
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Lately, increasing workplace violence is a problem that requires serious attention by the management of the healthcare sector. This study was carried out to examine workplace violence experienced by nurses in the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre. It aimed to identify the category of nursing staff who formed the highest number of victims, the perpetrators and the common types of workplace violence. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out over a three month period on 55 nurses who had participated voluntarily in this study. The demographic data and data on the violent incident were collected by using a 21-item questionnaire. The reliability and validity with Cronbach’s alpha was 0.872. Information on the most common types of violence, victims and the perpetrators was also collected. The study revealed that workplace violence among the nursing staff was 3.7% with an average of 1.2% being abused per month and one nurse being abused every other day. The study also revealed that the staff nurses were the most common victims and the perpetrators were mainly the patients (40.6%) and the patients’ relatives (37.5%). The most common forms of violence were verbal abuse (31.9%) and verbal threat (23.7%). Physical violence was experienced by 44.4% of the victims. These results suggest that workplace violence is a serious problem which should be addressed in order to create a safe environment for the nurses.

Sharps injury among health care workers in HUKM has received serious attention lately due to the possible transmission of diseases like HIV, Hepatits B and Hepatitis C, which can cause serious consequences for the victim. The aim of the study was to gain a deeper understanding of the emotional problems experienced by health care workers who had incurred a sharps injury and the coping strategies adopted by them to overcome the problem. A 28 item semi-structured questionnaire was designed by the supervisors and the researcher as there was no existing questionnaire to be adopted, as no research had been carried out in this area prior to this. The target group consisted of 64 health care workers of different categories working in HUKM. Data was collected over a period of five months from November 2000 to March 2001. The results of the study revealed that the most frequently injured were the staff nurses, nearly 90% of whom were emotionally upset and were worried that they might contract a disease. There was no significant difference in the emotional stress experienced by the different categories of the health care workers, all were equally upset about the injury but each category of staff adopted different methods to overcome the tragedy. Open comments and opinions about prevention and the management of the sharps injury in HUKM as given by the respondents here are taken into account. Several views given by the participants were explored and discussed. Finally, several implications for nursing and recommendations have been presented.