Environmental Factors Contributing to Stunting among Under Six Years Old Children: A Scoping Review IntroductionStunting among young children is a serious public health issue worldwide. Stunting is also one of the major risk factors for poor physical and mental development of these children. It is known that children’s health and wellbeing are a result of exposure to unhealthy environment and a lack of stimulating activities especially in the low- and middle-income countries ultimately leading to the increase in the number of stunted children. This scoping review aims to identify environmental factors that contribute to stunting less than six years old children.MethodsIn this review, PRISMA-ScR checklist to search Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science databases. We included all original articles published between 2018 and 2022 and written in the English Language using combination of primary keyword (child*) and its MeSH and synonyms for population, and two secondary keywords (environ*) for exposure and (stunt*) for outcome as searching strategy. By using PRISMA extension for scoping reviews, 65 articles were reviewed and finally 25 eligible studies were included.ResultsThe included studies showed that lack of cleanwater access, poor sanitation, and poor hygiene practice were associated with higher risk of stunting among these children. Improper solid waste management, area of residence and type of housing, poor quality of cooking fuels and poor air quality, presence of intestinal parasitic infection and increased blood lead levels, were also noted as potential environmental factors that affect stunting.ConclusionsInvestment in infrastructure to provide safe and clean water and adequate sanitation facilities in communities with expanded health promotion activities focusing on hygiene practices and waste management may thus stunting and improve children’s health outcome.

Kimia Obesogen dan Obesiti Kanak-kanak sebagai Ancaman Kesihatan Awam: Satu Ulasan Naratif PengenalanObesiti dalam kalangan kanak-kanak ialah isu kesihatan global yang semakin meningkat dengan prevalens yang tinggi, termasuk di Malaysia. Faktor persekitaran seperti pendedahan kepada bahan kimia obesogen dipercayai menyumbang kepada peningkatan risiko obesiti. Ulasan naratif ini bertujuan untuk menyiasat hubungan antara bahan kimia obesogenik dan obesiti kanak-kanak secara mendalam bagi menyokong pembangunan strategi pencegahan yang lebih berkesan.MetodologiUlasan naratif ini dijalankan menggunakan pangkalan data PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, dan Scopus untuk menyiasat hubungan antara bahan kimia obesogenik dan obesiti kanak-kanak. Kata kunci yang relevan digunakan untuk mengenal pasti artikel yang memenuhi skop kajian. Artikel tambahan diperoleh melalui rujukan silang daripada artikel yang dipilih dalam carian awal.Hasil KajianObesogen ialah bahan kimia eksogen yang mengganggu fungsi metabolik, mempromosikan pengumpulan lemak, dan meningkatkan risiko obesiti dalam kalangan kanak-kanak, terutamanya melalui mekanisme seperti gangguan adipogenesis, penurunan kadar metabolik basal, dan perubahan kawalan selera makan. Kajian menunjukkan hubungan yang signifikan antara pendedahan pranatal kepada bahan kimia seperti phthalate dan PFAS dengan peningkatan indeks jisim badan (BMI) dan risiko obesiti kanak-kanak. Kajian eksperimen turut mengesahkan bahawa obesogen seperti BPA dan phthalate mempromosikan adipogenesis dan gangguan metabolik dalam model haiwan dan sel manusia, memberikan bukti kukuh tentang peranan obesogen terhadap obesiti kanak-kanak.KesimpulanPendedahan kepada obesogen kimia memberi kesan negatif terhadap obesiti kanak-kanak. Oleh itu, tindakan segera melalui kawalan bahan kimia dan pendidikan awam amat diperlukan. Penyelidikan lanjutan dan perubahan polisi global juga perlu dilaksanakan bagi memastikan masa depan yang lebih sihat untuk generasi akan datang.

Impact of Compensation on Job Satisfaction Among Healthcare Workers: A Systematic Review Introduction Job satisfaction among healthcare workers is crucial for workforce retention, organizational stability, and healthcare delivery. Compensation, including salary, incentives, and fringe benefits, is a key driver of job satisfaction. This systematic review examines the impact of compensation on the job satisfaction of healthcare workers, providing actionable insights for improving healthcare organizations. Methods This systematic review followed PRISMA guidelines. A comprehensive search of PubMed, ProQuest, and Web of Science was conducted to identify studies published between 2015 and January 2024. Inclusion criteria focused on research examining the relationship between compensation and job satisfaction among healthcare workers. 12 studies met the inclusion criteria. Data were extracted, synthesized, and analyzed to identify themes related to compensation and job satisfaction. Results The review identified compensation as a key predictor of job satisfaction among healthcare workers. Despite its significance, widespread dissatisfaction and low satisfaction with compensation were reported across studies. Salary emerged as a critical factor, influencing satisfaction through its role in recognition of value and perceived equity. Incentives, particularly performance-based financing, demonstrated the potential to improve satisfaction by linking monetary rewards to performance metrics, although their effectiveness depended on robust organizational support. Fringe benefits, particularly opportunities for professional development, were found to enhance job satisfaction. Geographic and occupational differences were observed, with higher dissatisfaction in resource-limited settings and variations by location, nationality, and role. These findings highlight the multifaceted impact of compensation on satisfaction. Conclusions Equitable compensation strategies must address salary, incentives, and fringe benefits. Regular evaluations, stakeholder engagement, and benchmarking against sector standards are essential steps to enhance job satisfaction, retention, and care quality across diverse healthcare settings.

Introduction: The term "urban heat island" refers to a phenomenon that occurs when temperatures in urban areas are higher than those in the areas that surround them (suburban area). Methods: The urban heat island phenomenon can result in increase of energy consumption, increase of air pollution, decrease of water quality, and increase of greenhouse gas emissions, all of which have the potential to negatively impact people in a variety of ways. Results: In this review we identified certain groups such as elderly, children, woman, pregnant woman, single person, and minority communities, who are living in dense area or in high rise building, low education level, low income, work in outdoor environment and had pre-existing illnesses may face health issues or insufficient resources to cope with the heat in urban area. There were more susceptible to heat-related illnesses and mortality, particularly during extreme heat events. Conclusions Recognising these vulnerable populations is crucial to develop effective strategies to mitigate the effects of urban heat islands and protect them. This can aid policy makers and urban planners to implement targeted interventions to address these issues. Keywords Urban heat island – UHI – Vulnerable population – Heat exposure

The most effective and affordable public health strategy to prevent hypertension, stroke and renal disease is by reducing daily salt consumption. Therefore, this study aims to determine the association of knowledge, attitude and practice on salt diet intake and to identify foods contributing to high sodium intake. Secondary data analysis was performed on MySalt 2016 data. It was conducted from November 2015 until January 2016 which involving Ministry of Health Staff worked at 16 study sites in Malaysia. Salt intake was measured using 24 hours urinary sodium excretion. Food frequency questionnaire was used to determine the sodium sources. Knowledge, attitude and practice of salt intake were assessed using a validated questionnaire adapted from WHO. Demographic data and anthropometric measures also were collected. Sodium levels of more than 2400mg/day was categorised as high sodium intake. Data were analysed using SPSS software version 21. The mean sodium intake estimated by 24 hours urinary sodium excretion was 2853.23 + 1275.8 mg/day. Food groups namely rice/noodles (33.8%), sauces/seasoning (20.6%), meat and poultry (12.6%) and fish/seafoods (9.3%) were the major contributors of dietary sodium. In multiple logistic regression analysis, being a male (aOR=2.83, 95% CI 2.02 – 3.96) and obese (aOR=6.78, 95% CI 1.98 – 23.18) were significantly associated with high urinary sodium excretions. In addition, those who were unsure that high salt intake can cause hypertension (aOR=1.24, 95% CI 0.65 – 2.36), those who think that they consumed too much salt (aOR=2.10, 95% CI 1.13 – 3.87) and those who only use salt rather than other spices for cooking (aOR=2.07, 95% CI 1.29 – 3.30) were significantly associated with high urinary sodium excretion. This study showed that the main sources of sodium among Malay healthcare staff is cooked food. Poor knowledge and practice towards reducing salt consumption among them contributes to the high sodium consumption. The practice of healthy eating among them together with continuous awareness campaign is essential in order to educate them to minimize sodium consumption and to practice healthy eating.​

Objective: To determine the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of sleep among medical students of IIUM towards and to determine the impact of socio-demographic data on the knowledge, attitude and practice. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 106 students from first, second and third year medical students of IIUM. Verbal consent was taken from the students who were willing to take part in this study. Student knowledge about sleep was studied using a questionnaire. Results: A total of 106 medical students completed the survey, there were 54 female and 52 male. The mean age of the students was 20 ± 0.56 and ranged from 18 to 22 years. In terms of their sleep knowledge, the mean ± SD knowledge, attitude and practice scores were 81.8 ± 16.8, 65.9 ±15.3 and 176 ± 26.3 respectively. In univariate analysis, there was a significant difference between parents’ marital status regarding knowledge of the students (p = 0.03). There was a significant difference between gender regarding attitude of the students (p=0.05). In multivariate analysis, gender and smoking status were significantly affected the overall KAP. Conclusion: This study showed that sleep medicine knowledge was generally low among medical students. Therefore, educational strategies to improve knowledge regarding sleep-related problems and the development of proper sleep practices among medical students are needed.

Objective: This paper aimed to determine the prevalence of sleeping pills use among university students and its associated factors in Malaysia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in January 2010 among 200 Malaysia. The survey was conducted by distributing self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaire was developed based on the literature review. The students were chosen randomly using convenience sampling. Results: A total of 200 university students participated in this study. The prevalence of using sleeping pills among university students is 7.5%. The majority of the participants were Malay 146 (73.0%), from urban area 169 (84.5%), from medical and health sciences background 101 (50.5%). This study showed that there is a significant relationship between using sleeping pills and depression (p= 0.03). There is also a significant relationship between using sleeping pills and inducing sleep by reading (p=0.04). Conclusion: The prevalence of sleeping pills usage among university students is relatively high. This study showed that there is a significant relationship between using sleeping pills and depression

Objective: This study was aimed to explore the perceptions and opinions of happiness among university students. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in January for the academic year 2010 among 33 Medical Science Students from Management and Science University (MSU), Shah Alam, Malaysia. The facilitator wrote down the conversation during the discussion. The data obtained was classified into various categories. Due to the small sample size, the data was analyzed manually. Results: All participants mentioned that the main source of happiness is money. Good relationship with friends and family is the second source of happiness among university students. Some of the students mentioned that the stability of life and good health are causes of happiness. Few participants mentioned that success in life is one of the causes of the happiness.