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

Purpose: The goal of this study was to see how flipped learning affected nursing students in South Korea who were enrolled in a quit smoking intervention education program. The flipped learning-based quit smoking intervention education program was developed to help nursing students implement the intervention. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted using a pretest-posttest design. A total of 52 nursing students, divided into experimental and control groups of 26 each, participated between November and December 2021. The experimental group was instructed in the flipped learning-based quit smoking intervention education program over six sessions. In accordance with flipped learning, each session was composed of pre-class, in-class, and post-class sections. Results: Compared to the control group, the experimental group showed improved beliefs about the health benefits of quitting smoking, as well as positive attitudes and self-efficacy from the quit smoking intervention. The experimental group experienced the greatest increase in student-centered activities and student participation through flipped learning. Conclusion These results indicate that the flipped learning method was effective in quit smoking intervention education for nursing students. Therefore, it is worthwhile to consider that a quit smoking intervention education program based on flipped learning be included in the regular nursing curriculum.

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

Introduction: Metered-dose inhalers (MDI) are the most used inhalers worldwide. However, improper MDI techniques remain a significant problem and cause uncontrolled asthma. Studies worldwide have reported that the causes of inefficient inhaler technique are multifactorial. However, this topic has been less well studied in the Asian population. This study aimed to evaluate the MDI technique and associated factors among adults with asthma in a primary care setting in Malaysia. Method: This was a cross-sectional study with universal sampling conducted between July and October 2017. A total of 146 patients with asthma aged 18 years and older in a primary care clinic in Putrajaya, Malaysia were recruited. Logistic regressions were used for statistical analysis to examine the association between improper MDI techniques and their related factors. Results: The majority (83%) of respondents were female with a median age of 37 (IQR = 30.75–49.25) years, and the median duration of asthma of 20 (IQR = 10–30) years. An improper MDI technique was observed in 100 (71.9%) patients. The most frequently missed step was exhaling gently and fully before inhalation (51.4%). Respondents who were not on an MDI preventer (adjusted OR: 2.487, 95% CI: 1.121–5.519, p = 0 .025) or had used an MDI 5 years or fewer (adjusted OR: 3.369, 95% CI: 1.425–7.964, p = 0.006) were more likely to employ an improper MDI technique. Conclusion: There was a high proportion of improper MDI techniques among patients with asthma. Patients not using an MDI preventer or who had used an MDI less than 5 years were at higher risk of improper MDI technique.