Selected Article of Journal (IPTK)

Introduction: Dengue fever is one of the world’s most severe mosquito-borne diseases, with high morbidity and mor tality rate. Poor dengue prevention practices are one of the factors contributing to dengue outbreak. National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) have collected lots of population data on the prevalence of various non-communicable and communicable diseases, including dengue. NHMS 2020 however, focus on communicable diseases i.e., Dengue, Malaria, HIV & Covid-19. Notwithstanding, data on Cognitive, Affective and Behaviour (CAB) domains are scarce. Thus, this study was aimed to develop and validate CAB questionnaire on dengue in Malaysia. Material and Methods: The questionnaire was developed by adapting and improvising similar previous questionnaires used during NHMS 2015, selected published questionnaires, expert panel and literature review. A sample of 200 respondents was used to evaluate the internal consistency of the final instrument. Results: 5 experts reviewed the content validity of the CAB questionnaire while 20 respondents tested its face validity. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients scores were within the acceptable range from 0.661 to 0.677. Various adjustments were made by deleting items with low Cronbach alpha values in attempt to attain the highest possible alpha values, but further deduction could not be made due to the retention of several important domain-measurement items. Conclusions: The validity and reliability of the CAB-IHBR-Dengue-A-01 questionnaire were of ‘acceptable’ ranges and can be used to assess CAB. The questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for assessing the CAB’s ability to influence dengue prevention among Malaysians.

Background: COVID-19 has greatly affected the population, especially those in the low socio-economic group, including residents of the People’s Housing Project (PPR) in Malaysia. Adolescents residing in PPR communities are among the most vulnerable groups of young people in urban areas, given their pre-existing conditions of vulnerability, face even greater chal lenges due to the pandemic. Understanding their mental health and coping strategies is vital to grasp how the pandemic impacts their well-being. Hence, this study aims to explore the coping strategies and barriers to help-seeking behaviour among adolescents living in the Malaysia’s PPR communities, focusing on the unique mental health challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the socio-economic vulnerabilities and the heightened mental health challenges during the pandemic, this study provides critical insights into how adolescents in PPR communities navigate psychological distress and mental health support. Methods: This qualitative study used a phenomenological research design and was conducted from January to December 2022, involving 47 adolescents aged 10 to 17 years old from 37 PPRs in the Klang Valley. Participants were recruited using the purposive sampling method as this study purposely selected adolescents with moderate, moderately severe, and severe for PHQ-9 and/or moderate and severe for GAD-7 based on the screening. Participants who agreed to participate were recruited (with consent from parents/ guardians) and interviews were set at the participants’ convenience. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview guide to conduct the in-depth interviews (IDI). After each IDI session, the recorded interviews were transcribed. Data from the voice recorder were stored on a password-protected computer, and participants’ names were replaced with specific codes to ensure confidentiality. The researchers coded all transcripts independently. The transcripts were analysed inductively using a thematic approach to identify recurring themes. Results: From the 37 PPRs, 194 adolescents were identified as having psychological distress based on the screening. Among them, 47 agreed to participate in the IDIs, which revealed that these adolescents utilized mainly maladaptive coping strategies, such as avoidance (cognitive distancing, externalization, and internalization), self-harm, vaping, and smoking to deal with stressors related to COVID-19. As for hindrances to help-seeking, three themes were identified such as lack of trust, perceived ineffectiveness of support, and personality. Conclusion: Psychological distress among adolescents was prevalent during the pandemic, and they faced hindrances in seeking help. Coping strategies have been identified to help adolescents manage their psychological distress during the pandemic. It is concerning that some had resorted to maladaptive coping mechanisms. These findings emphasized the need for targeted mental health interventions and support systems tailored to vulnerable communities. These interventions could inform policies aimed at strengthening mental health services, fostering better coping strategies and promoting help-seeking behaviours among adolescents in socio-economically challenged communities.

Dengue fever is a vector-borne endemic disease that affects over 30 million Malaysians. Preventing the elimination of Aedes breeding sites is a necessary precautionary measure to strengthen the knowledge, attitudes and practices of the community. The aim of this study is to identify barriers to the knowledge, attitudes and practices of dengue prevention in the community through the study of selected articles published between 2010 and 2018. The present paper carried out a scoping review of available literature using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The title and abstract of each study were screened and relevant studies were further assessed for eligibility. A total of 1352 related articles were selected for this scoping review. Of these, 349 articles were found to be in line with the study objectives and 25 articles related to dengue prevention knowledge, attitudes and practices were discussed in this study. Conclusions and Recommendations: This review suggests that factors interfering with dengue prevention behaviours are divided into two factors, namely, the internal factors that encompass attitudes and perceptions of dengue prevention behaviours, and the environmental factors such as weather, drainage systems, buildings designed with unreachable rain gutters and also poor drainage and piping system have found to be the Aedes habitats. Therefore, interventions are normally performed to prevent an incident to re-instil positive attitudes and perceptions among the community members should be strengthened through appropriate and ongoing community programs such as COMBI and Search & Destroy campaign organized by Ministry of Health Malaysia.

Introduction: The Internet is rapidly growing and becoming an easier to access to technology. It functions as important part of almost everyone’s daily life including elderly. Objective: The study was aimed to investigate the patterns of internet usage among elderly. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 23 Elderly Activity Centre throughout Malaysia from August 2017 to October 2017. This centre is a place for senior citizens to conduct routinely/daily activities in the community. It is an oriented service especially for senior citizens. Results: A total of 1400 individuals were sampled in this study, unfortunately the elderly turned up only 799 (57.1%) which aged 60 and above. A self-administered with minimal guidance and face to face interview by trained research assistants were used in this study. The study showed of the total 799 respondents, only 258 (33.0%) who use the internet. Those using the Internet are 89 (30.2%) male and 169 (69.8%) female, respectively. Most of them are government retirees (47.7%). The study found that the reasons of the elderly seeking health information through the internet because it was free (66.3%) as well as easy and fast (56.2%). The study also found that the type of health information sought is information on certain diseases such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension and others (20.9%). With regards to the places of internet access, about 86.8% of the respondents having the internet access at home, followed by internet service provider 42.6% and by Elderly Activity Centre, itself 14.7%. Only 3.5% and 5.8% of respondents access internet at Cyber Cafe and friend’s house respectively. The highest showed that respondents access internet several times in a month 25.5% followed by everyday 22.5% and twice or thrice in a week 17.4%. Overall, 53.5% of elderly claimed internet can be a very helpful resource for finding health information. Discussion: Elderly in Malaysia are becoming more tech-savvy. This change is advantage as it can be used to address and manage health issues and geriatrics care for elderly through strategic dissemination of health information as well as to motivate positive health behaviour through use of technology.