Extent and determinants of patients' unvoiced needs.

Patients with issues or health problems usually plan to discuss their concerns with their health care providers. If these concerns were not presented or voiced during the health care provider-patient encounter, the patients are considered to have unvoiced needs. This article examines the extent and possible determinants of patients' unvoiced needs in an outpatient setting.

Strongyloides stercoralis in common vegetables and herbs in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia.

Transmission of soil-transmitted helminthes infection is by faecal oral route, and is influenced by food preference. Kelantanese love to consume ulam which are raw vegetables and herbs. Some of the herbs grow on grounds with high humidity and are abundant near drainage areas, these are also places with higher likelihood of harbouring viable parasite ova.

Optimization of Toxoplasma gondii cultivation in VERO cell line.

In vitro culture of Toxoplasma gondii can provide tachyzoites which are active, viable and with desirable purity. Thus the aim of this study was to optimize the cell culture method for T. gondii propagation to obtain a consistent source of parasites with maximum yield and viability, but minimum host cell contamination for use in production of excretory-secretory antigen.

Use of traditional and complementary medicine in Malaysia: a baseline study.

Background: The increasing popularity and use of traditional and complementary medicine (TCAM) in both developed and developing countries, including Malaysia, have raised significant public health policy issues. However, currently, there is a paucity of baseline data on such usage by the Malaysian community.

Objective: This study was conducted to identify and describe the prevalence and frequency of various TCAM modalities that are being used by the Malaysian population by age, gender, marital and working status, educational level and ethnic group for health issues and maintenance.

Familial aggregation and determinants of post challenge blood glucose in four ethnic populations.

We determine the familial aggregation and determinants of post challenge blood glucose (BG) in four ethnic populations. A national health survey was conducted in Malaysia in 1996. 18,372 subjects aged 30 years or older had post challenge BG measurements and another 846 subjects were pre-diagnosed to have diabetes on drug treatment.