Key Stakeholders' Views on Salt Intake Reduction and Barriers and Facilitators to Reducing Salt Intake in Malaysian Schools: A Qualitative Study.

Excessive salt or sodium intake is strongly linked to increased blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to qualitatively explore the views of key stakeholders on salt intake reduction and barriers and facilitators to reducing salt intake in Malaysian schools. The stakeholders in this study were school administrators, food operators, and consumers.

Psychometric properties of instruments for measuring abuse of older people in community and institutional settings: A systematic review.

Background: The examination of psychometric properties in instruments measuring abuse of older people (AOP) is a crucial area of study that has, unfortunately, received relatively little attention. Poor psychometric properties in AOP measurement instruments can significantly contribute to inconsistencies in prevalence estimates, casting a shadow of uncertainty over the magnitude of the problem at national, regional, and global levels.

Objectives: This review rigorously employed the Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) guideline on the quality of outcome measures.

Expansion of Smoke-Free Laws in Public Places and Support for Smoke-Free in Malaysia: Findings from the 2020 ITC Malaysia Survey.

Smoke-free laws (SFL) are more effective with public support. This study investigated the smoking prevalence, public perceptions of smoking rules, and support for comprehensive SFL among 1047 people who smoke (PWS) and 206 people who do not smoke (PNS) aged ≥18 in the 2020 International Tobacco Control Malaysia Survey. Smoking prevalence was highest in nighttime entertainment venues (85.

Exploring the Interplay of Social Support, Depression, and Quality of Life of Community Older Adults Through Structural Equation Modeling.

Social support (SS) has been widely recognized to have a protective effect influencing older adults' emotional and psychological well-being. This study aimed to determine the relationships of structural SS and functional SS on depression and quality of life among the community-dwelling older adults in the rural and Asian context. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 2324 community older adults aged 60 years and above in Kuala Pilah, Malaysia.

Sarcopenia and All-Cause Mortality Risk in Community-Dwelling Rural Malaysian Older Adults.

Sarcopenia is associated with numerous adverse health outcomes, including frailty, disability, and mortality. Since the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia 2019 guidelines, which were published in 2020, are relatively new, studies on the association between sarcopenia as defined by these guidelines and mortality are limited in the Asian region. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the all-cause mortality risk associated with sarcopenia among community-dwelling older adults in rural Malaysia.

Attitudes and practices related to smoking among university students in Thailand.

To investigate attitudes and practices toward smoking among university students and to identify associated factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,299 students from five public universities in Thailand. Factor analysis and multiple regression were used for analysis.

The Prevalence and Association Between Social Support and Physical Activity Among the Rural Community-Dwelling Older Women in a Southeast Asian Country.

While physical activity ensures healthy aging, rural community-dwelling older women tend to be more physically inactive compared with their counterparts in Malaysia. As social support is one of the key determinants of physical activity, this retrospective, cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence of physical activity and its association with social support among 1,221 rural community-dwelling older women in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. The prevalence of physical activity among older women was 45.

Are smoking restrictions at public venues and psychosocial beliefs associated with intentions to quit smoking among smokers in Malaysia?

The Malaysian government reinforced smoking restrictions at public venues to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure. This study examined whether smokers' reports about smoking restrictions and psychosocial beliefs were associated with quit intentions among Malaysian smokers. Data from 1047 cigarette smokers (103 females and 944 males) aged 18 and older from the 2020 International Tobacco Control (ITC) Malaysia Wave 1 Survey were analyzed with bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models.

Elder abuse and hospitalization in rural Malaysia.

Our study aims to describe and determine factors associated with hospitalization among victims of elder abuse and neglect (EAN) in rural Malaysia. A cross sectional study based on the baseline data of the Malaysian Elder Mistreatment Project (MAESTRO) collected from November 2013 until July 2014 involving 1927 older adults in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan was conducted. EAN was determined using the modified Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) and hospitalization rates were determined based on self-report.

Reasons for using e-cigarettes and support for e-cigarette regulations: Findings from the 2020 ITC Malaysia Survey.

Introduction: Malaysia has the largest e-cigarette (EC) market in Southeast Asia, and it has been estimated that 17% of adult daily cigarette smokers also used ECs on a daily basis in 2020. However, few studies have examined the reasons people use ECs in Malaysia. This cross-sectional study of adult cigarette smokers from Malaysia assessed reasons for EC use and their support for key proposed EC regulations.

Methods of the 2020 (Wave 1) International Tobacco Control (ITC) Malaysia survey.

The ITC Malaysia Project is part of the 31-country ITC Project, of which the central objective is to evaluate the impact of tobacco control policies of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). This article describes the methods used in the 2020 International Tobacco Control (ITC) Malaysia (MYS1) Survey. Adult smokers and non-smokers aged ≥18 years in Malaysia were recruited by a commercial survey firm from its online panel.

A Qualitative Investigation on the Roles of Social Support on Physical Activity Behaviour among the Rural-Dwelling Older Women in Malaysia.

Despite many health benefits of physical activities, both physically and mentally, the majority of the older women in the rural areas of Malaysia are showing a low prevalence of physical activities. Understanding the roles of social support to improve physical activities is imperative to promote active and healthy ageing among the rural-dwelling older women in Malaysia. Hence, this qualitative study adopted an inductive design using 17 in-depth interviews to understand the role of social support on physical activity behaviour among the rural community-dwelling older woman in Kuala Pilah District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia from December 2019 to January 2020.

A systematic review of group therapy programs for smoking cessation in Asian countries.

Introduction: Tobacco causes more than 8 million deaths each year. Behavioral interventions such as group therapy, which provides counselling for smoking cessation, can be delivered in group form and smokers who receive cessation counselling are more likely to quit smoking compared to no assistance. We review the evidence of group-based counselling for smoking cessation for smokers in Asian countries.

Supporting family doctors to address elder abuse: a quasi-experimental study in Malaysia.

This quasi-experimental study examined the effect of Supporting Family Doctors to Address Elder Abuse (SAFE) educational intervention among family doctors practicing at public primary care clinics in Malaysia. SAFE is an intensive, multimodal, locally tailored, and culturally sensitive face-to-face educational intervention on elder abuse. A significant mean score improvement of knowledge [Baseline: 5.

Clinical recognition of elder maltreatment and intention to report among primary care doctors.

This study aimed to determine the primary care doctors' ability to recognize elder maltreatment and their intentions to report on such conditions. About 358 primary care doctors participated in this study. Outcomes were assessed using a validated five context-relevant clinical vignettes.

Social support and depression among community dwelling older adults in Asia: a systematic review.

Objectives: This review aims to: (1) explore the social support measures in studies examining the association between social support and depression among community-dwelling older adults in Asia and (2) the evidence of association.

Design: A systematic review was conducted using electronic databases of CINAHL, PubMed, PsychINFO, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, SocINDEX and Web of Science for articles published until the 11th of January 2018.

Eligibility Criteria: All observational studies investigating the association between social support and depression among community-dwelling older adults in Asia were included.

Prevalence, transitions and factors predicting transition between frailty states among rural community-dwelling older adults in Malaysia.

Objectives: This study aims to describe the prevalence and transitions of frailty among rural-community dwelling older adults in Malaysia and to analyse factors associated with different states of frailty transition. Frailty was conceptualized using modified Fried phenotype from the Cardiovascular Health Study.

Design: This is a prospective longitudinal study with 12-months follow up among older adults in Malaysia.

Does abuse in late life worsen sleep quality? A two-year prospective cohort study among rural older adults.

Background: Elder abuse and neglect (EAN) is a growing public health problem, and numerous adverse health effects of abuse in late life have been documented. Little is known, however, about the impact of elder abuse on sleep quality. This study examines the longitudinal relationship between EAN and sleep quality.

Elder Abuse and Chronic Pain: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Results from the Preventing Elder Abuse and Neglect Initiative.

Objectives: To examine the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between elder abuse and neglect (EAN) and chronic pain in rural older Malaysians.

Design: Two-year prospective cohort study.

Setting: Kuala Pilah, a district in Negeri Sembilan approximately 100 km from the capital city, Kuala Lumpur.

Correction to: The effectiveness of a life style modification and peer support home blood pressure monitoring in control of hypertension: protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.

After publication of the article [1], it has been brought to our attention that the methodology outlined in the original article was not able to be fully carried out. The article planned a two armed randomized control trial. However, due to a lower response than expected and one housing complex dropping out from the study, the method was changed to pre- and post-intervention with no control group.