Influence of gender and oral health knowledge on DMFT index: a cross sectional study among school children in Kaski District, Nepal.

Background: Oral health problems are highly prevalent among school children in Nepal. Poor oral health condition may be influenced by various factors. However, little is known about the sociodemographic and awareness related factors on oral health problems among school children in Nepal.

Lower back pain and its association with whole-body vibration and manual materials handling among commercial drivers in Sabah.

A cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of lower back pain (LBP) and its association with whole-body vibration (WBV) and manual materials handling (MMH). We studied 110 commercial vehicle drivers using a self-administered questionnaire and the VI-400Pro human vibration monitor. Prevalence of LBP was 66.

The Malay Version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)-10 is a Reliable and Valid Measure for Stress among Nurses in Malaysia.

Background: The Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10) is widely used to assess stress perception. The aim of this study was to translate the original PSS-10 into Malay and assess the reliability and validity of the Malay version among nurses.

Methods: The Malay version of the PSS-10 was distributed among 229 nurses from four government hospitals in Selangor State.

Profiling medical school learning environments in Malaysia: a validation study of the Johns Hopkins Learning Environment Scale.

Purpose: While a strong learning environment is critical to medical student education, the assessment of medical school learning environments has confounded researchers. Our goal was to assess the validity and utility of the Johns Hopkins Learning Environment Scale (JHLES) for preclinical students at three Malaysian medical schools with distinct educational and institutional models. Two schools were new international partnerships, and the third was school leaver program established without international partnership.

Pesticides Exposure and Cardiovascular Hemodynamic Parameters Among Male Workers Involved in Mosquito Control in East Coast of Malaysia.

Background: Research findings have linked exposure to pesticides to an increased risk of cardiovascular (CVS) diseases. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the impact of chronic mix-pesticides exposure on CVS hemodynamic parameters.

Methods: A total of 198 male Malay pesticide-exposed and 195 male Malay nonexposed workers were examined.

Learning environment assessments of a single curriculum being taught at two medical schools 10,000 miles apart.

Background: Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine (PUGSOM), the first graduate-entry medical school in Malaysia, was established in 2011 in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM), an American medical school. This study compared learning environments (LE) at these two schools, which shared the same overarching curriculum, along with a comparator Malaysian medical school, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences (CUCMS). As a secondary aim, we compared 2 LE assessment tools - the widely-used Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) and the newer Johns Hopkins Learning Environment Scale (JHLES).

Emotional burnout, perceived sources of job stress, professional fulfillment, and engagement among medical residents in Malaysia.

This study was the first to explore factors associated with emotional burnout (EB) among medical residents in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a universal sample of 205 medical residents in a Malaysian general hospital. The self-administered questionnaire used consisted of questions on sociodemographics and work characteristics, sources of job stress, professional fulfillment, engagement, and EB.

Factor Structure and Reliability of the Malay Version of the Perceived Stress Scale among Malaysian Medical Students.

Background: The Perceived Stress Scale 10 (PSS-10) is a validated and reliable instrument to measure global levels of perceived stress. This study aims to assess the internal consistency, reliability, and factor structure of the Malay version of the PSS-10 for use among medical students.

Methods: The original English version of the PSS-10 was translated and back-translated into Malay language.

Understanding barriers to Malaysian women with breast cancer seeking help.

Delay in help-seeking behaviour which is potentially preventable has a major effect on the prognosis and survival of patients with breast cancer. The objective of this study was to explore reasons for delay in seeking help among patients with breast cancer from the East Coast of peninsular Malaysia. A qualitative study using face- to-face in-depth interview was carried out involving 12 breast cancer patients who had been histo-pathologically confirmed and were symptomatic on presentation.

Stress and coping strategies of students in a medical faculty in malaysia.

Background: Stress may affect students' health and their academic performance. Coping strategies are specific efforts that individuals employ to manage stress. This study aimed to assess the perception of stress among medical students and their coping strategies.

Diagnosis delay of breast cancer and its associated factors in Malaysian women.

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality among women in Malaysia. Delayed diagnosis is preventable and has major effects on patients' prognosis and survival. The objectives of our study were to identify the magnitude of delayed diagnosis and its associated factors in women with breast cancer in Malaysia.

Prevalence and risk factors of latent tuberculosis infection among health care workers in Malaysia.

Background: Health care workers are exposed to patients with tuberculosis and are at risk of nosocomial infection. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with latent tuberculosis infection among health care workers in Malaysia and also to evaluate the agreement between Quantiferon TB Gold in tube test with Tuberculin Skin Test.

Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted at four randomly selected hospitals in the Klang Valley from December 2008 to May 2009.

Prevalence and associated factors of burnout among doctors in Yemen.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the level and factors contributing to burnout among doctors in Sana'a City, Yemen and to determine the relationship between burnout and psychological morbidity.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 563 working doctors in the four main hospitals in Sana'a City, Yemen. The 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) was used as a measure of psychological morbidity and the 22-item Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used to measure emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment.

Lead levels in new enamel household paints from Asia, Africa and South America.

In 2006 a report on the analysis for lead in 80 new residential paints from four countries in Asia revealed high levels in three of the countries (China, India and Malaysia) and low levels in a fourth country (Singapore) where a lead in paint regulation was enforced. The authors warned of the possible export of lead-painted consumer products to the United States and other countries and the dangers the lead paint represented to children in the countries where it was available for purchase. The need for a worldwide ban on the use of lead in paints was emphasized to prevent an increase in exposure and disease from this very preventable environmental source.

Developing regulations for occupational exposures to health hazards in Malaysia.

In Malaysia exposures in the workplace are regulated under the Factories and Machinery Act (FMA), 1967 and also under the more comprehensive Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) enacted in 1994. With OSHA 1994 the philosophy of legislating safety and health in the workplace changed from one that was very prescriptive and containing detailed technical provisions under FMA, 1967 to one that is more flexible and encourages self-regulation under OSHA 1994. OSHA 1994 is supported by regulations, codes of practices and guidelines to further clarify the provisions in the Act.

Ergonomic risk factors of work processes in the semiconductor industry in Peninsular Malaysia.

A cross-sectional survey of semiconductor factories was conducted to identify the ergonomic risk factors in the work processes, the prevalence of body pain among workers, and the relationship between body pain and work processes. A total of 906 women semiconductor workers took part in the study. In wafer preparation and polishing, a combination of lifting weights and prolonged standing might have led to high pain prevalences in the low back (35.

Work-related musculoskeletal problems among women workers in the semiconductor industry in Peninsular Malaysia.

A cross-sectional study to identify the prevalence of musculoskeletal problems and work-related risk factors was conducted among 906 women semiconductor workers. Highest prevalences were pain in the lower limbs, neck/shoulders, and upper back, and highest exposures were prolonged (> or = four hours per workshift) hand/wrist movement, standing, and lifting with hands. After logistic regression, lower-limb pain was significantly associated with standing, neck/shoulder pain with sitting and lifting, upper-back pain with climbing steps, low back pain with hand/wrist movement, and hand/wrist pain with lifting.

Occupational health in Malaysia.

This article provides a detailed examination of Malaysian occupational health agencies and their roles in formulating and enforcing standards, promoting occupational health and safety (OSH), and providing advisory services. Available OSH training is described, and the need for policies and personnel in various industries is outlined. Further, the authors discuss how international models and collaboration have influenced Malaysian OSH, and how some successes can be repeated and failures remedied.