Adherence to secondary stroke prevention medications in Singapore: a single center study.

Objectives: Recurrent strokes are associated with greater disability and mortality than first-time strokes. However, adherence to secondary stroke prevention medications has been reported to be suboptimal. We assessed medication adherence to antihypertensives, antiplatelets, and statins after acute ischemic stroke and identified factors associated with non-adherence behavior to each drug class.

Approach to headache disorders and the management of migraine: consensus guidelines from the Headache Society of Singapore, first edition (2023).

Headache disorders, particularly migraine, are one of the most common and disabling neurological disorders. There is a need for high-quality, accessible care for patients with headache disorders across all levels of the healthcare system in Singapore. The role of the Headache Society of Singapore is to increase awareness and advance the understanding of these disorders and to advocate for the needs of affected patients.

A Systematic Review of Non-Seriously Ill Community-Dwelling Asians' Views on Advance Care Planning.

Objectives: To systematically synthesize the views of community-dwelling Asians on Advance care planning and to summarize the factors and reasons affecting their uptake of ACP.

Design: Mixed-methods systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42018091033).

Setting And Participants: Asian adults (≥18 years old) living in the community globally.

Remote online open book examinations: through the lenses of faculty and students in health professions programmes.

Background: Open book examinations have been used to assess students' higher order cognitive skills. These examinations can be conducted online remotely with the advancement of technology. However, there are concerns regarding its validity and reliability particularly if the examinations are not proctored.

Medication Adherence of Persons with Type 2 Diabetes in Malaysia: A Scoping Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: This is a scoping review of Malaysian scientific studies on medication adherence among persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methodology: We conducted a bibliographic search of PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar using the following keywords: "medication adherence," "drug compliance," "DMTAC" and "Malaysia." The search covered all publications up to 31 December 2021.

Mental health of students of biomedical sciences during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review.

Introduction: The coronavirus pandemic led to the closure of schools and colleges in March 2020. Medical and other schools shifted to online teaching-learning and assessment. Several factors have led to mental health problems among biomedical students.

Knowledge, attitude and practice of community-dwelling adults regarding advance care planning in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) among community-dwelling adults in Malaysia regarding advance care planning (ACP), and its associated factors.

Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted from July-September 2018.

Setting: This study was conducted at the University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Concordance of recommendations across clinical practice guidelines for the management of hypertension in Southeast Asia with internationally reputable sources.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the rate of concordance, and to investigate sources of non-concordance of recommendations in the management of hypertension across CPGs in Southeast Asia, with internationally reputable clinical practice guidelines (CPGs).

Methods: CPGs for the management of hypertension in Southeast Asia were retrieved from the websites of the Ministry of Health or cardiovascular specialty societies of the individual countries of Southeast Asia during November to December 2020. The recommendations for the management of hypertension specified in the 2017 American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) guideline and the 2018 European Society of Cardiology (ESC)/European Society of Hypertension (ESH) guideline were selected to be the reference standards; the recommendations concerning the management of hypertension in the included CPGs in Southeast Asia were assessed if they were concordant with the reference recommendations generated from both the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline and the 2018 ESC/ESH guideline, using the population (P)-intervention (I)-comparison (C) combinations approach.

Impact of beliefs about medication on the relationship between trust in physician with medication adherence after stroke.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between medication adherence, trust in physician and beliefs about medication among stroke survivors. To determine whether beliefs about medication would mediate the relationship between trust in physician and medication adherence.

Methods: A sample of 200 patients with a diagnosis of ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) completed a one-time survey, including the shortened Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS-5), Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ), and Trust in Physician Scale (TIPS).

Validation of the psychometric properties of the Malay advance care planning questionnaire.

Background: There is a growing interest among the developing countries on advance care planning (ACP) due to the reported benefits of planning ahead in the developed countries. Validated instruments in various languages have been developed to facilitate study on the views of public prior to its implementation. However, instrument to explore the views on ACP in Malay has not been developed and validated yet, even though Malay is spoken extensively by approximately 220 million people in the Malay Archipelago.

Quality of clinical practice guidelines for the management of hypertension in six Southeast Asian countries.

The endemic of hypertension along with high prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension in Southeast Asia indicates an important role for high-quality clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) to optimize the management of hypertension. However, there was no reported quality appraisal of the CPGs for the management of hypertension in Southeast Asia. This study aimed to evaluate methodological quality across the CPGs for the management of hypertension in Southeast Asia with a validated quality appraisal tool.

Diagnosis and Management of Headaches in the Emergency Department (ED) in Adults and Children.

Background: Headache accounts for a significant number of cases presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) and has a high societal cost, contributed by recurrent ED and clinic visits, and unnecessary diagnostic tests.

Objective: This review article covers the important clinical tools needed to evaluate headaches in both adults and children in the ED.

Methods: Medline/PubMed was searched using the keywords "Emergency department", "headache", "adult", "pediatric", "clinical assessment", "diagnosis" and "treatment", in the title or abstract.

Practical Considerations for Online Open Book Examinations in Remote Settings.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. The COVID-19 outbreak has led to lockdown of cities and restricted access to university campuses, and hence face-to-face delivery of education has been disrupted worldwide.

Modifiable Factors Associated with Non-Adherence to Secondary Ischaemic Stroke Prevention Strategies.

Background: Secondary stroke-prevention strategies proven to reduce stroke recurrence include pharmaceutical agents and lifestyle modifications.

Aims: We aimed to study factors associated with adherence to medications and lifestyle modifications amongst ischaemic stroke and transient ischaemic attack (TIA) patients.

Methods: In a prospective cohort study, we surveyed 200 outpatients attending stroke clinic at a Singaporean tertiary hospital.

Efficacy and safety of posaconazole for the prevention of invasive fungal infections in immunocompromised patients: a systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis.

Invasive fungal infections are a potentially life-threatening complication in immunocompromised patients. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of posaconazole as compared with other antifungal agents for preventing invasive fungal infections in immunocompromised patients. Embase, CENTRAL, and MEDLINE were searched for randomized conweekmonthtrolled trials (RCTs) up to June 2020.

Anticholinergic Burden, Sleep Quality and Health Outcomes in Malaysian Aged Care Home Residents.

The use of anticholinergic medications by residents in aged care homes is associated with increased risk of adverse effects. These include cognitive impairment, sleep disturbances, and falls, and necessitate increased healthcare visits and the associated burden on healthcare systems. The objective of this study was to investigate associations between anticholinergic burden and health outcomes such as independence in activities for daily living, frailty, quality of life, and sleep quality.

The relationship between sleep quality, inappropriate medication use and frailty among older adults in aged care homes in Malaysia.

Poor sleep quality is prevalent among older adults and is compounded by frailty and polypharmacy. This descriptive, cross-sectional study examines the associations between sleep quality, inappropriate medication use and frailty. The study was conducted among 151 residents of 11 aged care homes in three states in Malaysia; convenience sampling was used.

Patients' attitudes towards mobile health in Singapore: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Smartphone-mediated mobile health (mHealth) has the potential to assist patients with medication adherence and disease monitoring. This study aimed to describe the awareness and usage of, and attitudes towards, mHealth among smartphone-owning patients in a tertiary hospital in Singapore.

Methods: A self-administered cross-sectional survey was systematically offered to patients at the Singapore General Hospital from August to September 2018.

Influencing factors and processes of interprofessional professional education (IPE) implementation.

Background: Interprofessional education (IPE) is an instructional approach for equipping health professions students with essential competencies needed to provide collaborative patient-centred care. The implementation and sustainability of IPE are challenging for many institutions. This qualitative study identified barriers and facilitators in the processes of IPE implementation.

Public attitudes towards mobile health in Singapore: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Smartphone-mediated mobile health (mHealth) may assist patients with medication adherence, and disease monitoring. This study aimed to describe awareness and usage of, and attitudes towards, mHealth among the public in Singapore who own a smartphone. It also aimed to identify factors that influenced the above in the study population.

Association of metabolic syndrome and change in Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale scores.

Objective: To explore the association between metabolic syndrome and the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) scores and, secondarily, the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT).

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of data from 1,022 of 1,741 participants of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Exploratory Clinical Trials in Parkinson Disease Long-Term Study 1, a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of creatine. Participants were categorized as having or not having metabolic syndrome on the basis of modified criteria from the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III.

A qualitative study on pharmacists' perception on integrating pharmacists into private general practitioner's clinics in Malaysia.

Background: Private general practitioners in Malaysia largely operates as solo practices - prescribing and supplying medications to patients directly from their clinics, thus posing risk of medication-related problems to consumers. A pharmacy practice reform that integrates pharmacists into primary healthcare clinics can be a potential initiative to promote quality use of medication. This model of care is a novel approach in Malaysia and research in the local context is required, especially from the perspectives of pharmacists.

What role could community pharmacists in Malaysia play in diabetes self-management education and support? The views of individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Objectives: This study explored the experiences and views of individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) on their diabetes self-management and potential roles for community pharmacists in diabetes self-management education and support (DSME/S) in Malaysia.

Methods: A qualitative study, using semi-structured, face-to-face interviews, was conducted with patients with T2D attending a primary care health clinic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed inductively.

Autonomic and electrocardiographic findings in Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms and signs. Many reports suggest that diminished heart rate variability occurs early, even prior to the cardinal signs of PD. In a longitudinal study of PD, we evaluated whether heart rate variability (HRV) obtained using a 10-second ECG tracing, and the electrocardiographic QT-interval would be associated with PD severity and progression.