Trends in Cardiovascular Diseases and Costs Among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) Patients in Malaysia: A Cohort Study of 240,611 Public Hospital Inpatients.

Background: Identifying trends of hospital admissions and costs for cardiovascular disease events (CVDEs) is crucial for public health intervention and the economic burden for future clinical improvements and better outcomes. This study aims to define the admission trends and cost of CVDE among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in Malaysia between 2014 and 2020.  Methodology: An ecological study was conducted using hospital admission data taken from the Casemix database in public hospitals in Malaysia.

Cost of cardiovascular disease events in patients with and without type 2 diabetes and factors influencing cost: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are non-communicable diseases that impose a significant economic burden on healthcare systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hospital treatment cost for cardiovascular disease events (CVDEs) in patients with and without diabetes and identify factors influencing cost.

Method: We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study using administrative data from three public tertiary hospitals in Malaysia.

Challenges and Strategies in Implementing Hospital Accreditation Standards Among Healthcare Professionals in Healthcare Systems in Yemen: A Phenomenological Study.

Introduction: The implementation of hospital accreditation standards in healthcare systems in Yemen that ensure safe and high-quality healthcare services is hampered by specific challenges. Therefore, this study was purposed to explore the challenges and strategies for applying hospital accreditation standards among healthcare professionals in Yemen.

Methods: A qualitative, phenomenological design was adopted to conduct this study.

Health status based on EQ-5D-5L for the cancer patient population in Malaysia.

The EQ-5D is a common generic tool used in clinical trials and economic evaluations to evaluate the health-related quality of life as a proxy of health outcomes. To date, studies using EQ-5D-5L to evaluate the health status of cancer patients remain scarce in Malaysia. In this study, EQ-5D-5L dimensions, EQ-5D-5L index, and EQ-VAS scores were applied to assess the health status of Malaysian cancer patients.

Cross-sectional study of influenza trends and costs in Malaysia between 2016 and 2018.

Background And Objectives: While influenza circulates year-round in Malaysia, research data on its incidence is scarce. Yet, this information is vital to the improvement of public health through evidence-based policies. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to determine the trends and financial costs of influenza.

Cost volume profit analysis for full paying patient services in Malaysia: A study protocol.

Dual practice within public hospitals, characterised by the concurrent provision of public and private healthcare services within public hospitals, has become a widespread phenomenon. With the participation of selected public hospitals, dual practice within public hospitals, also known as Full Paying Patient services, was an initiative the Ministry of Health Malaysia took in 2007 to retain senior specialist physicians in Malaysia. The revenue generated from the Full Paying Patient services aims to provide an avenue for public sector specialists to supplement their incomes while alleviating the Government's burden of subsidising healthcare for financially capable individuals.

Investigation of the impacts of climate change and rising temperature on food poisoning cases in Malaysia.

This study is an attempt to investigate climate-induced increases in morbidity rates of food poisoning cases. Monthly food poisoning cases, average monthly meteorological data, and population data from 2004 to 2014 were obtained from the Malaysian Ministry of Health, Malaysian Meteorological Department, and Department of Statistics Malaysia, respectively. Poisson generalised linear models were developed to assess the association between climatic parameters and the number of reported food poisoning cases.

Catastrophic Health Expenditure (CHE) among Cancer Population in a Middle Income Country with Universal Healthcare Financing.

Background: The study investigated healthcare expenditure from the perspective of cancer patients, to determine the level of Catastrophic Health Expenditure (CHE) and its associated factors.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in three Malaysian public hospitals namely Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz and the National Cancer Institute using a multi-level sampling technique to recruit 630 respondents from February 2020 to February 2021. CHE was defined as incurring a monthly health expenditure of more than 10% of the total monthly household expenditure.

Exhaled Carbon Monoxide Level and Practices among Tobacco and Nicotine Adult Users in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

Tobacco and nicotine derivatives uses are multiple in nature. These include conventional cigarettes (CCs), heated tobacco products (HTPs), and electronic cigarettes (ECs). This study aims to determine the practices, nicotine dependency profile, association with exhaled carbon monoxide (eCO) level, and pulmonary function (PF) among adult product users and non-smokers.

Inequality in Drug Utilization among Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia Patients in Malaysia: A Cost-Utility Analysis.

Background: The burden of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is increasing due to longer patient survival, better life expectancy of the general population, and increasing drug prices. Funding is one of the main concerns in the choice of CML medication used worldwide; thus, patient assistance programmes were introduced to ensure accessibility to affordable treatment. In this study, we evaluated CML drug distribution inequality in Malaysia through patient assistance programmes, using pharmaco-economics methods to evaluate CML treatment from the care provider's perspective.

Specialists' Dual Practice within Public Hospital Setting: Evidence from Malaysia.

In line with the commitment of the Malaysian government and Ministry of Health to prevent the brain drain of specialists from public hospitals, they have been permitted to perform dual practice within the public hospital setting (DPH) since 2007. DPH allowed them to hold jobs in both public and private practices within the same public hospitals that they are affiliated to, permitting these specialists to treat public and private patients. Nevertheless, the information regarding DPH in Southeast Asia region is still limited.

Epidemiology (2012-2019) and costs (2009-2019) of dengue in Malaysia: a systematic literature review.

Objectives: A systematic literature review was conducted to assess the epidemiology and economic burden of dengue in Malaysia.

Methods: Embase, MEDLINE, Evidence-Based Reviews databases, and gray literature sources were searched for English and Malay studies and surveillance reports on the epidemiology (between 2012 and 2019) and costs (between 2009 and 2019) of dengue in Malaysia. Independent screening of titles/abstracts, followed by full texts was performed using prespecified criteria.

Screening for type 2 diabetes and periodontitis patients (CODAPT-My©): a multidisciplinary care approach.

Background: The practice of referring diabetic patients for dental intervention has been poor despite awareness and knowledge of the oral health effects of diabetes. Likewise, dentists treating patients receiving diabetes treatment are rarely updated on the glycaemic status and as a result, the opportunity for shared management of these patients is missed. This study aimed to provide a standardised care pathway which will initiate screening for diabetes from dental clinics and link patients with primary care for them to receive optimised care for glycaemic control.

Engaging community pharmacists to eliminate inadvertent doping in sports: A study of their knowledge on doping.

This study aimed to evaluate the community pharmacists' knowledge of tackling the issue of inadvertent doping in Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 384 community pharmacists working in Malaysia using a self-administered questionnaire. All the respondents were pharmacists fully registered with the Pharmacy Board of Malaysia and had been working in the community setting for at least one year.

Efficacy of Rivaroxaban Use in Solid Tumour Malignancy: Experience from a Tertiary Care Cancer Centre.

Objective: Cancer-associated venous thromboembolism (CAT) is a common disease or complication which is associated with reduced survival and incurring a substantial health-care cost. Low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) remained the gold standard treatment option available. Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have recently become more popular in the guidelines, they are still few and inconsistent across the current literature.

Compliance of Healthcare Worker's toward Tuberculosis Preventive Measures in Workplace: A Systematic Literature Review.

Despite several guidelines published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and national authorities, there is a general increase in the number of healthcare workers (HCWs) contracting tuberculosis. This review sought to evaluate the compliance of the HCWs toward tuberculosis preventive measures (TPMs) in their workplace. Both electronic databases and manual searches were conducted to retrieve articles regarding the compliance of HCWs in the workplace published from 2010 onwards.

Health-related quality of life using EQ-5D among chronic myeloid leukaemia patients in health centres in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) responds well with the targeted therapy drugs, Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKI), that give potentially long-term disease control for the patients. The objective of this study was to determine the disease burden and factors influencing the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and health status of CML patients in Klang Valley, Malaysia. CML patients were recruited from haematological outpatient clinics in health centres in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

Level of Awareness, Knowledge, and Involvement of Malaysian Medical and Dental Practitioners in Dysphagia Management of Head and Neck Cancer Patients.

Head and neck cancer patients are at high risk of developing dysphagia from undergoing cancer treatment. It is essential for medical and dental practitioners to recognize speech-language pathologists' role and dysphagia symptoms to provide a timely referral to speech-language pathologists. This study aims to determine the level of awareness, knowledge, and involvement of medical and dental practitioners in dysphagia management.

The Covid Impact to Public Healthcare Utilization Among Urban Low-Income Subsidized Community in Klang Valley Malaysia.

Background: Appropriate level of healthcare utilization is one of the aims in translating health system inputs into improving the outcome of population health. Healthcare utilization services in Malaysia remains relatively low as compared to the rate in most high-income countries and some gaps exist across socioeconomic status. After the financial handouts deemed Household Living Aid (HLA) to low-income earners, Malaysia has recently implemented a financial health protection scheme toward for low-income group known as PeKa B40 to improve their access for healthcare services.

Unplanned Absenteeism: The Role of Workplace and Non-Workplace Stressors.

Unplanned absenteeism (UA), which includes medically certified leave (MC) or emergency leave (EL), among nurses may disturb the work performance of their team and disrupt the quality of patient care. Currently, there is limited study in Malaysia that examines the role of stressors in determining absenteeism among nurses. Therefore, apart from estimating the prevalence and the reasons of UA among nurses in Malaysia, this study aims to determine its stressor-related determinants.

A Systematic Review on CDSS Alert Appropriateness.

Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) provides vital information for managing patients by advising clinicians through an alert or reminders about adverse events and medication errors. Clinicians receive a high number of alerts, resulting in alert override and workflow disruptions. A systematic review was carried out to identify factors affecting CDSS alert appropriateness in supporting clinical workflows using a recently introduced framework.

Body plethysmography for measuring airway resistance in patients with bilateral vocal fold immobility.

Objective: This study investigated the reliability of body plethysmography in comparison to spirometry in objectively measuring upper airway functions.

Methods: The study population consisted of 53 participants, 23 patients with BVFI after endolaryngeal laser posterior cordectomy and 30 healthy volunteers. All of them had body plethysmography (airway resistance, Raw), spirometry (ratio of forced expiratory flow at 50% to forced inspiratory flow at 50%, FEF/FIF and peak inspiratory flow, PIF), 6 min-walking-test (6MWT) and Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnea scale measurements.

Applying a Constrained Optimization Portfolio Model to Aid Prioritization of Public Health Interventions in Malaysia.

Objectives: Countries have constrained healthcare budgets and must prioritize new interventions depending on health goals and time frame. This situation is relevant in the sphere of national immunization programs, for which many different vaccines are proposed, budgets are limited, and efficient choices must be made in the order of vaccine introduction.

Methods: A constrained optimization (CO) model for infectious diseases was developed in which different intervention types (prophylaxis and treatment) were combined for consideration in Malaysia.

Evaluation of Selected Outcomes of Combination Antiretroviral Therapy: Yemen Cohort Retrospective Descriptive Studies.

In 2007, HIV treatment services were established in five main governorates out of twenty-two which resulted in low access to services and poor treatment outcomes. The main goal of this study was to evaluate and analyse the selected treatment outcomes of eight cohorts of PLHIV who were treated with cART during 2007-2014. The method used was a retrospective descriptive study of 1,703 PLHIV who initiated cART at five public health facilities.