With advancements in technology, social media has revolutionised the way farmers communicate, resulting in an increased level of shared agricultural knowledge. Therefore, this study investigates social media literacy among oil palm smallholders in East Malaysia and the association with oil palm integration practices. A survey of 194 respondents was conducted using a random sampling method. The survey questionnaire was adapted from several previous studies on social media literacy. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses, involving t-test, ANOVA, and logistic regression were conducted. Social media literacy was significantly higher among oil palm smallholders who were younger, with higher educational levels (p < 0.05). The logistic regression analysis showed that as the level of social media literacy increased, the probability for agricultural integration practices also increased (odds ratio (OR) = 1.052; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.022, 1.083). However, smallholders needed to optimise their use of social media to provide greater benefits to their agriculture. The findings of this study are useful in illustrating that interventions in social media literacy may efficiently facilitate oil palm integration. The results of this study can provide information and recommendations towards policies for the modernising of oil palm farming in Malaysia. Such studies, however, need to be further expanded by involving a larger sample of smallholders nationwide, to represent the geography of smallholders with varying levels of internet accessibility in Malaysia.
Dengue fever is a deadly vector-borne disease. Prevention strategies without specific drugs or vaccines emphasise community involvement in dengue vector control. Identifying dengue-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours is critical to developing more effective intervention strategies. A cross-sectional study compared the knowledge, attitudes, and practices on dengue in selected dengue hotspots and non-hotspot areas in Selangor, Malaysia. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among 320 randomly selected residents. Data were analysed using an independent t-test and Spearman’s rank-order correlation. Despite having a good understanding of the dengue virus, most respondents (83.1%) from both hotspot and non-hotspot areas were unaware that a person could be infected with the virus more than once in their lifetime, and 62.8% agreed that dengue patients could recover without treatment. Most respondents (76.9%) agreed that buying mosquito repellent is a waste of money, and most reported not sleeping under the insecticide net at night (74.7%). Respondents from dengue hotspot areas had significantly higher attitude scores (32.00±4.60) compared to those of non-hotspot regions (28.78±5.51), t (307) = 5.674, <i>p</i><0.05. There was a significant positive correlation between knowledge and attitude scores (r<sub>s</sub>=0.214, p<0.01), between knowledge and practices (r<sub>s</sub>=0.563, p<0.01), and attitude and practices (r<sub>s</sub>=0.374, p<0.01). In addition to the high levels of knowledge and practice, attitudes toward dengue must be improved to implement proper prevention measures.
Typhoid poses a significant threat to human health, particularly in Africa and Asia, where the disease continues to be endemic. Typhoid caused approximately 8.4 million disability-adjusted life-years worldwide in 2017, with 116,814 deaths. While vaccinations effectively eradicate the endemic infection, limited resources frequently constrained vaccination strategies. Thus, an understanding of the risks associated with typhoid would aid in implementing targeted interventions. In many states of Nigeria, including Gombe, data on typhoid risk factors are unavailable. This study aimed to develop and validate a questionnaire on typhoid risk factors in the Gombe Metropolis. The questionnaire items were based on previously published questionnaires on typhoid and localized typhoid risk factors. After obtaining ethical approval, the drafted instrument was pilot tested among a small population and checked for readability. The questionnaire’s content validity was checked using Fleiss’ Multi-rater kappa, while internal consistency and test-retest reliability were checked using Cronbach’s alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), respectively. The questionnaire validation results revealed that the instruments’ readability was easy, content validity with Fleiss’ kappa value of 0.623 was good, internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.720 and McDonald’s omega of 0.703, and test-retest reliability with an ICC estimate of 0.736 was good. The questionnaire was valid and reliable for collecting data on typhoid risk factors in Gombe State, Nigeria, to develop targeted health interventions and guide the Government’s resource prioritization and allocation decisions for efficient disease control.
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