Background: Heatwaves have long been recognised as a serious public health concern. This study was aimed at developing and validating a Malay-version of a questionnaire for evaluating knowledge, risk perception, attitudes, and practices regarding heatwaves. Method: The knowledge construct was evaluated with item analysis and internal reliability. The psychometric characteristics, construct and discriminant validity, and internal consistency of the risk perception, attitude and practice constructs were evaluated with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results: The 16 items in the knowledge construct had a good difficulty, discrimination, and reliability index of 0.81. A total of 16 items were maintained in EFA with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.84 and 0.82, 0.78 and 0.84 obtained for total items and risk perception, attitude, and practice constructs, respectively. A total of 15 items were retained after CFA. The finalised model met the fitness indices threshold. The convergent and discriminant validity were good. Conclusion: This newly developed Malay-version KRPAP questionnaire is reliable and valid for assessing Malaysians’ knowledge, risk perception, attitudes, and practices regarding heatwaves.

Background: This study aims to investigate the current impacts of extreme temperature and heatwaves on human health in terms of both mortality and morbidity. This systematic review analyzed the impact of heatwaves on mortality, morbidity, and the associated vulnerability factors, focusing on the sensitivity component. Methods: This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 flow checklist. Four databases (Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCOhost, PubMed) were searched for articles published from 2012 to 2022. Those eligible were evaluated using the Navigation Guide Systematic Review framework. Results: A total of 32 articles were included in the systematic review. Heatwave events increased mortality and morbidity incidence. Sociodemographic (elderly, children, male, female, low socioeconomic, low education), medical conditions (cardiopulmonary diseases, renal disease, diabetes, mental disease), and rural areas were crucial vulnerability factors. Conclusions: While mortality and morbidity are critical aspects for measuring the impact of heatwaves on human health, the sensitivity in the context of sociodemographic, medical conditions, and locality posed a higher vulnerability to certain groups. Therefore, further research on climate change and health impacts on vulnerability may help stakeholders strategize effective plans to reduce the effect of heatwaves.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to assess tuberculosis (TB) treatment outcomes among new smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients and identify the risk factors of unsuccessful treatment outcomes in Kepong district, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachA retrospective cohort study was conducted using registry-based data from the Tuberculosis Information System (TBIS) between 2014 and 2018. Simple random sampling was used to select 734 males and 380 females from the TBIS registry. Smear-positive PTB patient's sociodemographic, clinical and behavioral characteristics were extracted and analyzed. Logistic regression was used to find the possible independent risk factors for unsuccessful treatment outcomes.FindingsThe treatment success rate was 77.20% (n = 860) which was still below the target set by the WHO (>90%). In total, 254 patients showed an unsuccessful treatment outcome: 106 died, 99 defaulted, 47 not evaluated and 2 showed treatment failure. Unsuccessful treatment outcome was significantly associated with older age, male gender, non-citizen, unemployment and being HIV positive.Originality/valueThe study focuses on all these contributing factors of unsuccessful treatment outcome for a better risk assessment and stratification of TB patients and identify effective surveillance and management strategies to strengthen the control programs of tuberculosis in Kepong district.

Background: Climate change poses a real challenge and has contributed to causing the emergence and re-emergence of many communicable diseases of public health importance. Here, we reviewed scientific studies on the relationship between meteorological factors and the occurrence of dengue, malaria, cholera, and leptospirosis, and synthesized the key findings on communicable disease projection in the event of global warming. Method: This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 flow checklist. Four databases (Web of Science, Ovid MEDLINE, Scopus, EBSCOhost) were searched for articles published from 2005 to 2020. The eligible articles were evaluated using a modified scale of a checklist designed for assessing the quality of ecological studies. Results: A total of 38 studies were included in the review. Precipitation and temperature were most frequently associated with the selected climate-sensitive communicable diseases. A climate change scenario simulation projected that dengue, malaria, and cholera incidence would increase based on regional climate responses. Conclusion: Precipitation and temperature are important meteorological factors that influence the incidence of climate-sensitive communicable diseases. Future studies need to consider more determinants affecting precipitation and temperature fluctuations for better simulation and prediction of the incidence of climate-sensitive communicable diseases.

Background   Similar to other coronaviruses, COVID-19 is transmitted mainly by droplets and is highly transmissible through close proximity or physical contact with an infected person. Countries across the globe have implemented public health control measures to prevent onwards transmission and reduce burden on health care settings. Social or physical distancing was found to be one of appropriate measure based on previous experience with epidemic and pandemic contagious diseases. This study aims to review the latest evidence of the impact of social or physical distancing implemented during COVID-19 pandemic towards COVID-19 and other related infectious disease transmission.   Methodology   The study uses PRISMA review protocol and formulation of research question was based on PICO. The selected databases include Ovid MEDLINE and Scopus. Thorough identification, screening and eligibility process were done, revealed selected 8 articles. The articles then ranked in quality through MMAT.   Results   A total of eight papers included in this analysis. Five studies (USA, Canada, South Korea and the United Kingdom) showed physical distancing had resulted in a reduction in Covid-19 transmission. In comparison, three other studies (Australia, South Korea and Finland) showed a similar decline on other infectious diseases (Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), other sexually transmitted infections (STI), Influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Vaccine-Preventive Disease (VPD). The degree of the distancing policy implemented differ between strict and lenient, with both result in effectiveness in reducing transmission of infectious disease.   Conclusion   Physical or social distancing may come in the form of extreme or lenient measure in effectively containing contagious disease like COVID-19, however the stricter the measure will give more proportionate impact towards the economy, education, mental health issues, morbidity and mortality of non-COVID-19 diseases. Since we need this measure to ensure the reduction of infectious diseases transmission in order to help flattening the curve which allow much needed time for healthcare system to prepare adequately to response, ‘Precision physical distancing” can be implemented which will have more benefit towards the survival of the community as a whole.

Thermal comfort is linked to our health, well-being, and productivity. The thermal environment is one of the main factors that influence thermal comfort and, consequently, the productivity of occupants inside buildings. Meanwhile, behavioural adaptation is well known to be the most critical contributor to the adaptive thermal comfort model. This systematic review aims to provide evidence regarding indoor thermal comfort temperature and related behavioural adaptation. Studies published between 2010 and 2022 examining indoor thermal comfort temperature and behavioural adaptations were considered. In this review, the indoor thermal comfort temperature ranges from 15.0 to 33.8 °C. The thermal comfort temperature range varied depending on several factors, such as climatic features, ventilation mode, type of buildings, and age of the study population. Elderly and younger children have distinctive thermal acceptability. Clothing adjustment, fan usage, AC usage, and open window were the most common adaptive behaviour performed. Evidence shows that behavioural adaptations were also influenced by climatic features, ventilation mode, type of buildings, and age of the study population. Building designs should incorporate all factors that affect the thermal comfort of the occupants. Awareness of practical behavioural adaptations is crucial to ensure occupants’ optimal thermal comfort.

Introduction: Heatwave can increase the risk for heat-related illnesses and mortality. Many studies showed certain population are vulnerable to heatwave such as elderly, children and low-income households. However, the findings were inconsistent. Therefore, this systematic review provides a comprehensive review on heatwave impact and vulnerability factors on the mortality and morbidity impacts. Methodology: Five electronic databases (Pubmed, Ebsco Host, WOS, OVID Medline and Scopus) were primary searching tools to retrieve relevant literatures. This systematic review used the Medical Subject Heading (MESH) terms and keywords. An additional searching tool (Google Scholar) was used to seek further information and minimize missed evidence. We selected the literature based on the inclusion criteria (empirical full-text article, English language and published between 2010-2021). Two authors were assigned in each step of the process, starting from screening of the title, abstract and full text based on the inclusion criteria, data extraction and quality appraisal. Mixed-Method Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was utilized to assess the quality of selected articles. Thematic analysis and narrative approach were used to describe the findings. Conclusion: This review presents the comprehensive evidence-based regarding heatwave impact and associated vulnerable groups for better understanding and effective preventive measure planning to reduce the impact of heatwave on population health. Prospero registration number: CRD42021232847

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