Background: It is imperative to establish concrete evidence regarding the effect of educational intervention in improving individuals' knowledge towards human papilloma virus (HPV) infection and vaccination initiatives among the unvaccinated age eligible adult population in Malaysia. The outcome measures were to assess the level of knowledge regarding HPV infection and vaccination among graduate students from a private university, Malaysia; to find the association between knowledge score and socio-demographic variables and to estimate the effect of educational intervention (pamphlet) tool at pre-and post-intervention studies. Method: A longitudinal study, designed for repeated measures using pre-validated questionnaires, with pre-and post-test (0 and 1 month) among graduate students in Malaysia. The results from both phases were compared using McNemar's test and Wilcoxon signed rank test for precise differences in knowledge scores. Results: The response rate was 58.8% (470/800), participants had a poor percentage and median knowledge score in pre-test, 45% [7(6), ranging 0 to 15] with age, course of study, year of study and location (p<.01). A significant increase in scores was observed post-intervention test, 83% [13(2), ranging 7 to 15] with course of study (p<.01). An exact McNemar's test determined that there was a strong statistically significant difference in the proportion of knowledge scores between pre-and post-test, p<.01. Wilcoxon test (N=470) confirmed a strong significant difference in knowledge score between both phases of study (Z=17.2, N=470, p<.001). Conclusion: The findings reveal, even healthcare graduate students have poor knowledge regarding the various issue of HPV, which queries the status of general public with less literacy. It is strongly recommended that more exposures should be given to the general public to enrich their knowledge for vaccine acceptance and periodic Pap screening for females at risk.
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection is highly contagious and affects all males and females at least once in their sexually active lifetime. Though it is spontaneously cured, certain HPV types are responsible for HPV related cancers. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of educational pamphlet in creating awareness regarding HPV infection and vaccination. Main outcome measures include pre-post test assessment of adult's knowledge regarding HPV infection and HPV vaccination, using pre-validated, 16-item knowledge based questionnaire. The pamphlet development, validation and translation was done potential adults aged 18-26 years who were age eligible for HPV vaccination in urban and rural areas of Kedah state, Malaysia. The research findings showed a significant increase in knowledge gain from 63% to 89% [N=121, Mdn=10 (IQR=4) to Mdn=14 (IQR=3), p<.001] and reveals moderate knowledge and benchmark information before HPV infection and vaccination. At the two-week follow-up, a statistically significant increase in correct responses at prepost-tests were observed at 90%, [N=92, Mdn=11 (IQR=4) to Mdn=14.5 (IQR=3), p< .001]. The educational pamphlet significantly increased knowledge regardless of sociodemographic characteristics and was found to be good. Effective, well-structured and informative pamphlets with repeated booster campaigns can help in increasing awareness of HPV infection and awareness among sexually active young adults.
Objective: Hypothyroidism and metabolic syndrome are well associated risk factors for atherogenic cardiovascular diseases. This study was inten ded to investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and to assess its related parameters in hypothyroid patients. Material and Methods: Study was conducted in ENT department of a tertiary care teaching hospital. Thirty patients diagnosed with hypothyroidism of age 1240 years of both sexes were screened for metabolic and thyroid parameters. Among them, who were diagnosed with metabolic syndrome according to IDF criteria were included in the study. The baseline patients were treated with Lthyroxin and reviewed after 3 months. Baseline and reviewed param eters were compared. Data were analyzed with paired 't' test.
Results:The mean age of the study population was found to be 26.9 ± 8.1 years and among the study population 96.66% were female. Among the study population (n=30), 13 patients were diagnosed with metS according to the IDF criteria and data from these patients was used as the baseline, after LThyroxine treatment for three months it was found that around 70% were out of metS. Statistical result shows the significant changes in metabolic parameters with treatment. Further the association of metabolic and thyroid parameters were also found. Conclusion: Present study shows that the female have higher prevalence of hypothyroidism. Further study results show significant association between hypothyroidism and metabolic syndrome which necessitates the need for monitoring thyroid functions in patients with metabolic syndrome.
Objectives: The objective of this research is to assess and compare the degree of correlation and agreement between the three study instruments utilized in evaluation of community pharmacies and services provided based on consumer's perception. Methods: A cross sectional observational study on a convenient random sample of 100 respondents from Sungai Petain, Kedah, Malaysia was conducted by using pretested and validated questionnaires to evaluate the community pharmacies and the services provided by them based on consumers' perception. The data retrieved from the three set of questionnaires were coded based upon various variables into Microsoft Excel 2010 and were then exported to the IBM SPSS Version 22.0 to be analyzed. The Chi-square test and Kappa concordant test were used to test the statistical significance and the degree of agreement between the three domains utilized respectively. Results: Totally 41 males and 59 females participated in this study. The result analyses clearly showed that despite the similarities, there did not exist any degree of agreement between the three instruments (by Spearman's correlational test, Kappa concordant test). Fortifying this observation was the score grades assessment, wherein all the three sets, especially the PSQ-3 and PSQ-18 gave extremely varied scores and corresponding score grades. Conclusion: The principal investigator thus concluded (based on the study parameters set) that though the three instruments measure and analyze the same concept, each of them are distinctive by themselves. This conclusion implies that for future research involving patients' satisfaction with community pharmacy services, the aspiring researcher must exercise extreme caution while combining these three questionnaires to create an adapted version of a new questionnaire to assess the same.
Background: Overweight and obesity prevalence are increasing in Malaysia. This epidemic has affected a very high number of children and young adults. This poses a serious health hazard, not only presently, but also for the future Malaysian adult population. Interventions aimed at educating and informing the public about the hazards of being overweight and/or obese is one of the best shots at combating this issue. Methods: This exploratory, prospective study employed a customized questionnaire (study instrument) and pre-validated handout (interventional tool). The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventional tool in improving the knowledge, dietary habits and physical activities of the study sample. A change in the scores pertaining to knowledge, dietary habits and physical activities, would be indicative of the interventional tool's effectiveness. Results: 112 males and 439 females participated in this study. The point prevalence of overweight and obesity combined was 70.07%.The respondents' weight, BMI, knowledge, dietary habits and physical activities did improve significantly during the course of the study. The percent-
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