Overall, the intervention was perceived as acceptable. Although not statistically significant, results showed some trends toward improvements among YMSM in accessing HIV testing services and HIV-related knowledge. The modest coverage and short time frame of the evaluation likely limits the ability for any significant behavioral improvements.

Schools are important settings for comprehensive health promotion. School exerts the most influence on the lives of children and youth. Schools can play a key role in supporting students' health and, by extension, the health of their families and communities. This school-based cross sectional descriptive study was conducted in Danuphyu Township from June to November, 2012. This study aimed to identify the levels of knowledge, attitude and practice of primary school teachers concerning four school health activities: comprehensive school health education; healthy school environments; prevention and control of communicable diseases; and nutritional promotion and food safety. The sample consisted of 97 teachers from 23 primary schools were randomly selected to participate in the study. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used as a data collection tool. It was found that 62.9% of teachers achieved a high level of knowledge scores (mean knowledge score of 39.10 with SD 3.087); 57.7% had a positive attitude towards school health activities; 52.6% of teachers achieved high reported practice scores (with mean practice score of 66.07 and SD 4.17); teachers from urban areas, over 50 years of age, and with service duration of 20-24 years, are statistically significantly associated with higher levels of reported practice; teachers with high knowledge and positive attitude scores achieved higher reported practice scores, but these associations are not statistically significant. Overall, over 50% of the teachers had a high knowledge, a positive attitude and high practice scores relating to school health activities, and this shows that favorable conditions exist at the schools among the teachers for further strengthening the school health program of Myanmar. Enhancing teachers' involvement in school health activities would establish good outcomes of the school health promotion program. Provision of continuous training of teachers in school health would further enhance knowledge of teachers, and would gradually inculcate positive attitudes among them. This would lead towards more involvement of teachers in school health activities. Health is closely interlinked to education. Good health and good education are not only ends in themselves, but also means which provide individuals with the tools to lead productive and satisfying lives. It is commonly believed that a child's ability to attain her or his full potential is directly related to the complimentary effect of good health, good nutrition, physical activity and quality education. Keywords:1 To attain educational achievements, children must fully participate in educational activities. 1Children and youth are recognized as a priority population. The national development depends on the academic success and optimal health and well-being of its children and youth. Schools are important settings for comprehensive health promotion. The school exerts the most influence on the lives of children and youth. Schools can play a key role in supporting students' health and, by...

BackgroundTuberculosis is a major public health problem in Myanmar as in other developing countries. About 73% of TB patients seek care at private general practitioners' clinics before presenting to the public TB centre, raising questions about how best to prevent transmission and maintain treatment regimens.MethodThe study was conducted in two townships in Yangon Division in Myanmar in 2004, and examined treatment seeking behaviour of TB patients and their views towards public and private health care services. This was an exploratory descriptive study. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed in data collection from TB patients, health care professionals, and members of various agencies involved in TB Control Programme.ResultsA considerable delay was found between the onset of symptoms of TB and seeking treatment (five days – two months). General practitioners were the first point of contact in all cases. Old TB patients influenced the treatment seeking behaviour and choice of treatment clinics of new TB patients. Most patients viewed the public health sector as a place to obtain free treatment and the private sector as a fee-paying, convenient and better place to seek treatment.ConclusionThe involvement of private general practitioners is crucial for effective TB control in Myanmar. The selection of GPs for partnership with the public sector is vital to the success of public-private partnership in controlling TB.

Promoting community malaria control in rural Myanmar through an active community participation program using the participatory learning approach Rural and Remote Health 17: 4130. (Online) 2017 Available: http://www.rrh.org.au A B S T R A C TIntroduction: Malaria is prevalent in more than 80% of townships in Myanmar. The National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) has been implementing community-based malaria control programs nationwide. However, these programs are mostly developed and directed by health authorities, while communities are passively involved. This study aimed to increase community participation in malaria control and promote community malaria control knowledge and practice in rural Myanmar. Methods: A community-based study, which employed a mixed method approach, collecting data quantitatively and qualitatively, was conducted in two rural villages. The study implemented an active community participation program (ACPP) using the participatory learning approach in a village (ACPP village) but only routine malaria control was given in another village (non-ACPP village). All households with 142 and 96 household representatives from ACPP and non-ACPP villages participated in baseline and endline surveys. The ACPP was evaluated by process and outcome indicators. A spider gram analysis using five process indicators was applied to evaluate the process of the ACPP. Community participation status in malaria control activities and level of community malaria knowledge and practice were determined as outcomes of the ACPP. Results: The spider gram analysis showed that three indicators (needs assessment and planning, leadership and resource mobilization) gained a score of 4, the organization indicator a score of 5 and the management and evaluation indicator a score of 3. The outcome indicators of the program at 6 months showed that the community participation in malaria control activities in the © CN Maung, TT Sein, T Hlaing, K Okanurak, T Silawan, J Kaewkungwal, 2017. A A Licence to publish this material has been given to James Cook University, http://www.jcu.edu.au 2 ACPP village had significantly increased (6.9% to 49.3%) (p<0.001). The program promoted community malaria control knowledge and practice in the ACPP village. The mean scores of knowledge, perception, preventive behavior and treatment-seeking behavior were increased significantly, from 3.0 to 5.9 (p<0.001), 20.1 to 21.0 (p<0.001), 3.4 to 4.2 (p<0.001) and 3.1 to 5.6 (p<0.001), respectively. However, no significant change of outcome indicators was found in the non-ACPP village.Conclusions: The ACPP implemented by community volunteers using the participatory learning approach was feasible in community-based malaria control. This study suggests several features in the ACPP model that may be useful strategies for the implementation of the current NMCP programs in similar rural settings; however, the effect of the ACPP over a longer period to ascertain the impact of such community participation has yet to be further studied.

Nowadays, Social Network (SN) is one of the essential tools of people especially young and adolescents. In consequence, there are so many controversial things on advantages and disadvantages of SN. In Myanmar, the rate of mobile phone users and internet users is on the increase today. This is a cross-sectional study conducted to the university students at Kyaukse University from June to November, 2015. In total 400 students who are aged between 16-23 years were randomly selected and interviewed with pretested structured questionnaires. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of Social Network Addiction (SNA) and the prevalence of anxiety. Furthermore, this study also found out SNA related to anxiety among students. Among the students, 110 students (27.5%) addicted to SN and 146 students (36.5%) suffered from anxiety. There is significant association between SNA and anxiety. Among the social network addicted users, 59.1% suffer from anxiety (χ²=33.408, p<0.001). Most of the students who used SN addicted to SN. The students addicted to SN, duration of SN more than 3 years, SN using hours more than 4 hours per day, using Facebook and Google suffer from anxiety. According to the findings in this study, there is a positive association between SNA and anxiety. So parents, teachers and other authorities should be aware and involved in checking and controlling the internet use of the students. In addition, the similar researches should be encouraged in different population and different age groups to explore other side effects of SNA.South East Asia Journal of Public Health Vol.7(1) 2017: 23-28

PurposeMyanmar has an insufficient number of mental health workers with few institutional facilities resulting in a significant treatment gap. Although few mental health services are integrated into primary health care (PHC), the challenges are unknown. This study aimed to assess the challenges perceived by providers in the service delivery of satellite mental health care (SMHC) in two sample townships in Yangon.Design/methodology/approachThe research was based on a case study design by applying a qualitative approach using in-depth interviews (IDIs). In the three types of service providers, a total of six staff participated as interviewees. These consisted of two team leaders, two clinical specialists providing consultations to clients and two mental health nurses.FindingsProviders perceived the following as major challenges in the provision of services: unstable financial resources and management, insufficient human resources and capacity of service providers, restricted outpatient services, the lack of a functional referral system, overcrowding, inadequate individual consultation time, long-waiting hours, finite opening days and hours and poor setting of infrastructure, resulting in lack of privacy.Research limitations/implicationsIn the absence of similar studies in Myanmar, findings could not be placed in the context of the national literature for comparison. Further, the study involved a limited number of respondents, which may have affected the findings.Originality/valueAlthough the challenges revealed were not uncommon in mental health services in developing countries, this study focused on a specific model of mental health care integrated into general healthcare settings in Myanmar. The findings offer a benchmark on efforts to develop decentralized mental health services in Myanmar and provide input for future in-depth studies.

Introduction: Evidences on the bilateral relationship between diabetes mellitus (DM) and periodontal diseases (PD) have been growing. Oral hygiene practice (OHP) is one of major determinants for PD. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess periodontal disease status and oral hygiene practices of DM-patients from public medical primary care clinics (PMPCCs). Methods: A medical-dental research team conducted an active PD-screening among 193 DMpatients using both self-reported questions (SRQs) and basic periodontal examination (BPE)  by professionals at 3-PMPCCs in Kuantan in 2015. OHP was categorized into two groups; acceptable OHP (two/three-time tooth-brushing/day using with/without mouthwash/flossing) and need to improve OHP (one-time tooth brushing/day using with/without mouth-wash/flossing). HbA1C ≤ 6.5% was used as cut-off for glycaemic control achievement. A cross- analysis was done to infer the influences of demographic-background and OHP on PD- status and relationship between PD- status and glycaemic control achievement. Results: Out of 193 DM-patients, 72.5% (140/193) were PD-screening positive in self-reporting while 54.9% (106/193) had PD in professional screening. OHP of majority (86%) were acceptable. Only 14% (27/193) achieved glycaemic-control status. Influence of demographic and OHP on PD-status ( by BPE) and relationship between PD and glycaemic control achievement did not found out. There were no age and race difference in OHP; however, acceptable OHP was significantly higher (p<0.05) in female than male DM-patients (94% vs 77.4%). Conclusions:  High prevalence of PD indicated to promote oral health education/care among DM-patients from PMPCCs.  In-detailed OHP/PD assessment and other influencing factors on glycaemic-control achievement should be considered to get more valid results in further study.

Health equity is central to achieving Sustainable Development Goals and COVID-19 has emphasised its importance. Ensuring health equity is prominent in policy discussions and decision-making, is a critical challenge in all countries. Understanding the policy space for actors to promote health equity in the policy process may help to strengthen prioritisation of equity in policy and programme discussions and decisions. Authors developed a conceptual framework for policy space based on a narrative literature review. This comprised five key elements and their associated factors: i.e. context, policy circumstances, policy characteristics, actor engagement, and policy spaces. Authors then applied it in Myanmar during a period of political transition, using a qualitative case study design. Findings showed that political transition provided an important ‘policy window’ to develop more equitable health policy in Myanmar. Changing policy circumstances offered opportunities for advancing pro-equity policy. However, lack of visibility of health equity and long-standing inequalities were important challenges to policy space. Within a changing context, actors at individual and organisational levels used a range of policy spaces to advance pro-equity health policy. Learning from using the framework in Myanmar was incorporated into a revised framework. Application of this revised framework could provide valuable insights into the opportunities to promote a pro-health equity approach across policy and programme discussions and decision-making for actors trying to promote equity in other transition and non-transition contexts.