INTRODUCTION: In every country, an adequate and reliable blood supply can be assured by a stable base of regular, voluntary, and unpaid blood donors. However, with the strike of COVID-19 around the world, fewer donors have come forward to donate blood since the government's movement control order. Therefore, to ensure the blood supply is always sufficient, this study discussed the Malaysians' motivation and intention to donate blood during the COVID-19. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The structural focus group discussion was conducted among nine informants. The informants are classified into four groups, which are non, first-time, regular, and lapsed (repeated/occasional) blood donors. RESULTS: It indicated that the regular and lapsed group of blood donors were motivated by the satisfaction of donating blood. Meanwhile, first-time donors are motivated to donate blood because of extrinsic rewards. However, the donors attested that the movement control order restricted their movement to go to the blood transfusion center. On the other hand, the non-donor group admitted that they do intend to donate blood. Still, several factors such as work commitment, location, and fear of being infected by COVID-19, hold them from doing so. CONCLUSIONS: These findings will serve as insights for future blood donation disruption remediation, especially during unexpected situations, as well as the success of the Malaysian blood campaign.

INTRODUCTION: Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP) are not only considered to be a sign of discomfort both culturally and clinically but also seen as potential safety risks for mothers and their unborn children. One of the non-pharmacological complementary therapies was the use of acupressure. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness, safety, and satisfaction of the dual method of P6 acupressure as an intervention in affected pregnant women to reduce NVP and explore the method P6 acupressure perception as the intervention of choice in the treatment of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. MATERIALS AND METHOD: A mixed-methods sequential explanatory study was conducted which consisted of two phases: quantitative followed by qualitative. The first phase involved the recruitment of 120 pregnant women with moderate to severe NVP symptoms. Six participants were in the intervention group qualitative phase. RESULTS: The Pregnancy-Unique Quantification of Emesis PUQE scores of participants in the intervention group were lower compared to that of the control group after the intervention period (p=<0.01). The PUQE score was found to be reduced in the intervention group of having severe into having mild symptoms. There were no adverse effects reported after the intervention. Majority of the participants were satisfied after using the dual P6 acupressure method (Z=1830). Meanwhile, during the qualitative phase, six themes emerged. CONCLUSION: A dual method of P6 acupressure therapy could be effective, safe, and satisfactory in relieving NVP. Therefore, Maternity care providers may consider using this method as a therapeutic alternative for the management of NVP.

INTRODUCTION: An early onset of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and a strong family history suggest the possibility of its genetic predisposition. Lipoprotein(a) (LPA) and Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genes are known to be involved in lipid metabolism which may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis leading to AMI. This study aims to assess the association between LPA gene copy number variation (CNV) and APOE gene polymorphism in young AMI patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 40 DNAs were extracted from the buffy coat. APOE genotyping and detection of LPA gene CNV were performed using multiplex PCR technique and digital PCR. After tabulation of the results of the current study, meta-analyses were performed from selected studies among Asian populations using the Comprehensive Meta-analysis version 3 software program. RESULTS: No significant association was found between CNV of the LPA gene and the polymorphism of the APOE gene with Young AMI patients in the current study. However, our meta-analysis confirmed that the E4 allele increased the risk for CAD with the E3/E4 genotype [p=0.000, OR= 1.60 (95% CI: 1.41-1.83) significantly increased risk of CAD and individuals with E3/E3 genotype [p=0.000, OR=0.73 (95% CI: 0.66-0.81) were protective against CAD. The gain of LPA CNV was higher in YAMI [n=5 (25%)] than in control [n=2 (10%)] but they are not significant. CONCLUSION: There is no association between the LPA gene CNV and the presence of APOE polymorphism in young AMI, but our meta-analysis confirmed that the E4 allele increased the risk for CAD.

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 cases in Malaysia have followed a never-ending course of spike and fall since it was first detected. Though the prominent role of infection control standard precautions were strictly applied, cases among emergency healthcare workers (EHCW) contracting the disease continue to rise. Our study aims to evaluate the knowledge and confidence level and the factors that may influence the knowledge and confidence level among EHCW in airway management and resuscitation of suspected COVID-19 patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in tertiary hospitals in Penang and Kelantan using a validated questionnaire. The territories evaluated include the possible method of transmission, proper steps during resuscitation, airway management and intubation, intensive care management, and etiquette of personal protective equipment. RESULTS: Out of 543 EHCW eligible for the study, only 300 participants responded to the questionnaire. Our study showed only 15.3% of respondents had good knowledge and 62.3% had high confidence in airway management and resuscitation of suspected COVID-19 patients. Significant associations were seen in knowledge and confidence level among respondents with previous experience attending continuing medical education (F=7.041, P=0.008 and F=19.398, P<0.001 respectively). Significant associations were also demonstrated in confidence level among respondents with previous simulation training experience (F=13.905, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that most EHCW had poor knowledge and moderately adequate confidence in the airway management and resuscitation of suspected COVID-19 patients. A more comprehensive and strategized training program needs to be conducted to help in improvement of the knowledge and confidence level among EHCW.

INTRODUCTION: Dental students often faced high levels of mental distress which contributed to lower mental well-being. This has a negative impact on their health and academic performance. Many previous studies focused on students who were already in a 'diseased' state with little focus on students who are well but at risk of developing poor mental well-being. A better understanding of the factors affecting the mental well-being dental students is needed. This study was aimed to explore the factors associated with mental well-being of dental students and to identify steps to promote their mental well-being. MATERIALS & METHODS: In this qualitative study, individual interviews were conducted among undergraduate dental students using semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were recorded, transcribed via verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: The analysis revealed three main themes; i) Impression of dentistry, ii) Stressors and iii) Mental health experience. CONCLUSION: Undergraduate dental students often experienced low mental well-being due to the stressors they faced. Identifying the factors that influenced the mental well-being of dental students would allow for early intervention and fostering of mental well-being among dental students.

INTRODUCTION: Parental hesitancy towards routine childhood vaccines has been recognized as one of the public health threats. Since the uptake of child vaccination remains inconsistent, there is a need for a reliable and validated tool to measure this phenomenon. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at government health clinics in Kelantan between April 2023 to July 2023. A permission to use the original version of Modified Vaccine Hesitancy Scale (MVHS) was obtained and translated into the Malay version (MVHS-M) based on established guidelines. Parents who have at least one child aged 7 years or less were recruited by using systematic random sampling to validate the MVHS-M. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to confirm the latent domain, while reliability was measured by composite reliability and test-retest. The data were analysed using IBM SPSS Version 26 and Mplus version 8. RESULTS: A total of 270 parents who fulfilled the study criteria were selected and completed the survey. The CFA showed a good fit index: RMSEA = 0.057 (90% CI 0.031, 0.082), CFI = 0.970, TLI = 0.957, and SRMR = 0.031. The composite reliability for the domain "lack of confidence" was 0.93 (95% CI 0.91, 0.94), while the domain "risk" showed a reliability of 0.74 (95% CI 0.69, 0.79). The test-retest reliability, as measured by the Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC), was 0.77 (95% CI 0.59, 0.87), indicating good stability. CONCLUSION: MVHS-M is a valid and reliable tool that will be useful in identifying parental vaccine hesitancy in Malaysia.

INTRODUCTION: Acute ankle and foot injuries commonly present to the emergency departments, often resulting in routine radiography referrals, despite the fact that less than 15% of cases exhibit clinically significant fractures. The OAR has been designed to reduce the number of unnecessary radiographs ordered for these patients. We evaluated the OAR for predicting ankle and midfoot fractures in a cohort of patients treated in a single tertiary trauma centre. MATERIALS AND METHOD: A prospective study was conducted in the emergency department and orthopaedic clinics of a tertiary trauma centre. 73 patients aged 18 years and older were recruited during a 12-month study period. Radiographs were performed for all patients after clinical evaluation findings were recorded. The main outcomes measured were sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and likelihood ratios (positive and negative) of the OAR. RESULTS: 41 patients had ankle injuries, 21 around the midfoot, and 11 within both areas. In detecting ankle fractures, OAR had a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 73.68%, and a negative predictive value of 100% compared to the detection of midfoot fractures (100%, 84.61%, and 100%, respectively). The OAR had the potential of reducing radiographs by 42.47%. CONCLUSION: OAR is an accurate and highly sensitive tool to detect ankle and midfoot fractures. The implementation would lead to a significant reduction in the request for radiographs without missing any clinically significant fractures, thus, reducing costs, radiation exposures, and waiting times.

INTRODUCTION: The indications for operative treatment and type of stabilization procedures for the treatment of thoracolumbar fracture remains controversial. Long-segment pedicle screw fixation permits correction of kyphotic deformity while short-segment pedicle screw fixation preserves motion segments, reduces costs and time of surgery. Our aim is to study the correlation and comparison between clinical and radiological outcome of both fixations and identify factors that might contribute to the outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 60 patients with thoracolumbar spine fracture from 2017 to 2022 were identified. Age, gender, mechanism of injury, classification of fracture, duration of hospital stays and one-year post-operative outcome of Visual Analogue (VAS) pain score, and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score were documented. Pre- and post-operative AP/Lateral radiographs measurements of local kyphotic angle, Cobb angle were measured. Signs of fixation failure were examined at follow-up. RESULTS: Subjects mean age is 42.4, male predominance (85%) and work-related. The highest incidence was at level of L1 (56.7 %) in the long-segment and 46.7 % in short-segment. Most common injury was burst fracture (AO classification A3 A4 group) due to fall from height. There is shorter hospital stay documented in the short-segment fixation. Radiological outcome measured in both groups were comparable with no signs of fixation failure. Short-segment fixation group also resulted in better clinical and functional outcome at one-year follow-up. CONCLUSION: There is no significant difference in radiologic outcome of Cobb and kyphotic angle in both fixation groups. Short-segment fixation has significantly better clinical and functional outcome post-operative and at 1-year follow up.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the rising number of child abuse in Malaysia, there are only few studies documenting early childcare providers' (ECPs') intention to report child abuse. ECPs play a vital impact because they closely interact with the children and nearly daily observe them. They should take the lead in ending the cycle of abuse in order to safeguard the children. The aim of our study was to determine the factors that influence ECPs' intentions to report child abuse. MATERIALS AND METHOD: 457 ECPs working in preschools registered under the Community Development Department in Kelantan, the North-eastern part of peninsular Malaysia participated in a cross-sectional study utilising the Early Childhood Educators Child Abuse Questionnaire (ECECAQ) in Malay, which has been validated. RESULTS: Increasing knowledge was significantly associated with the intention to report to the authorities as revealed by multiple logistic regression. CONCLUSION: Our findings justify the need for a comprehensive module and integrated standardized training on child abuse for ECPs in Malaysia to improve their knowledge, thus empowering them to report any child abuse case.