Publications by authors named "Halim Ismail"
Introduction: Sickness absenteeism among the nurses in Malaysia is not fully understood. Complicated with the increase in workload and mental stress during the COVID-19 pandemic and the manifestation of long COVID-19 symptoms, there is a need for an updated insight on the prevalence and the risk factors of sickness absenteeism among nurses in Malaysia. As such, we designed a study protocol that assess the prevalence and risk factors of sickness absenteeism among nurses in Malaysia in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Social interactions within and between communities influenced the spread of COVID-19. By using social network analysis (SNA), we aimed to understand the effect of social interaction on the spread of disease in a rural district.
Method: A retrospective record review study using positive COVID-19 cases and contact-tracing data from an area in Malaysia was performed and analysed using the SNA method through R software and visualised by Gephi software.
Background: Orang Asli lifestyle and household setting may influence their health status especially respiratory system and lung functions. This cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate the status of lung functions of Orang Asli community and the associated factors.
Methods: Data collection was carried out from November 2017 until May 2018 among 211 Orang Asli respondents aged 18 years old and above, who lived in five villages in Tasik Chini, Pahang.
Although immunization is one of the most successful and cost-effective interventions that prevents millions of infant and child deaths yearly, it has failed to achieve its intended goals in some low-income countries. Yemen is currently experiencing the most extreme humanitarian crisis globally, which has affected health and worsened its economy and political governance instability. There are few reports on Yemeni vaccination statuses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Workplace bullying (WPB) among trainee doctors is a concerning problem in Malaysia. However, there is still limited understanding regarding the influence of trainee doctors' personality traits on WPB. Furthermore, the impact of contract employment status on WPB among trainee doctors is not yet well-defined.
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- Violence against healthcare workers in primary settings is a rising concern, with little prior research compared to tertiary settings; a systematic review aimed to consolidate recent findings on this issue from studies published between 2013 and 2023.
- * The analysis included 23 studies categorized into themes such as prevalence, types of violence, contributing factors, and coping strategies; violence prevalence among primary healthcare workers was notably high, ranging from 45.6% to 90%, with verbal abuse being the most common form.
- * Key issues identified include a significant risk of violence perpetrated by patients and families, various factors leading to violence, negative consequences for workers and organizations, and prevalent under-reporting due to skepticism about the effectiveness of current workplace policies.
Article Synopsis
- A study was conducted on frontline healthcare workers in Kuala Lumpur during the COVID-19 pandemic to assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress, along with their relationship to sociodemographic factors, workplace concerns, and coping strategies.
- Results showed that 69.3% of participants experienced depression, 77.4% anxiety, and 57.7% stress; none of the sociodemographic factors were linked to these mental health issues.
- Depressive symptoms were tied to several workplace worries and specific coping strategies, with humor and substance use linked positively to depression, whereas active coping and acceptance were negatively correlated; similar patterns were noted for stress, but anxiety showed no correlation with
In recent years, amphetamine-type-stimulants (ATS) have been extensively misused in South-East Asia, inducing major problems among methadone-maintenance-treatment (MMT) patients. We examine ATS-misuse prevalence and its determinants among MMT patients in East-Coast-Malaysia. A retrospective-observational study was conducted on government-subsidized medication for opioid-use-disorder (MOUD) treatment clinics involving 292 MMT-patients (98% males) who were selected using a multilevel-proportional-stratified random sampling technique.
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- Exposure to environmental pollutants, particularly urinary heavy metals like cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), can impact lung function and lead to diseases like COPD.
- A study conducted in Klang Valley, Malaysia, involving 200 community members revealed that 12% had high levels of urinary Cd, but none showed high Pb levels, with Cd correlating negatively with lung function measures like FVC and FEV1.
- Multiple linear regression analysis confirmed that higher urinary Cd levels significantly negatively affected lung function, and education level was also identified as a contributing factor.
Introduction: Although immunisation prevents the death of millions of infants and children each year, the vaccination coverage of routine childhood vaccination does not reach its target. The reasons for low vaccination uptake can be related to both demand and supply side determinants. The prevalence of vaccine hesitancy is increasing globally.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCompliance of Healthcare Worker's toward Tuberculosis Preventive Measures in Workplace: A Systematic Literature Review.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
October 2021
Despite several guidelines published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and national authorities, there is a general increase in the number of healthcare workers (HCWs) contracting tuberculosis. This review sought to evaluate the compliance of the HCWs toward tuberculosis preventive measures (TPMs) in their workplace. Both electronic databases and manual searches were conducted to retrieve articles regarding the compliance of HCWs in the workplace published from 2010 onwards.
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- * A study in Kedah examined 456 confirmed leptospirosis cases, identifying 199 as severe and 257 as mild, and collected data from patient medical records to assess predictive factors for severity.
- * Key predictive factors for severe leptospirosis identified include abnormal lung sounds, hepatomegaly, hypotension, leukocytosis, low hematocrit, and increased alanine aminotransferase levels, which can help clinicians improve early diagnosis and treatment strategies.
Background: The Delphi method has been widely applied in many study areas to systematically gather experts' input on particular topic. Recently, it has become increasingly well known in health related research. This paper applied the Fuzzy Delphi method to enhance the validation of a questionnaire pertaining chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) risk factors among metal industry workers.
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