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The present study aimed to validate the Malay Happiness at Workplace (M-HAW) index questionnaire. A cross-sectional survey study with a convenience sampling method was carried out at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC), Malaysia. The forward-backward approach was used to translate the original 11 items of the M-HAW questionnaires, which were then distributed to respondents. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were utilised to assess the questionnaires' validity and reliability. A total of 501 healthy individuals were included in the study, with 72% female respondents and a mean age of 37.63 + 7.60. The questionnaire was generally well-received by participants, and reliability standards were met (Cronbach's α = 0.95). The EFA shows two distinct factors, namely individual and environmental factors. The CFA shows that the model was fit (RMSEA= 0.076, CFI= 0.978, x2/df= 3.31). The M-HAW demonstrated its validity as a good tool for determining happiness in the workplace. The M-HAW questionnaire can be used as a screening tool to measure happiness, and should be able to help an organisation provide suitable interventions to improve employee happiness. INSET: 1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postoperative sore throat (POST) is a common complication with incidence of 30-90% when intubation was done using conventional Macintosh laryngoscope. Although POST is usually self-limiting and with no long-term morbidity, it can lead to patient's discomfort and dissatisfaction in the postoperative period. The objective of this study was to compare the incidence of POST following intubation using Macintosh laryngoscope and C-MAC® videolaryngoscope (VL) at various time intervals post anaesthesia. This prospective randomised controlled study comprised of 128 patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) I and II status who underwent elective surgery under general anaesthesia in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre. All recruited patients have normal airway and divided randomly into Group 1 and Group 2 that used Macintosh laryngoscope and C-MAC® VL during intubation, respectively. Patients were evaluated for sore throat, hoarseness of voice, dysphagia and coughing at recovery, 6 hours, 12 hours and 24 hours after intubation. Severity of POST was assessed using numerical rating scale (NRS). Incidence of POST was found to be higher in the Macintosh laryngoscope group (61.9%) compared to C-MAC® VL group (47.9%) although the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.107). Median pain score was used to assess the severity of POST, showing low and comparable in both groups at all time intervals. There were also no significant differences seen in hoarseness of voice, coughing and dysphagia for both groups during postoperation. Incidence of POST following intubation using C-MAC® VL and conventional Macintosh laryngoscope were comparable. This study revealed that severity of POST was generally low in both groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes mellitus is a costly chronic disease related to medication, physician consultation and laboratory investigation. The main means of financing healthcare include direct out-of-pocket (OOP) payment and government subsidisation in some countries, or public/private health insurance schemes, or a mix of all. Patient satisfaction is critical in ensuring the use of healthcare services, continuity of care and treatment adherence. In this study, we determined the satisfaction of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients regarding the healthcare services and payment methods at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Teaching Hospital, Malaysia. This cross-sectional study involved 313 T2DM patients aged ≥18 years who were included after clinical consultations. We used convenience sampling at the outpatient and inpatient medical centres of Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz and UKM Specialist Centre. A survey consisting of sociodemographic, socioeconomic and payment method types as well as a validated patient satisfaction questionnaire scale were used. The mean age was 59.6 years (SD=13.151), 53.0% of the patients were female, 78.3% were Malay, 76.4% were uninsured, 39.6% were covered by government subsidies, while 36.7% paid OOP. Around 86% were generally satisfied with the overall services. Patients were most satisfied with technical quality (84%), communication skills (83%) and accessibility (80%), but satisfaction was lower in doctors' service orientation, particularly the interpersonal manner (73%), financial aspect (73%) and time spent with the doctor (70%). Over 86% of patients were satisfied with healthcare services and payment methods; however, patients who paid OOP reported low satisfaction. Full insurance and extending benefits to partially cover both inpatients and outpatients with low co-payment is recommended to increase satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the strategies in strengthening the healthcare providers in mitigating the impact of COVID-19 pandemic is through training. Safety and disease unfamiliarity with COVID-19 was the main reason for developing this dedicated specialized training modules in order to address the issue. The training modules were developed based on three strategies that are learning from experience, design suitable dedicated module and identify weakness and vulnerability. The training modules created were donning-doffing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), airway management and cardiopulmonary resuscitation of suspected COVID-19 patients which were delivered through immersive life simulation technique. A total of 178 Emergency Healthcare Frontliners (EHFs) were trained. Each module was guided with a checklist that the participants found to be very useful. None of the participants reported developing symptoms of infection after undergoing the face-to-face simulation training even after two weeks of post-training periods. Seven important steps were found to be crucial that contributed to these findings which included room space, participants number per group, COVID-19 screening, taking of temperature, hand sanitization, PPE, and equipment sanitization before and after training. Hands-on training with guided-checklist was found to be very useful to the EHFs in managing an unfamiliar situation of COVID-19. In time-constraint-resource-limited conditions, training modules should be focused on addressing the pressing problem at hand. In conducting a face-to-face training, precautionary safety measures should be strictly adhered to prevent the spread of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thalassaemia screening programme has been conducted in Malaysia since 2004. The aim of the programme was to reduce the burden of the disease by identifying thalassaemia carriers. However, the response towards the screening activities was unsatisfactory as there was lack of public awareness against the importance of thalassaemia screening. An alternative approach is to screen blood donors. The purpose of this study was to observe the prevalence of thalassaemia carriers among healthy blood donors. Seven hundred and thirty eight healthy blood donors were screened in Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah, Klang from July to September 2010 using cation-exchange high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Cases with haemoglobin variants were further analyzed by gel electrophoresis at alkaline pH. Result shows that the blood donors consisted of 413 Malays (56%), 162 Indians (22%), 148 Chinese (20%) and 15 others (2%). There were 19 (2.6%) individuals with haemoglobin E trait, six (0.8%) with co-inheritance of haemoglobin E and αα- thalassaemia and five (0.7%) with β-thalassaemia trait. Haemoglobin Constant Spring and haemoglobin A2 prime were observed in two (0.3%); and Haemoglobin Lepore and alpha chain variant in one (0.2%). αα-thalassaemia and normal haemoglobin A2 β-thalassaemia could not be excluded in 190 cases (26%), as they required deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) studies for identification. Thalassaemia screening in blood donors is more feasible and effective. Therefore, a wider scale population screening including blood donors could benefit the existing thalassaemia screening programme in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]