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The paper human needs can be categorised into two, namely physiological and psychological needs. A male's characteristics is more inclined towards an extrovert personality and the aspects of personality are the psychophysical systems in an individual that determine the thinking and behavioural features. Personality as traits in an individual that forms various characteristics and attitudes. personality as a set of stable characteristics and inclinations that determines similarities and differences in a person's psychological behaviour. Data from Taiwan shows that there is no difference between the number of males and females contracting the COVID 19 infection. Hence, there is a possibility that the COVID 19 virus prefers males to be the host carrier. However, there is a possibility that males in Malaysia are generally more involved in social activities, whereby they have an extrovert personality compared to females in Malaysia, who are predominantly introverts. These studies show that the COVID 19 crisis can be overcome by applying the religious approach. This study, which applied the interview method on COVID 19 patients, intended to determine the effects of physical, psychological and religious disruptions as well as the practice of religious coping on COVID 19 patients quarantined for 14 days before being certified as COVID 19 positive and receiving treatment in hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mental health problems of ex-prisoners are increasing and worrying so that it can affect the effectiveness of the reintegration of ex-prisoners into society. This paper aims to determine the relationship between personality types and the level of mental health of ex-prisoners in Malaysia. This study uses a quantitative approach with a survey method of 250 respondents. Two instruments were used in the questionnaire, namely the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale Test (DASS21) to measure the level of mental health of ex-prisoners and the Zuckerman-Kuhlman-40-Cross Culture Personality Test (ZKPQ-M-40-CC) to identify 5 personality domains of ex-prisoners namely Activity, Sociability, Aggressiveness-Hostility, Impulsive Sensation Seeking and Neuroticism-Anxiety. The results of the study found that there is a positive significant relationship between the five types of personality with the level of depression, anxiety and stress among ex-prisoners. Specific mental health interventions should be provided to prisoners before and after their release. This is very important in ensuring that the chance of reintegration of ex-prisoners into society is effective when mental health problems can be prevented and treated before they get worse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emotional and behavioural problems among children have been increasing in many western as well as the eastern countries. Although the problem has been given attention and priority in terms of early detection, many children with early symptoms of emotional and behavioural problems has still not been detected at the early stages. This phenomenon is worrying as mental health problems were shown to be stable in the long run and if left undetected it may manifest into various problems in adulthood. This paper explores the issues on emotional and behavioural problems in terms of its definition, prevalence, aetiology, long term consequences and treatment. It also explores on mental health problems in a non-western country, i.e. Malaysia including its prevalence and intervention strategies which has been carried out in overcoming this worrying issue. Finally this review paper stresses the importance of providing a well-designed epidemiological study in Malaysia in assessing the current prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems in young children and adolescent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition from school to university brings significant adjustments in lifestyle, body weight, and living environment for young adults, potentially impacting their quality of life. Emerging evidence suggests the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have exacerbated these changes. This cross-sectional study involved 361 young adults (18–25 years) from Malaysian tertiary institutions, aiming to identify factors associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) post-COVID-19 restrictions. Data were collected online between April and July 2022, utilizing the WHOQOL-BREF for HRQOL assessment. Participants, with a median age of 23, scored highest in the physical health domain (mean: 63.2, SD = 16.2) and lowest in psychological health (mean: 58.2, SD = 16.9). Physical health domain scores varied by ethnicity, the field of study, weight category, and prescription medicine usage; environmental health scores by ethnicity and household income; and social health scores by age. Moderate perceived stress and low perceived support were significant predictors of poor HRQOL. Across the weight categories, sleep quality, perceived stress, and support have consistently impacted the HRQOL domain scores. This study underscores the multifaceted influences on young adults' quality of life during the transition to university, especially in post-pandemic adjustments, highlighting the importance of addressing factors such as perceived stress and support to enhance overall well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human emotion is often a reflection of one's behaviour that leads to awareness of one's mental health. Emotion detection on Twitter users specifically gains attention as it generates information that is useful in the field of psychology and linguistics. However, most existing works related to the subject analysed the emotion of a tweet based on the number of keywords or phrases in it, thus resulting in false annotations and eventually false judgement of the user's emotion. This paper proposes a two-step model with high and reliable accuracy to detect the emotion of Twitter users based on the semantic meaning of the tweets they posted. The first step classified the emotion of each tweet using four different deep learning techniques. The second step detected the emotion of the user based on the proposed statistical post-level features and a boosting technique. Then, Kappa's agreement score method was implemented to validate both models. The first step achieved 0.9482 in accuracy while the second step achieved 0.9683 in accuracy. To further validate such highly accurate result, a case study was conducted, and a web-based system was developed to analyse the emotion of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, our analysis corresponded to most of the current reports on the pandemic which further proved the reliability of the developed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper describes the cross-cultural adaptation of the Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire (PIDAQ) into Malay version (Malay PIDAQ), an oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) instrument specific for orthodontics for Malaysian adolescents between 12 and 17 years old.Methods: The PIDAQ was cross-culturally adapted into Malay version by forward- and backward-translation processes, followed by psychometric validations. After initial investigation of the conceptual suitability of the measure for the Malaysian population, the PIDAQ was translated into Malay, pilot tested and back translated into English. Psychometric properties were examined across two age groups (319 subjects aged 12-14 and 217 subjects aged 15-17 years old) for factor structure, internal consistency, reproducibility, discriminant and construct validity, criterion validity, and assessment of floor and ceiling effects.Results: Fit indices by confirmatory factor analysis showed good fit statistics (comparative fit index = 0.936, root-mean-square error of approximation = 0.064) and invariance across age groups. Internal consistency and reproducibility tests were satisfactory (Cronbach's α = 0.71-0.91; intra-class correlations = 0.72-0.89). Significant differences in Malay PIDAQ mean scores were observed between subjects with severe malocclusion and those with slight malocclusion based on a self-rated and an investigator-rated malocclusion index, for all subscales and all age groups (p < 0.05). Construct validity of the Malay PIDAQ subscales with those who rated themselves with excellent to poor dental appearance and those who felt they needed or did not need braces, showed significant associations for all age groups (p < 0.05). Criterion validity also showed significant association between the Malay PIDAQ scores with those with and without impact on daily activities attributed to malocclusion. There were no ceiling effects detected but floor effects were detected for the Aesthetic Concern subscale.Conclusion: The study has provided initial evidence for the validity and reliability of the Malay PIDAQ to assess the impact of malocclusion on the OHRQoL of 12-17 year old Malaysian adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stress, depression, and anxiety are prevalent issues among SME employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even while having meaningful work that expressively contributes to individual growth has been related to improving mental health, employees' work may also need to adopt coping strategies to increase outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between meaningful work (positive meaning, meaning-making, and greater good motivations) and mental health, as well as coping strategies (problem-focused and emotion-focused) as a mediator of this relationship. Methods: Meaningful work, coping strategies, and mental health were evaluated in empirical research based on a sample of 462 SME employees working in Malaysia. Structured questionnaires were used to collect the data and analyze it through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using AMOS 21.0. Results: The findings of the study show the importance of meaningful work in influencing the mental health of SME employees, particularly during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. This suggests that the more they value and see their work as meaningful, the more capable they are of dealing with limitations and mental health problems associated with crises. The study also discovered a partial mediating role for coping strategies between employees' mental health and meaningful work. Conclusion: This study encourages employees to constantly feel connected and discover continued possibilities to work and learn even during crisis situations. In order to improve human resource efficiency in emerging markets, managers and owners of SMEs must implement the model developed by the researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Malaysia, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the negative impact on mental health became noticeable. The public's psychological and behavioral responses have risen as the COVID-19 outbreak progresses. A high impression of severity, vulnerability, impact, and fear was the element that influenced higher anxiety. Social media data can be used to track Malaysian sentiments in the COVID-19 era. However, it is often found on the internet in text format with no labels, and manually decoding this data is usually complicated. Furthermore, traditional data- gathering approaches, such as filling out a survey form, may not completely capture the sentiments. This study uses a text mining technique called Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) on social media to discover mental health topics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, a model is developed using a hybrid approach, combining both lexicon-based and Naïve Bayes classifier. The accuracy, precision, recall, and F-measures are used to evaluate the sentiment classification. The result shows that the best lexicon-based technique is VADER with 72% accuracy compared to TextBlob with 70% accuracy. These sentiments results allow for a better understanding and handling of the pandemic. The top three topics are identified and further classified into positive and negative comments. In conclusion, the developed model can assist healthcare workers and policymakers in making the right decisions in the upcoming pandemic outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 coronavirus, an infectious disease originating in Wuhan, has become an outbreak worldwide, leading to unprecedented measures restricting social and physical activities in many countries. The subsequent social distancing of COVID-19 has significantly resulted in many psychological consequences. The current study examines the impact of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health symptoms of Selangor State, Malaysia residents. An online survey was conducted through social media platforms targeting residents of Selangor State in Malaysia. A convenience sampling method was led to include 258 respondents in the study. The questionnaire on the symptoms of mental health related to fear of COVID-19 included 13 items developed from the existing studies. The results showed that symptoms of mental health problems related to fear of COVID-19 are negatively associated with the likelihood of social interaction. The overall score of symptoms of mental health related to the fear of COVID-19 showed moderate symptoms of mental problems related to the fear of COVID-19. The factor of age was also associated with higher symptomatology of mental health problems related to fear of COVID-19. Thus, related measures and guidelines must consider the mental well-being of the at-risk person as the pandemic continues. The current study's findings contribute to the knowledge gaps in behavioural health during biological disasters. It also provides a reference for professionals and policymakers to develop programs and measures to handle the psychosocial status of the affected people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Anxiety is a common mental health disorder in primary care, with a higher prevalence among women compared to men. AIM: This is the first study to validate the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 questionnaire (GAD-7) as a case-finding instrument for anxiety in a primary care setting in Malaysia. The objective was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the Malay version of the GAD-7 in detecting anxiety among women. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a government-funded primary care clinic in Malaysia. Consecutive women participants attending the clinic during data collection were given self-administered questionnaires including the GAD-7 (Malay version). Participants then were selected using systematic weighted random sampling for Composite international diagnostic interviews (ACIDIC). The GAD-7 was validated against the ACIDIC reference standard. RESULTS: The response rate was 87.5% for the questionnaire completion (895/1023), and 96.8% for diagnostic interviews (151/156). The prevalence of anxiety was 7.8%. The GAD-7 had a sensitivity of 76% (95% CIA 61%-87%), a specificity of 94% (88%-97%), positive R 13.7 (6.2-30.5) and negative R 0.25 (0.14-0.45). DISCUSSION: The Malay version of the GAD-7 was found to be valid and reliable in case-finding for anxiety in this study. Due to its brevity, it is a suitable case-finding instrument for detecting anxiety in primary care settings in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rohingya refugees are one of the oldest and largest asylumseeking populations in Malaysia. Yet, there is a dearth of literature in relation to this population and their mental health. Through case studies, this paper seeks to add to the emerging body of knowledge on the Rohingya. These case studies highlight the unique factors which contribute to mental ill-health among them. It also seeks to identify mental health and psychosocial support strategies that are currently being implemented to address the mental health needs of the Rohingya in Malaysia, the challenges encountered and possible ways forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal mental health problems are widespread worldwide, especially against the backdrop of population growth. There is an increasing prevalence of perinatal mental illness in low- and middle-income countries, and Malaysia is no exception. Despite significant improvements in the Malaysian mental health system over the past decade, there are substantial gaps in the delivery of perinatal health services in Malaysia. This article seeks to give a general overview of perinatal mental health in Malaysia and provide recommendations for the development of Malaysia's perinatal mental health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was part of a larger cross-national research project at the Norway’s University of Bergen, which involved participants from over 30 countries. This undertaking delves into developmental assets, creativity, and thriving, and the part they play in determining mental health. Thus, this study examined the developmental assets (internal assets: support, empowerment, boundaries, and expectations and creative use of time; external assets: commitment to learning, positive identity, positive values, and social competencies), creativity, thriving, and their importance to mental health in a sample of Malaysian emerging adults. This study was based on a sample of 394 undergraduate students, comprising 264 females and 130 males, ranging between the ages of 18 and 26 years (M = 21.5). Two subscales of the Reisman diagnostic creativity assessment (RDCA) were used to measure creativity (originality and fluency). Meanwhile, thriving indicators of Search Institute were used to measure thriving while the short form of the mental health continuum (MHCSF) for adolescents was used to measure mental health. An online Google form was used to collect data from university students enrolled in both public and private universities. The correlation analysis results revealed that all the variables were positively correlated to each other and that the relationship between development assets, creativity, thriving, and mental health ranged from weak to moderate. Multiple regression (stepwise) analysis produced four models that indicated that positive identity, support, creativity, and thriving have a significant influence on mental health among emerging adults. Further, analyses using the PROCESS procedure demonstrated significant indirect effects of positive identity and support on mental health through its effects on creativity and thriving. As such, it is our recommendation that mental health practitioners tailor their treatment approach to include positive identity, support, creativity, and thriving in their sessions with Malaysian emerging adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 27-item Literacy of Suicide Scale (LOSS) is a test designed to measure the respondent's suicide knowledge. The purpose of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of the Malay-translated version of the LOSS (M-LOSS) and its association to sociodemographic factors and mental health literacy. The 27-item LOSS was forward–backward translated into Malay, and the content and face validities were assessed. The version was distributed to 750 respondents across West Malaysia. Rasch model analysis was then conducted to assess the scale's psychometric properties. The validated M-LOSS and the Malay version of the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS-M) were then distributed to 867 respondents to evaluate their level of suicide literacy, mental health literacy, and their correlation. Upon Rasch analysis, 26 items were retained. The scale was found to be unidimensional, with generally satisfying separation and reliability indexes. Sex, socio-economic status, and experience in mental health were found to significantly impact the mean score for mental health literacy. This study also found a significant mean difference for suicide literacy across school types. Furthermore, while this study observed a weak but significant negative correlation between age and suicide literacy, no correlation was found between mental health and suicide literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Many mental health disorders have onset during adolescence. To date, the data on the correlates of anxiety is still lacking. Therefore, this study is crucial to determine the factors associated with anxiety among school-going adolescents in Malaysia. Methods This study was based on 26,892 school-going adolescents from 212 selected schools in Malaysia. Anxiety was measured using Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Associations between anxiety, sociodemographic characteristics and variables of interest were examined using multivariable logistic regression. Results Overall, 10,540 (39.7%) school-going adolescents had anxiety. Anxiety was positively associated with female (odds ratio, OR [95% confidence interval, CI] = 1.30 [1.19,1.42]) compared to male counterpart, feeling loneliness (1.78 [1.54,2.05]) compared to not lonely, unable to sleep due to worry of something (1.79 [1.56,2.05]) compared to able to sleep, being bullied (1.66 [1.48,1.87]) compared to not being bullied, physical abuse (1.33 [1.18,1.49]) compared to no physical abuse, verbal abuse (1.47 [1.35,1.59]) compared to no verbal abuse, current drinker (1.23 [1.06,1.43]) compared to not current drinker, current drug use (1.84 [1.43,2.35]) compared to not current drug use, ever had sex (1.17 [1.01,1.36]) compared to never had sex, physically inactive (1.16 [1.06,1.26]) compared to physically active and internet addiction (2.59 [2.37,2.83]) compared to no internet addiction. Chinese ethnic (0.68 [0.50,0.93]) compared to other ethnic, and Form 2 (0.78 [0.69,0.89]) and Form 3 (0.73 [0.65,0.82]) students compared to Form 1 students, were protective of anxiety. Conclusions Prevention and intervention programs for these "at-risk" adolescents should be planned holistically towards reducing the risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study explores the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), including social distancing, travel restrictions and quarantine, on lived experiences during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand (TH), Malaysia (MY), Italy (IT) and the United Kingdom (UK). A total of 86 interviews (TH: n = 28; MY: n = 18; IT: n = 20; UK: n = 20) were conducted with members of the public, including healthcare workers (n = 13). Participants across countries held strong views on government imposed NPIs, with many feeling measures lacked clarity. Most participants reported primarily negative impacts of NPIs on their lives, including through separation, isolation and grief over missed milestones; work-related challenges and income loss; and poor mental health and wellbeing. Nonetheless, many also experienced inadvertent positive consequences, including more time at home to focus on what they most valued in life; a greater sense of connectedness; and benefits to working life. Commonly employed coping strategies focused on financial coping (e.g. reducing spending); psycho-emotional coping (e.g. engaging in spiritual practices); social coping and connectedness (e.g., maintaining relationships remotely); reducing and mitigating risks (e.g., changing food shopping routines); and limiting exposure to the news (e.g., checking news only occasionally). Importantly, the extent to which participants' lived experiences were positive or negative, and their ability to cope was underpinned by individual, social and economic factors, with the analysis indicating some salient differences across countries and participants. In order to mitigate negative and unequal impacts of NPIs, COVID-19 policies will benefit from paying closer attention to the social, cultural and psychological—not just biological—vulnerabilities to, and consequences of public health measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rising incidents of suicide capture the attention of healthcare providers, government agencies, non-governmental organizations and media. Furthermore, public conversations about social problems are largely mediated by the media. It is noteworthy that media have the power to shape the way the public thinks about an issue by suggesting what the issue is about, what the cause is, and what should be done as a solution. The current study aims to examine suicide coverage in Malaysia, particularly the problem characterization and solution advocacy by The Star in reporting suicide from 2014 to 2018. The Star is the English-language daily newspaper with the largest circulation in Malaysia. Through content analysis, the study found that there was a statistically significant difference between the number of articles reporting suicide and the different years. Most of the coverage was published in the form of straight news with a negative depiction of suicide. There was reporting on both local and international suicide news. In addition, suicide was linked to various issues (e.g. mental health, relationship or marriage problems, financial problems, workplace stress, etc.) in the coverage. The study also found a significant difference between issue narrative styles and suicide solutions. The practical implications of the findings are discussed with regard to the role of media in raising awareness of suicide, promoting prevention and intervention efforts at the institutional level, as well as undertaking a more robust interpretive approach in addressing the issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Anxiety is prevalent among women with Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG), which is associated with coping strategies and bio-psychosocial risk factors. This study aims to predict socioeconomic status (SES) and obstetric factors towards anxiety and stress-coping strategy, and to explore the significant differences in levels of anxiety on each coping strategy. Design: It was a cross-sectional survey in the Malaysian context. Methods: Forty women medically diagnosed with HG were recruited and completed Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) to assess generalized anxiety disorder and coping scale inventory using the Brief COPE questionnaire. Results: The employment status of pregnant women diagnosed with HG significantly predicted their anxiety. Household income and education level predicted emotion-focused coping strategies. None of the obstetric factors predicted the coping strategy. A significant difference was found across anxiety levels in problem-focused and dysfunctional coping strategies. The post-hoc test reveals that dysfunctional coping has the highest mean score in the severe anxiety category. Conclusion: It is essential to promote awareness about effective coping strategies for pregnant women who are diagnosed with HG. Greater efforts are needed to increase the duty of care among healthcare providers to propagate holistic and resourceful coping management with the HG that could help potential patients in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is strong evidence that collaborative practice in mental healthcare improves outcomes for patients. The concept of collaborative practice can include collaboration between healthcare workers of different professional backgrounds and collaboration with patients, families and communities. Most models of collaborative practice were developed in Western and high-income countries and are not easily translatable to settings which are culturally diverse and lower in resources. This project aimed to develop a set of recommendations to improve collaborative practice in Malaysia. Methods: In the first phase, qualitative research was conducted to better understand collaboration in a psychiatric hospital (previously published). In the second phase a local hospital level committee from the same hospital was created to act on the qualitative research and create a set of recommendations to improve collaborative practice at the hospital for the hospital. Some of these recommendations were implemented, where feasible and the outcomes discussed. These recommendations were then sent to a nationwide Delphi panel. These committees consisted of healthcare staff of various professions, patients and carers. Results: The Delphi panel reached consensus after three rounds. The recommendations include ways to improve collaborative problem solving and decision making in the hospital, ways to improve the autonomy and relatedness of patients, carers and staff and ways to improve the levels of resources (e.g. skills training in staff, allowing people with lived experience of mental disorder to contribute). Conclusions: This study showed that the Delphi method is a feasible method of developing recommendations and guidelines in Malaysia and allowed a wider range of stakeholders to contribute than traditional methods of developing guidelines and recommendations. Trial registration Registered in the National Medical Research Register, Malaysia, NMRR-13-308-14792 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This randomised controlled trial (RCT) aims to compare 6-week posttreatment outcomes of an Integrative Adapt Therapy (IAT) to a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) on common mental health symptoms and adaptive capacity amongst refugees from Myanmar. IAT is grounded on psychotherapeutic elements specific to the refugee experience.Methods and Findings: We conducted a single-blind RCT (October 2017 -May 2019) with Chin (39.3%), Kachin (15.7%), and Rohingya (45%) refugees living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The trial included 170 participants receiving six 45-minute weekly sessions of IAT (97.6% retention, 4 lost to follow-up) and 161 receiving a multicomponent CBT also involving six 45-minute weekly sessions (96.8% retention, 5 lost to follow-up). Participants (mean age: 30.8 years, SD = 9.6) had experienced and/or witnessed an average 10.1 types (SD = 5.9, range = 1-27) of traumatic events. We applied a single-blind design in which independent assessors of pre- and posttreatment indices were masked in relation to participants' treatment allocation status. Primary outcomes were symptom scores of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Complex PTSD (CPTSD), Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), the 5 scales of the Adaptive Stress Index (ASI), and a measure of resilience (the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale [CDRS]). Compared to CBT, an intention-to-treat analysis (n = 331) at 6-week posttreatment follow-up demonstrated greater reductions in the IAT arm for all common mental disorder (CMD) symptoms and ASI domains except for ASI-3 (injustice), as well as increases in the resilience scores. Adjusted average treatment effects assessing the differences in posttreatment scores between IAT and CBT (with baseline scores as covariates) were -0.08 (95% CI: -0.14 to -0.02, p = 0.012) for PTSD, -0.07 (95% CI: -0.14 to -0.01) for CPTSD, -0.07 for MDD (95% CI: -0.13 to -0.01, p = 0.025), 0.16 for CDRS (95% CI: 0.06-0.026, p ≤ 0.001), -0.12 (95% CI: -0.20 to -0.03, p ≤ 0.001) for ASI-1 (safety/security), -0.10 for ASI-2 (traumatic losses; 95% CI: -0.18 to -0.02, p = 0.02), -0.03 for ASI-3 (injustice; (95% CI: -0.11 to 0.06, p = 0.513), -0.12 for ASI-4 (role/identity disruptions; 95% CI: -0.21 to -0.04, p ≤ 0.001), and -0.18 for ASI-5 (existential meaning; 95% CI: -0.19 to -0.05, p ≤ 0.001). Compared to CBT, the IAT group had larger effect sizes for all indices (except for resilience) including PTSD (IAT, d = 0.93 versus CBT, d = 0.87), CPTSD (d = 1.27 versus d = 1.02), MDD (d = 1.4 versus d = 1.11), ASI-1 (d = 1.1 versus d = 0.85), ASI-2 (d = 0.81 versus d = 0.66), ASI-3 (d = 0.49 versus d = 0.42), ASI-4 (d = 0.86 versus d = 0.67), and ASI-5 (d = 0.72 versus d = 0.53). No adverse events were recorded for either therapy. Limitations include a possible allegiance effect (the authors inadvertently conveying disproportionate enthusiasm for IAT in training and supervision), cross-over effects (counsellors applying elements of one therapy in delivering the other), and the brief period of follow-up.Conclusions: Compared to CBT, IAT showed superiority in improving mental health symptoms and adaptative stress from baseline to 6-week posttreatment. The differences in scores between IAT and CBT were modest and future studies conducted by independent research teams need to confirm the findings.Trial Registration: The study is registered under Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) (http://www.anzctr.org.au/). The trial registration number is: ACTRN12617001452381. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression is the most common form of mental disorder among prison inmates. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence and socio-demographic determinants of depression among adult male inmates in a local prison in Malaysia. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 460 inmates who were systematically selected. Depression was screened using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression were applied to determine the association between depression and associated variables. Data was analyzed using SPSS software with a p value less than 0.05 was considered significant. The response rate was 90.7% while prevalence of depression was 40.7%. The presence of communicable disease (AOR=2.249, 95%Cl=1.217-4.156) and non-communicable disease (AOR=1.890, 95%Cl=1.132-3.156) identified as sociodemographic determinants of depression. The study suggest a high prevalence of depression among the inmates. Initiative must be given to address and improve the prison health care services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) is a facet‐specific aspect of organizational climate that pertains to employees’ psychological health. We sought to deepen our understanding of how and when resources function by considering the role of PSC as a contextual factor for job demands‐resources model. We explained this using two different mechanisms – PSC as a resource passageway (i.e., channelling, supplying, bolstering, complementing, compensating resources) or PSC as a safety signal (i.e., enabling resource use) effect. Using longitudinal data from 429 Malaysian health care workers from 53 teams and hierarchical linear modelling (HLM), we found team PSC was a stronger moderator of emotional demands than control or rewards on psychological health problems (emotional exhaustion and somatic symptoms), after controlling for the baseline outcomes. A three‐way interaction of team PSC at Time 1 with demands and resources (rewards only) at Time 2 showed that PSC is able to moderate the moderation relationship of demands and resources. Specifically, PSC, as a resource passageway, is providing a range of resources, that likely to compensate and complement low rewards. Hence, when both PSC and rewards were low, emotional demands had the strongest effect on psychological health. This result is robust as it was validated using HLM and split samples of PSC at the upper level. Given the important contextual role of PSC as a ‘moderator of the moderators’, building PSC should be the focus of workplace interventions to protect the psychological health of workers. Practitioner points: Psychosocial safety climate may compensate for job resources, particularly rewards in an organization to protect workers’ psychological health. Psychosocial safety climate buffers the detrimental effect of emotional demands on workers’ psychological health better than rewards and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reliable national data on disability which is internationally comparable is needed in Malaysia. This study aims to examine the prevalence of disability among adults in Malaysia and its determinants, particularly the socioeconomic factors and comorbidities.Methods: This study was based on the disability module, which is part of the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2015. This survey was implemented using a multi-stage stratified sampling design. A locally validated Washington Group questionnaire was used to collect data on disability.Results: Based on the definition of having at least one domain scored "a lot of difficulty or unable to do at all" or at least "some difficulty" scored in two domains, the prevalence of disability among adults in Malaysia was 11.8% (95% CI: 11.15, 12.53). Logistic regression analysis performed showed that population at risk of having disability in Malaysia were those of older people, ethnic minority, low level of education, single, obese, physically inactive and having mental health problems. Among older people, disability was significantly higher among those with no formal education, having mental health problems and physically inactive.Conclusions: The prevalence of disability among adults in Malaysia is comparable to WHO estimates and most developing countries. Planning for healthcare services should consider at-risk population, particularly older people and those from disadvantaged background to ensure equity healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and Objectives There are limited studies conducted on the needs of cancer survivors in developing countries like Malaysia. This qualitative study aimed at exploring the post-treatment impact and needs of prostate cancer survivors. Method: A qualitative study design was used. One in-depth interview and four focus group discussions were conducted with 24 prostate cancer survivors (age range: 58-79 years) from government and private hospitals in Malaysia in 2013. Trained researchers used a topic guide to guide the interviews, which were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, checked and managed with Nvivo 10 software. A thematic approach was used to analyse the data. Result: Three main themes emerged from the analysis: (a) impact of prostate cancer on the survivors, (b) support needed for coping and (c) information needs. Prostate cancer has an important impact on the survivors' lifestyle after treatment. Some of them have to live with the post-treatment side effects. They were anxious about the possibility of relapse. In addition to family and peer support, there were participants who felt that spiritual support was important in helping them cope with the possibility of relapse. The survivors felt that they did not receive enough information about post-treatment care, dietary measures and supplements for relapse prevention, treatment and prognosis. Conclusion: Prostate cancer has a significant impact on the survivor's lifestyle, emotional and physical health. They need information and emotional support from the healthcare professionals, family and peers. Therefore, it is important for healthcare providers to explore the needs of prostate cancer survivors and provide the necessary support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Obesity, eating disorders and unhealthy weight-loss practices have been associated with diminished growth in adolescents worldwide. Interventions that address relevant behavioural dimensions have been lacking in Malaysia. This paper describes the protocol of an integrated health education intervention namely 'Eat Right, Be Positive About Your Body and Live Actively' (EPaL), a primary prevention which aimed to promote healthy lifestyle in preventing overweight and disordered eating among secondary school adolescents aged 13-14 years old.Methods/design: Following quasi-experimental design, the intervention is conducted in two secondary schools located in the district of Hulu Langat, Selangor, Malaysia. Adolescents aged 13-14 years will be included in the study. A peer-education strategy is adopted to convey knowledge and teach skills relevant to achieving a healthy lifestyle. The intervention mainly promoted: healthy eating, positive body image and active lifestyle. The following parameters will be assessed: body weight, disordered eating status, stages of change (for healthy diet, breakfast, food portion size, screen viewing and physical activity), body image, health-related quality of life, self-esteem, eating and physical activity behaviours; and knowledge, attitude and practice towards a healthy lifestyle. Assessment will be conducted at three time points: baseline, post-intervention and 3-month follow-up.Discussion: It is hypothesized that EPaL intervention will contribute in preventing overweight and disordered eating by giving the positive effects on body weight status, healthy lifestyle behaviour, as well as health-related quality of life of peer educators and participants. It may serve as a model for similar future interventions designed for the Malaysian community, specifically adolescents.Trial Registration: UMIN Clinical Trial Registration UMIN000024349 (Date of registration: 11th. October 2016, retrospectively registered). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Malay version of the Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire has been validated for use by Malaysian adolescents. Although Malay is their national language, English is widely used as the lingua franca among Malaysians of different ethnicities. This study aimed to validate an English version of the PIDAQ adapted for use by Malaysian adolescents to optimize data capture from adolescents who prefer English as the medium for communication.Methods: The published English version of PIDAQ was pilot tested on 12- to 17-year-old adolescents, resulting in a few modifications to suit the Malaysian variety of English. Psychometric properties were tested on 393 adolescents who attended orthodontic practices and selected schools. Malocclusion was assessed using the Malocclusion Index, an aggregation of Perception of Occlusion Scale and the Aesthetic Component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need, by the subjects (MI-S) and investigators (MI-D). Data were analysed for internal consistency and age-associated invariance, discriminant, construct and criterion validities, reproducibility and floor and ceiling effects using AMOS v.20 and SPSS v.20.Results: The item Don't like own teeth on video of the Aesthetic Concern (AC) subscale was not relevant to a large proportion of participants (11.7%). Therefore, it was removed and the Malaysian English PIDAQ was analysed based on 22 items instead of 23 items. Confirmatory factor analysis showed good fit statistics (comparative fit index: 0.902, root-mean-square error of approximation: 0.066). Internal consistency was good for the Dental Self-Confidence, Social Impact and Psychological Impact subscales (Cronbach's alpha: 0.70-0.95) but lower (0.52-0.62) though acceptable for the AC subscale as it consisted of only 2 items. The reproducibility test was acceptable (intra-class correlations: 0.53-0.78). For all PIDAQ subscales, the MI-S and MI-D scores of those with severe malocclusion differed significantly from those with no or slight malocclusion. There were significant associations between the PIDAQ subscales with ranking of perceived dental appearance, need for braces and impact of malocclusion on daily activities. There were no floor or ceiling effects.Conclusion: The adapted Malaysian English PIDAQ demonstrated adequate psychometric properties that are valid and reliable for assessment of psychological impacts of dental aesthetics among Malaysian adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Mental health problems are common in old age, but frequently remain undetected and untreated. Mental health problems in the elderly are the result of a complex interaction of social, psychological and biological factors. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of mental health problems (depression, anxiety, and emotional stress) and their associated factors among the Malay elderly in a rural community of Perak, Malaysia. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study. The Malay elderly aged 60 years and above were selected through convenient sampling to give a total of 230 respondents. The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) was used to assess the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Bivariate analyses were performed using chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between the factors and each of the mental health statuses assessed. Results: The results showed that the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among the elderly respondents was 27.8%, 22.6%, and 8.7%, respectively. The significant factors for depression were single elderly (Adjusted OR = 3.27, 95%CI 1.66, 6.44), living with family (Adjusted OR = 4.98, 95%CI 2.05, 12.10), and poor general health status (Adjusted OR = 2.28, 95%CI 1.20, 4.36). Living with family was the only significant factor for anxiety (Adjusted OR = 2.68, 95%CI 1.09, 6.57). There was no significant factor for stress. Conclusions: Depression and anxiety among the Malay elderly in the rural community were very worrying. More equity in health should be created or strengthened in order to intensify the opportunity to identify, diagnose, and treat those with mental health problems. Living arrangement in the rural community was an important factor that had influenced depression and anxiety. Therefore, further research is recommended for more comprehensive information, as a result of which appropriate intervention can be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stigma of mental illness has been identified as a significant barrier to help-seeking and care. Basic knowledge of mental illness - such as its nature, symptoms and impact - are neglected, leaving room for misunderstandings on mental health and 'stigma'. Numerous researches have been conducted on stigma and discrimination of people with mental disorders. However, most of the literature investigates stigma from a cultural conception point of view, experiences of patients or public attitudes towards mental illness but little to none from the standpoint of mental health professionals. In Malaysia, this research on stigma is particularly limited. Therefore, the state of stigma and discrimination of people with mental illness was investigated from the perspectives of mental health professionals in Malaysia. Methods: In-depth, face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 mental health professionals from both government and private sectors including psychiatrists, psychologists and counsellors. The interviews were approximately 45-minutes long. The data was subsequently analysed using the basic thematic approach. Results: Seven principal themes, each with their own sub-themes, emerged from the analysis of 'stigma of mental illness' from mental health professionals' point of view, including: (1) main perpetrators, (2) types of mental illness carrying stigma, (3) demography and geography of stigma, (4) manifestations of stigma, (5) impacts of stigma, (6) causes of stigma and (7) proposed initiatives to tackle stigma. Stigma of mental illness is widespread in Malaysia. This is most evident amongst people suffering from conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression. Stigma manifests itself most often in forms of labelling, rejection, social exclusion and in employment. Family, friends and workplace staff are reported to be the main perpetrators of discriminatory conducts. Conclusion: According to the perspectives of the mental health professionals, implications of stigma include patients being trapped in a vicious cycle of discrimination leading to detrimental consequences for the individual, their families, communities and society as a whole. There is a pressing need to address stigma of mental illness and its consequences, especially through raising awareness of mental health and wellbeing in Malaysia, as reported by the mental health professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic since its onset has had a dramatic and often devastating impact, both physical and psychological, on all healthcare workers. This study aimed to assess the impact of psychological distress that COVID-19 has on nurses, as well as the coping strategies that they employed. This is a cross-sectional national online survey. A total of 859 nurses actively involved in caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 in Malaysia participated in the study. More than three-quarters of the nurses experienced stress (77.2%). A total of 88.7% and 7.2% of nurses revealed a moderate and high stress level, respectively. Approximately one in eight (12.1%) nurses reported feeling depressed. Nurses working in the outpatient departments reported significantly higher stress levels than nurses working in inpatient care departments. Nurses having chronic health problems reported significantly higher depression levels than nurses with no chronic health problem. Highly stressed or depressed nurses tend to adopt avoidance coping strategies while religion and emotional support were used regardless of the stress or depression levels experienced. The findings of the study provide insight into the mental health and coping strategies of nurses actively involved in caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 in Malaysia. This would be of tremendous help to nursing administrators in implementing mental health services for nurses during and following the COVID-19 global pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A social recovery approach to youth mental health focuses on increasing the time spent in valuable and meaningful structured activities, with a view to preventing enduring mental health problems and social disability. In Malaysia, access to mental health care is particularly limited and little research has focused on identifying young people at risk of serious socially disabling mental health problems such as psychosis. We provide preliminary evidence for the feasibility and acceptability of core social recovery assessment tools in a Malaysian context, comparing the experiential process of engaging young Malaysian participants in social recovery assessments with prior accounts from a UK sample. Methods: Nine vulnerable young people from low-income backgrounds were recruited from a non-government social enterprise and partner organisations in Peninsular Malaysia. Participants completed a battery of social recovery assessment tools (including time use, unusual experiences, self-schematic beliefs and values). Time for completion and completion rates were used as indices of feasibility. Acceptability was examined using qualitative interviews in which participants were asked to reflect on the experience of completing the assessment tools. Following a deductive approach, the themes were examined for fit with previous UK qualitative accounts of social recovery assessments. Results: Feasibility was indicated by relatively efficient completion time and high completion rates. Qualitative interviews highlighted the perceived benefits of social recovery assessments, such as providing psychoeducation, aiding in self-reflection and stimulating goal setting, in line with findings from UK youth samples. Conclusions: We provide preliminary evidence for the feasibility and acceptability of social recovery assessment tools in a low-resource context, comparing the experiential process of engaging young Malaysian participants in social recovery assessments with prior accounts from a UK sample. We also suggest that respondents may derive some personal and psychoeducational benefits from participating in assessments (e.g. of their time use and mental health) within a social recovery framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research on antepartum psychiatric morbidities investigating depressive and anxiety symptoms in expectant mothers and fathers is lacking in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of antepartum depressive, anxiety and co-occurring significant symptoms and explore the associated factors in a cross-section of Malaysian expectant mothers and fathers. Methods: We used cross-sectional data from a prospective cohort study of 911 expectant mothers and 587 expectant fathers during their third trimester of pregnancy, from health clinics of two states in the east and west coasts of Malaysia. The validated Malay version of Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the anxiety sub-scale of Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale were used to measure the depressive and anxiety symptoms. Multiple logistic regression analyses identified the determinants of antepartum depressive and anxiety symptoms (ADS and AAS). Results: Prevalence of ADS was 12.2% in expectant mothers and 8.4% in expectant fathers, while AAS was 28.8% in expectant mothers and 13.3% in expectant fathers, and co-occurring significant symptoms was 8.0% in expectant mothers and 4.0% in expectant fathers. Expectant mothers and fathers having perceived social/family support were less likely to suffer from ADS. Intimate partner violence, poor relationship with husbands, depression in earlier pregnancy and husband's depression in current pregnancy in expectant mothers, and living in rented house, sex preference for the unborn child, stressful life events and wife's depression in current pregnancy in expectant fathers were associated with a greater likelihood of ADS. The determinants for AAS were living in rented house and with parents/in-laws, poor relationship with husbands, restrictions during pregnancy and stressful life events for expectant mothers, and stressful life events and being unsupportive towards wives in household chores for expectant fathers. Conclusion: Both ADS and AAS are prevalent in expectant mothers and fathers, and largely an undetected problem in Malaysia. Administration of couple-based screening and referral program during antenatal check-up should be universal practices to identify and treat the psychiatric morbidities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]