Ethnic groups difference in discriminatory attitude towards HIV/AIDS patients among medical students: a cross-sectional study

Medical students are future doctors who are trained to treat all kinds of diseases including people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) without prejudice. Teaching basic scientific knowledge and technical skills is no longer adequate for today’s medical students. There is also a need for them to be provided with high personal and professional values. This study examined stigmatizing attitude towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) among the medical students in a public medical school. The participants were stratified to preclinical-year (year 1 and year 2) and clinical-year (year 3 and year 4) medical students. Simple random sampling was carried out to select 170 participants from each category of students. Self-administered questionnaires captured socio-demographic data, HIV/AIDS knowledge and stigmatisation attitudes towards PLWHA. Multiple linear regressions was used to assess the relationship between ethnic groups and stigmatization attitude. Three hundred and forty participants were recruited. Malay medical students who did not have previous encounter with PLWHA were associated with stigmatizing attitude towards HIV/AIDS patients, whereas clinical-year medical students who had no clinical encounter with PLWHA were more likely to feel uncomfortable with PLWHA. Malay ethnicity and medical students in clinical years who had not encounter a PLWHA were more likely to have stigmatizing attitude towards PLWHA

Metabolic control and cardiovascular risks among type 2 diabetes in a primary care clinic

Background: Prevalence of diabetes is escalating both globally as well as in Malaysia. With the epidemic of diabetes and its related morbidities and mortalities, health care professionals are facing an unprecedented challenges in controlling the disease. Objective: To determine the metabolic control and the cardiovascular risk factors among type 2 diabetic patients in a primary care setting. Method: This was a cross sectional study conducted in a primary care clinic in Selangor, Malaysia. Inclusion criteria were all type 2 diabetic patients aged 18 and above and were being followed-up for more than six months prior to the recruiting period in May 2009. The demographic data were obtained through faceto- face interview. Height, weight and blood pressure of the patients were taken during the day of data collection. The co-morbidities and laboratory results were obtained from the medical records. Results: Two-hundred patients were recruited. The mean age was 58.6 (SD=10.5) with 79.0% of the patients aged more than 50 years old. The majority of the patients were female (62.5%). One-tenth (11.5%) were smokers. More than half of the patients (64.0%) had co-morbid of hypertension and half of them (50.5%) had dyslipidaemia. A total of 72.5% of the patients had 3 or more cardiovascular risk factors. Less than one fifth of the patients had achieved the target of control for glycaemia, blood pressure, LDL and BMI. Those age 60 and above had significantly higher proportion of patients achieving fasting blood glucose control (p=0.033). Conclusion: The majority of type 2 diabetic patients had multiple cardiovascular risk factors (3 or more risk factors) and had not achieved the recommended goals in metabolic control

Emotional intelligence and academic performance in first and final year medical students: a cross-sectional study

Background Research on emotional intelligence (EI) suggests that it is associated with more pro-social behavior, better academic performance and improved empathy towards patients. In medical education and clinical practice, EI has been related to higher academic achievement and improved doctor-patient relationships. This study examined the effect of EI on academic performance in first- and final-year medical students in Malaysia. Methods This was a cross-sectional study using an objectively-scored measure of EI, the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). Academic performance of medical school students was measured using continuous assessment (CA) and final examination (FE) results. The first- and final-year students were invited to participate during their second semester. Students answered a paper-based demographic questionnaire and completed the online MSCEIT on their own. Relationships between the total MSCEIT score to academic performance were examined using multivariate analyses. Results A total of 163 (84 year one and 79 year five) medical students participated (response rate of 66.0%). The gender and ethnic distribution were representative of the student population. The total EI score was a predictor of good overall CA (OR 1.01), a negative predictor of poor result in overall CA (OR 0.97), a predictor of the good overall FE result (OR 1.07) and was significantly related to the final-year FE marks (adjusted R2 = 0.43). Conclusions Medical students who were more emotionally intelligent performed better in both the continuous assessments and the final professional examination. Therefore, it is possible that emotional skill development may enhance medical students’ academic performance

Quality of care for adult Type 2 diabetes mellitus at a University Primary Care Centre in Malaysia.

Background: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2D) with its concurrent cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension and dyslipidaemia and its complications has now accounted for the majority of national and global morbidity and mortality. Aims & Objective: The study aimed to determine the prevalence of complications appearing in diabetic patients despite therapy, addressing to an urban academic primary care centre. Methods: This was a sub-analysis of a cross-sectional study on 212 patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) conducted from June to September 2006. Patients aged ≥ 30 years, non-smokers and under follow-up care of senior doctors were recruited. The average of the three most recent readings of fasting plasma sugar, HbA1c, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and lipid profiles was taken as measures of respective disease control. Results: Two thirds of the patients were female. The mean age was 62.7 (SD± 10.8) years and the duration of T2D was 11.74 (SD± 6.7) years. A total of 23.6% achieved HbA1c ≤ 7.0%, 26.2% attained LDL-C ≤ 2.6 mmol/L and 24.5% achieved target blood pressure < 130/ 80 mmHg. The most prevalent co-morbid condition was hypertension (77.3%). A total of 27.2% patients had diabetic complications, out of which 86.5% had one complication. Proteinuria < 1gm/L and coronary artery disease were the two most common complications. There were only 16% on subcutaneous insulin and this was significantly associated with fasting plasma glucose (t = 5.38, df= 204, p < 0.0001) and HbA1c (t = 4.31, df= 206, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Many T2D patients at this centre did not achieve treatment goals. Insulin and lipid-lowering drugs use should be optimized to improve control rates. More structured care processes are urgently needed in order to achieve good glycaemic control

A preliminary study of job satisfaction and motivation among the Malaysian primary healthcare professionals

Aim: This study aimed to examine the relationship between personal or work-based characteristics and job satisfaction and motivation in Malaysian primary healthcare professionals. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey conducted during the 15th Family Medicine Scientific Conference in June 2011 using the Warr-Cook-Wall scales. The questionnaires included demography and work-related items and were self-distributed and returned at the end of the conference. Independent risk factors were identified using multiple linear regressions. Results: A total of 149 conference participants completed the survey, with a response rate of 33.1%. They were mainly females (85.2%), Malay (83.2%), and married (83.9%) in almost equal proportions of practice location (urban 57.8% and rural 42.2%). Majority of them were working at community-based health clinics (74.0%) and in public sectors (94.4%). The respondents were mainly doctors (91.4%). The mean age of the participants was 39.1 years (SD 8.0), with a mean duration of service of 9 years (SD 6.9). Family medicine specialty (FMSt) residents had lower job satisfaction (B = -8.0, 95% CI -14.61 to -1.40, p = 0.02). Family medicine specialists (FMSs) had higher satisfaction with working conditions (B = 1.95, 95% CI 0.50 to 3.41, p = 0.01). A male worker had on average 2.8 (95% CI -4.7 to -0.9, p = 0.005) lower points in the total intrinsic job motivation scale. There was a positive relationship between the duration of working and job motivation (B = 0.10, 95% CI 0.004 to 0.2, p = 0.04). Conclusion: FMSt residents might have the least job satisfaction, but FMSs were generally satisfied with their working conditions regardless of the location of their clinics. Men and those who were novice in primary healthcare may need more support for motivation

Ethnic differences in glycaemic control and complications: the adult diabetes control and management (ADCM), Malaysia

INTRODUCTION: Ethnicity is an important factor in diabetes care. The understanding of its effect in this country may help to improve diabetes care, glycaemic control and diabetic complication rates. This study was to determine the diabetes control profile in relation to complication rates between the three main ethnics group in Malaysia. METHODS: This nested cross-sectional study was part of the Audit of Diabetes Control and Management (ADCM), an ongoing cohort patient registry focused on diabetes control and management in the primary care setting in Malaysia. This registry registers all diabetes patients aged 18 years old and above. Demographic data, diabetes duration, treatment modalities, as well as various risk factors and diabetes complications are reported. Data was handled by statisticians using STATA version 9. RESULTS: A total of 20330 patients from 54 health centers were registered at the time of this report. The majority were type 2 diabetics (99.1%) of whom 56.6% were female. The mean age was 57.9 years (SD 11.58). Malay accounted for 56.3%, Chinese 19.5% and Indian 22.5%. There were 30.3% who attained HbA1c < 7%. Among three main races more Chinese had HbA1c < 6.5% (Chi-square: X2 = 71.64, p < 0.001), but did not show less complications of nephropathy (Indian suffered significantly more nephropathy, Chi-square: X2 = 168.76, p < 0.001), ischaemic heart disease (Chi-square: X2 = 5.67, p = 0.532) and stroke (Chi-square: X2 =15.38, p = 0.078). CONCLUSION: This study has again emphasized the existence of ethnic differences in glycaemic control and complication profiles. The Chinese diabetics suffer as many diabetes-related complications despite better glycaemic control. Further studies will need to look into other socio-genetic factors in order to provide a more personalized effective diabetes care

Gycaemic control and treatment profile amongst 20646 adult type 2 diabetes mellitus: a descriptive report

An audit of Diabetes Control and Management-Diabetes Registry Malaysia (ADCM-DRM) was started to monitor the provision of diabetes care in the country. A total of 20,646 patients were registered in the registry until 31st December 2008. This report set out to determine the Type 2 diabetes controls and treatment profiles of these cohorts of patients. This was a registry-based observational study conducted from May to December, 2008. An online standard case record form was available for site data providers to register their diabetic patients aged 18 years old and above annually. Demographic data, diabetes duration, treatment modalities, as well as various risk factors and diabetes complications were reported. Data were analyzed using Data Analysis and Statistical Software (Stata) version 9. A total of 81 centres, 6 of which were hospitals, participated in this registry until 31st December 2008, contributing a total of 20646 patients. A majority of them (99.2%) had Type 2 diabetes mellitus. The mean HbA1c was 8.0% (SD 2.10), with 30.1% and 17.9% of the patients who attained HbA1c < 7% and HbA1c < 6.5%, respectively. Metformin was prescribed more than sulfonylurea while only 11% had insulin. A review of the diabetic care policy and strategies in the primary health care clinics is needed to implement a more effective treatment of diabetes in this country

The reliability and validity of the Malay version 17-item diabetes distress scale

Introduction Diabetes-related distress (DRD) refers to patient’s concerns about diabetes mellitus, its management, need of support, emotional burden and access to healthcare. The aim of this study was to translate and examine the psychometric properties of the Malay version of the 17-item Diabetes Distress Scale (MDDS-17) in adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). Methods A standard procedure was used to translate the English 17-items Diabetes Distress Scale into Malay language. We used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with principal axis factoring and promax rotation to investigate the factor structure. We explored reliability by internal consistency and 1-month test-retest reliability. Construct validity was examined using the World Health Organization quality of life-brief questionnaire, Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire and disease-related clinical variables. Results A total of 262 patients were included in the analysis with a response rate of 96.7%. A total of 66 patients completed the test–retest after 1 month. EFA supported a three-factor model resulting from the combination of the regimen distress (RD) and interpersonal distress (IPD) subscales; and with a swapping of an item between emotional burden (EB; item 7) and RD (item 3) subscales. Cronbach’s α for MDDS-17 was 0.94, the combined RD and IPD subscale was 0.925, the EB subscale was 0.855 and the physician-related distress was 0.823. The test– retest reliability’s correlation coefficient was r = 0.29 (n = 66; p = 0.009). There was a significant association between the mean MDDS-17 item score categories (<3 vs ≥3) and HbA1c categories (<7.0% vs ≥7.0%), and medication adherence (medium and high vs ≥low). The instrument discriminated between those having diabetes-related complication, low quality of life, poor medication adherence and depression. Conclusion The MDDS-17 has satisfactory psychometric properties. It can be used to map diabetes-related emotional distress for diagnostic or clinical use

Determinants of uncontrolled dyslipidaemia among adult type 2 diabetes in Malaysia: the Malaysian Diabetes Registry 2009

Numerous studies with compelling evidence had shown a clear relationship between dyslipidaemia and cardiovascular (CV) events in patients with diabetes mellitus. This was an observational study based on secondary data from the online registry database Adult Diabetes Control and Management (ADCM) looking into the determinants of uncontrolled dyslipidaemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Independent predictors were identified using multivariate logistic regression. A total of 303 centres (289 health clinics, 14 hospitals) contributed a total of 70,889 patients (1972 or 2.8% patients were from hospital). About thirty eight percent were reported to have dyslipidaemia. There were 40.7% patients on lipid-lowering agents and of those above age 40 years old, only 38.1% of them were on a statin. Malay ethnicity and younger age groups (<50 years old) were two major determinants of uncontrolled LDL-C, TG and HDL-C. Female gender and uncontrolled blood pressure were determinants of uncontrolled LDL-C, and poor glycaemic control was related independently to high TG. This study has highlighted the suboptimal management of diabetic dyslipidaemia in Malaysia. Pharmacological treatment of dyslipidaemia could be more effective. Healthcare stakeholders in this country, especially in the primary care, have to recognize these shortfalls and take immediate remedial measures