Authors: Rulin Lee, Alexius Weng Onn Cheang, Serena In.

ABSTRACT

Various studies have highlighted that women are at a higher risk of becoming victims of cyberbullying, with the severity of cyberbullying among women in many countries increasing and the urgency of having necessary intervention steps by governments and legal institutions in place. Nonetheless, the taboo of discussing mental health and individual struggles has hindered victims from disclosing their cyberbullying experiences they have gone through or are still currently experiencing due to the fear of being discriminated against. Therefore, this study aimed to explore cyberbullying from a victim’s perspective among women with heavy social media usage, as well as their coping strategies. A qualitative research design was utilised to understand the cyberbullying experience and coping strategies among five young women aged between 20 to 26 years old. Participants were recruited through social media. Collected data were analysed using thematic analysis which revealed three cyberbullying themes: “harassment”, “relational aggression” and “trolling”, three initial reaction themes: “anger”, “sadness” and “confusion”, two crossroad themes: “helplessness” and “sense of control” that either lead to the relapse of cyberbullying experience or coping strategies, and three coping strategy themes: “social coping”, “emotion-focused coping” and “problem-focused coping” and lastly, cognitive reappraisal. The findings provide comprehensive insights into understanding cyberbullying experiences and coping strategies among women with heavy social media usage. Understanding the effectiveness of various forms of coping allows mental health professionals to support their clients by finding out the implemented coping strategy and expanding on other forms of coping to build a more holistic support for their clients.

Keywords: coping strategies, cyberbullying from a victim’s perspective, heavy social media usage, women

Citations: IeJSME 2024 Vol 18 (1): 08-27

Authors: Khairunniza Gharib, Thiruselvi Subramaniam.

ABSTRACT

Background: Healthcare providers must have the knowledge to carry out clinical procedures. Placing and maintaining intravenous (IV) infusion is one of them. To perform it, conceptual knowledge is an elementary requirement.

Methods: This is a descriptive quantitative study using a self-administered questionnaire. Section A consists of four items detailing medical students’ socio-demographic data such as age, gender, ethnicity, and nationality. Section B includes 17 True/False items related to knowledge and understanding of peripheral intravenous cannulation (PIVC). Sixty-nine semester 6 medical students were recruited. The goal of the research was to determine their knowledge of PIVC and if there is an association between sociodemographic data and knowledge of PIVC.

Results: All 100% (n=69) respondents were aware of self-introduction, clarification of patient’s identity, obtaining verbal consent, and hand hygiene importance. The majority (98.6%, n=68) had the knowledge to clean the insertion site before performing the procedure, aseptic technique maintenance, and gloves donning. More than half (53.6%; n=37) of respondents were not aware that an 18-gauge cannula was commonly used in adults for PIVC. Overall, findings showed 40.6% (n=28) of respondents have adequate knowledge about PIVC. There was a weak negative correlation indicating an association between socio-demographic variables and knowledge about PIVC (r = -.274, n=69, p<0.05).

Conclusions: The majority of semester 6 year 3 medical students in a private university in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, had good knowledge of PIVC. Teaching strategies by nursing lecturers can be improved further, for example, role-playing which can increase students’ engagement and encourage critical thinking. This is to ensure that medical students are equipped with sufficient theoretical knowledge as it is important to produce doctors with great quality, confidence, and calibre.

Keywords: knowledge, medical student, perception, peripheral intravenous cannulation, university.

Citations: IeJSME 2024 Vol 18 (1): 28-39

Authors: Thiruselvi Subramaniam, Mohammad Arshad Ikram, Shamala Ramasamy.

ABSTRACT

Background: The spread of COVID-19 forced many countries including Malaysia to switch from on-campus learning to exclusively online learning. The modality of the synchronous session allows the learners to interact with the instructor and obtain instant feedback. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of synchronous simulation among medical students in clinical years in the absence of hospital-based clinical education.

Methods: This was a prospective observational study involving 54 clinical year students, conducted in the simulation lab at International Medical University. Scenarios for each session were built around clinical skills targeting specific learning outcomes. The perception of the simulation session was evaluated using a 5-point Likert Scale. Synchronous debriefing followed each simulated session allowing active participation by all students. Focus group discussion was conducted among 6 students who volunteered representing online participants to obtain feedback on their learning experience.

Results: The highest mean scores were obtained for the items referring to team communication (4.09±0.734), debriefing (4.06±0.811) and timetabling (3.92±1.007). Results from the focus group discussion revealed that: simulated sessions assisted in application of knowledge by observing their peers; the repetitive process of observing and performing was preferred over observing per se; observing the performance of peers from the same cohort was preferred, and critiques on technical logistics were reported.

Conclusion: The synchronous simulation sessions were well received by the students. It is believed that this will be a novel teaching modality to adopt even after the passing of the pandemic.

Keywords: Clinical teaching, medical student, medical education, simulation, synchronous, teaching modality.

Citations: IeJSME 2023 17 (1): 02-08

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56026/imu.17.1.2

Authors: Woan Ching Chang, Elvina Yuh Harn Lau, Yi Xuan Goh, Yen Wen Tan.

ABSTRACT

Background: The community plays a crucial role in practising effective hand hygiene to prevent disease transmission. Several studies conducted on hand hygiene practices among healthcare practitioners show positive outcomes in decreasing disease transmission particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, studies related to hand hygiene among adults in the local communities are scant.

Aim:  This study aimed to determine 1) the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice of hand hygiene, and 2) the relationship between demographic factors and hand hygiene practice among adults in a local community in Penang.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional quantitative survey combined with direct observation of hand hygiene practice. A self-administered questionnaire on knowledge and attitude towards hand hygiene, and an observational checklist of hand hygiene practice were adapted to measure the variables studied. Non-random quota sampling technique was used to recruit the required 398 sample size.

Results: The study found that the level of knowledge using an internationally commonly used 12 item questionnaire was good. Attitude towards hand hygiene measured on another 7 item questionnaire was also good. A majority of the participants (73.9%) had a good level of hand hygiene practice. No significant relationship was found between age, gender, level of education, and hand hygiene practice.

Conclusion: Local health authorities are urged to continue to emphasise to the public on the importance of hand hygiene to reduce disease transmission in the community. Further studies are recommended to explore the possible barriers that hinder people from adopting good hand hygiene practice.

Keywords: adults, attitude, hand hygiene, knowledge, practice

Citations: IeJSME 2023 17 (1): 09-18

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56026/imu.17.1.9

Authors: Ryan M Mangan, Gerard T Flaherty.

ABSTRACT

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic focused public attention on the importance of responsible
tourism. The purpose of this study was to characterise irresponsible tourist behaviour leading to deportation from the destination country.

Methods: A web-based search of media reports relating to deportations of tourists was conducted.

Results: The most common reasons for deportation were related to indecent exposure or physical damage to sacred monuments and violations of COVID-19-related national public health rules. Other incidents resulted from social media posts and breach of environmental regulations.

Conclusions: The results of this study may inform future research efforts and targeted public awareness campaigns.

Keywords: responsible travel; deportation; COVID-19; cultural sensitivity; sustainable travel

Citations: IeJSME 2022 16 (3): 07-11

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56026/imu.16.3.7

Authors: Shashank R Thyarala, Gerard T Flaherty.

ABSTRACT

Background: The impact of a research publication has traditionally been quantified by its citation count. Newer bibliometric indices such as Altmetric Attention Score (AAS) and article page views are emerging as supplementary measures to quantify the academic influence of research.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to interrogate the relationship between novel and traditional bibliometric indices for research published in a leading surgical journal and evaluate the role
of these newer indices in measuring the impact of surgical research.

Methods: All articles published in JAMA Surgery between 1 January 2019 and 1 September 2021 were
examined. The literature database PubMed was used to identify all articles published within the specified time period. Cumulative citation count (Web of Science), AAS and article page views were retrieved from the journal website. Statistical analysis using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient (r) was performed on Minitab 19.

Results: A total of 1,071 articles were retrieved for further analysis. The correlation (95% CI) between ranks for all articles was 0.635 (0.594-0.673) for AAS and citation scores, 0.680 (0.642-0.714) for citations and article page views, and 0.813 (0.788-0.835) for AAS and article page views.

Conclusions: We demonstrated a strong correlation between citations and AAS for articles published in a leading surgical journal. The inter-year correlation between 2019 and 2021 was similar, suggesting that AAS could be predictive of future citations. AAS may be useful in evaluating the wider societal impact of the surgical literature and could serve to promote greater public engagement in surgical research.

Keywords: Altmetrics; Bibliometrics; Surgical Research; Citations; Social Media; Citations.

Citations: IEJSME 2022 16 (2): 6-8

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56026/imu.16.2.6