Authors: Sheema Gunasegaram, Seok Shin Tan, Sumaira Hussain

ABSTRACT

Academic stressors can hinder the wellbeing of students and impact their eating habits. In this study, we apply the socio-ecological model to academic stressors and explore the influence they have on eating behaviour among university students. This cross-sectional study was set in a private health sciences university in Malaysia among a sample of 183 pre-university students, which was obtained using systematic random sampling technique. The academic stressors of the participants were assessed using the Academic Stress Questionnaire while eating behaviour was determined using The Three Eating Factor Questionnaire Revised-18 Items. Significant association (p ≤ 0.05) was found between academic stressors and eating habits. The increase in academic stressors increased the unhealthy eating behaviours: Cognitive Restraint, Uncontrolled Eating, and Emotional Eating. The findings illustrate that academic stressors should be taken into consideration for future university health interventions to promote healthy eating behaviour.

Keywords: socio-ecological model, academic stressors, eating behavior, student

Citations: IeJSME 2024 Vol 18 (2): 06-15

Authors: Siew Houy Chua, Wei Joe Lai, Yuan Fang Lim, Joshua Shadrach Daniel, Keshvien Inbashekaran, Suk Chyn Gun

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has severely influenced all aspects of life since its emergence and one of the strategies to end this pandemic rests on the vaccination to achieve herd immunity. While vaccinations are usually a safe and effective tool, the abbreviated development process of the available COVID-19 vaccines has increased uncertainties about the safety among the general population especially among patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMD).

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was performed on rheumatic disease (RMD) patients from the rheumatology clinic at Hospital Tuanku Ja’afar Seremban (HTJS), investigating adverse events occurring within one month of receiving COVID-19 vaccines administered from 1st May 2021 to 30th September 2021.

Results: 549 RMD patients were recruited in this study. Pfizer/BioNTech was the predominant vaccine (n = 257, 64.3%), followed by Sinovac (n = 60, 47.2%), Oxford/AstraZeneca (n = 7, 1.3%) and Moderna (n = 1, 0.2%). 330 (60.1%) patients experienced at least one adverse event, none of which required hospitalisation. Common side effects included pain at the site of injection (n = 169, 30.8%), generalised muscle pain (n = 91, 16.4%), fever (n = 90, 16.4%), arthralgia (n = 55, 10.0%), and lethargy (n = 43, 7.7%). Female patients (OR = 0.88, CI 0.79-0.97, p = 0.012), Sinovac recipients (OR = 0.51, CI 0.34-0.76, p = 0.001) and age >50 years (OR = 0.62, CI 0.44-0.89, p = 0.009) had significantly lower risks of experiencing adverse events. Among patients with autoimmune rheumatic disease (AIRD), 28 (6.4%) experienced disease flare. Patients with spondyloarthropathy (SpA) and overlap syndrome were more likely to experience disease flare following COVID-19 vaccination compared to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients (OR = 2.87, CI 1.23 – 6.69, p = 0.014). The use of combination conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (csDMARDs) was associated with a tendency toward increased risk of disease flare (OR = 2.34, CI: 0.97–5.64, p = 0.056). However, the use of glucocorticoids (OR = 2.02, CI 0.72–5.61, p = 0.17) and an active disease state (OR = 1.94, CI 0.75–5.02, p = 0.171) did not show a statistically significant impact on the frequency of disease flares.

Conclusions: The study affirms the overall safety of COVID-19 vaccines in rheumatic musculoskeletal disease patients, supporting efforts to address vaccine hesitancy in this population.

Keywords: Adverse events; COVID-19; Rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease; SARS-CoV-2; Vaccination

Citations: IeJSME 2024 Vol 18 (2): 16-24

Authors: Haliza Abdul Mutalib, Bashirah Ishak, Mohd Norhafizun bin Mohd Saman, Ahmad Rohi Ghazali, Elly Liyana Zainodin.

ABSTRACT

Background
There are a few dry eye remedies available in the market. Currently, artificial tears and lubricants are still the most common management for dry eyes.

Objective
We proposed a new method in managing dry eyes.

Methods
A pre-soaked contact lens in virgin coconut oil (VCOCL) is being used as a vehicle to deliver virgin coconut oil (VCO) in dry eyes. VCOCL was prepared in sterilised conditions where daily soft hydrogel contact lenses were immersed in raw VCO. The
efficacy of VCOCL in delivering the VCO to eyes was assessed by measuring the Tear Break-Up Time (TBUT) values, corneal staining of the anterior eye, Schirmer Test values and the measurement of residual VCO volume in tears at baseline and at 15 minutes after insertion on subjects with dry eyes. Pre- and post-data were used to analyse all the measurable variables.

Results
This study showed a significant difference in the TBUT, corneal staining, and residual VCO volume for both eyes (p<0.05). However, there were no changes in the Schirmer Test value (p>0.05). VCOCL was proven to improve tear quality in dry eye subjects and was able to maintain its presence in the eye even after 15 minutes.

Conclusion
This study suggests a new method for dry eye management.

Keywords: Contact Lens, VCO, Therapeutic, Dry Eye, Tearfilm

Citations: IeJSME 2024 Vol 18 (2): 25-34

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

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56026/imu.18.1.8

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

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56026/imu.18.1.28

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