INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ALLIED HEALTH SCIENCES

THE EFFECT OF SHORT TERM FASTING ON OCULAR BIOMETRY

AMIRUL ARIFFIN MOHD ROHIMI — 2023-06-30

Introduction: Islamic religious fasting is an action inhibits people from consume any food or drink and usually observed on Mondays or Thursdays. Ocular biometry parameters which include axial length, anterior chamber angle and depth play significant role in determining the refractive power of the eye as well as in certain ocular conditions. Objective: The purpose of the study was to identify the effect of short term fasting to the ocular biometry. Method: In this prospective study, 37 healthy participants with a mean age of is 22.51 Â± 0.77 years. The measurements were done on a day with non-fasting state (at 8.00 am and 4.00 pm) and one week later during the fasting period (at 8.00 am and 4.00 am). Anterior chamber and angle were measured using Pentacam HR (Oculus, Germany) while axial length was measured using A-scan (Tomey AL-3000). Result: The results indicated no significant changes between short term fasting and non-fasting state with all the variables (p > 0.05). Similarly, no significant changes during diurnal fluctuations with all the parameters (p > 0.05). Conclusion: There is no issue of reliability of the ocular biometric data while the patient is in the short term fasting state.

KNOWLEDGE, AWARENESS AND BREAST SELF-EXAMINATION PRACTICE AMONG SULTAN AHMAD SHAH MEDICAL CENTRE@INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA NURSES: FOLLOW UP 6 MONTHS STUDY

SITI NOORKHAIRINA SOWTALI — 2023-06-30

Background: Nurses play an important role as public’s health educator particularly in breast cancer screening. Thus, there is a need for follow up studies on breast cancer and breast self-examination (BSE) to ensure that nurses’ knowledge are updated. The objectives are to determine the level of knowledge, awareness, and practice on breast cancer and BSE among staff nurses in SASMEC@IIUM in Kuantan, Pahang and its association with socio-demographic factors. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 30 nurses in SASMEC@IIUM using convenience sampling. A self-administered questionnaire was used to determine the level of knowledge, awareness and practice among staff nurses in this follow up study. The data was analysed through SPSS version 23.0 using the tests of descriptive statistic, Independent T-Test, One Way ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation test. Results: Among 30 nurses involved, 86.7% were female, Malay (96.7%), married (66.7%), with family history of cancer (26.7%) and having family history of breast cancer (13.3%). An association was found between nurses’ education level and knowledge of sign and symptoms of breast cancer (p=0.05), where nurses with degree has higher level of knowledge. Discussion: Majority of them have moderate level of knowledge on risk factors and sign and symptoms of breast cancer, awareness on breast cancer and practice of BSE. Conclusion: The level of knowledge, awareness and practice of breast cancer and BSE among nurses are still at a moderate level. Thus, an intervention needed to be done to overcome this matter.

PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF PORNOGRAPHY EXPOSURE AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN PAHANG

NORZAINI ROS CHE NOZID — 2023-06-30

Pornography is a medium for sexual pleasure obtained from sources like pictures, videos, audios and written materials. Pornography can cause addiction to the users by stimulating the reward system that will cause significant changes of the brain similarly seen in drug addiction. Pornographic addiction has become a serious concern in the community worldwide which involves multiple age groups from children, teenagers until the adults. This concern is becoming serious as the sources of the pornographic materials are easily available via internet. Pornography addiction was shown to give psychological impacts to the users. This study was conducted to investigate any psychological impact on extend of pornography usage among university students and their differences between the genders. The psychological impacts that were investigated were anxiety and depression. A total of 114 undergraduate students from IIUM Kuantan Campus participated in this online survey. The result showed that significantly more men involved with pornography compared to women. The common age at first exposure to pornography was between 13 to 17 years old in both genders. The anxiety symptoms among those involved with pornography were similar in both genders but showing a higher percentage than those who did not involved with pornography. The percentage of women classified to have moderate to severe depression was slightly higher than men among those watching pornography and the percentages in both genders was higher compared to those who did not involve with pornography.

KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE (KAP) REGARDING EXERCISE AMONG IIUM KUANTAN CAMPUS STAFF

AMJAD MOHD ROZI — 2023-01-30

Introduction: Low level of exercise can lead to obesity and weight gain and this may lead to higher risk of heart diseases and diabetes mellitus. Malaysia was ranked as number one of the fattest nations in South-East Asia and sixth in the Asia Pacific Region and low exercise activity in Malaysian population could be one of the factors. Objective: This study was conducted to understand the knowledge, attitude and practice of exercise in a small Malaysian population and to assess the relationship between attitude and practice of exercise. Method: Data was collected through structured questionnaire. The study population was IIUM staffs from various kulliyyah at IIUM Kuantan campus. Subjects were recruited through email. A total of 64 subjects responded, gave their consent and answered the questionnaire. Results: There is a correlation between attitude towards physical activity and its practice (r=0.322, n=64, p=0.009). Conclusion: In general, people in IIUM Kuantan have adequate knowledge as 57% of the questions were answered correctly, a positive attitude towards exercise and a good practice of exercise but with some room for improvement.

A SURVEY ON EYE EXAMINATION AND EYE WEAR EXPERIENCE FROM LAYMAN PERSPECTIVE IN MALAYSIA

AI HONG CHEN — 2023-08-11

Introduction: A successful practitioner-client experience is vital for optimal eye care outcomes. Previous research mainly highlighted the optometry service or facilities from the practitioner perspectives. Information on the eye examination and eye wear experience from layman perspective in Malaysia is scarce. Aim: The aim of the study was to gather information of the eye examination and eye wear experience from the client perspective. Methodology: The findings reported in this paper derive from an interview study conducted with a sample of 408 respondents from 12 states and 3 federal territories in Malaysia. Results: In the overall eye test experience, 39% narrated positive feeling, and 35% described as neutral feeling. Only a small percentage testified as negative experience (5%). Approximately 21% stated a mixed experience of both positive and negative feelings. Nearly half (49%) of respondents did not know who tested their eyes. Majority believed that vision could affect their quality of life (71%). Five most frequent complaint about eyewear were physical limitation of spectacle, inconvenience of misplace, sensation discomfort of pressure on face surface, visual adaptation challenges and cost issue. Majority to expect improvement in service (39.71%), better instruction (22.55%), shorter duration (14.22%), reduction in total test (12.75%). Conclusion: The information from this survey will help eye care practitioners to understand the client experience and needs to improve the eyecare services.

Role of X-ray CT, Plain Radiography and Ultrasound Imaging in Diagnosing COVID-19: A Narrative Review

Inayatullah Shah Sayed — 2023-08-11

Introduction: The world was shocked by the emergence of a new virus that caused severe infection of the respiratory system called SARS-CoV-2, commonly known as COVID-19. It is believed that RT-PCR is the primary diagnostic tool used in tandem to determine the status of someone suspected of having COVID-19. However, RT-PCR gives significant false-negative results, showing the need for additional diagnostic measures. Therefore, other diagnostic tools such as plain radiography, X-ray CT, and ultrasound (POCUS) have been considered to be used in the approach of diagnosing COVID-19 in conjunction with the RT-PCR test. This review paper aimed to investigate the importance of medical imaging modalities like X-ray CT, plain radiography, and ultrasound imaging in diagnosing COVID-19. Methods: A large number of articles have been published about the various tools to investigate the status of COVID-19 infection, including the imaging modalities. The search criteria for this review include articles and reports published recently on diagnostic imaging specialties for the detection of COVID-19. Various databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Mendeley were used. Results: These modalities have different diagnostic accuracy to diagnose the presence of COVID-19 with the higher sensitivity of X-ray CT, plain radiography, and point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) imaging in a descending manner. Even though medical imaging methods are helpful for COVID-19 screening, the virus is typically not detectable in its early stages. Conclusion: The imaging methods should not be used as a stand-alone method to determine if a person has COVID-19 or not; rather, they should only be used for follow-up.

The Association between flat feet and body mass index in the adult population: A systematic review

SHAHID MOHD DAR — 2023-08-11

ABSTRACT

Background: Flat foot is one of the foot disorders that seems insignificant but, it may give an impact on the quality of life in a long-term. The causative factors of flat feet can many but one of them is having higher body mass index (BMI). While flat feet incidence is common, its relationship with body mass index remains equivocal. Aim: This systematic review investigated the association between flat feet and body mass index in the adult population. Methods: A systematic search of three electronic databases was conducted. Studies on human adults (>18 years) with flat feet and gold standard outcome measures were included. This review was conducted and reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The Appraisal tool for Cross-Sectional Studies (AXIS) was utilised to assess the methodological quality. All articles had good score of methodological quality. Results: Out of the 720 articles that were screened, only eight studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this systematic review. From these eight articles, seven studies reported a significant relationship between flat feet and body mass index in the adult population. Conclusion: There is a significant association between flat feet and body mass index among the adult population. Therefore, as the BMI increases, the chances of developing flat feet increases.

Keywords: Flat feet; Pes Planus; Body mass index; Association; Relationship