Elderly abuse and neglect are among the primary public health problems linked to global demographic changes in the population, impacting not only the well-being of the elderly but also the growth of the nation or economy. This article discusses the effects of elder abuse and neglect on population health from the national and international perspectives through a narrative review of previously published articles on the concept of aging, the prevalence of elderly abuse and neglect, its risk factors and effects, and finally measures, legal perspectives, and recommendations to curb it. Interventions in Malaysia and selected nations, including Indonesia, South Korea, the United States, Australia, and Hong Kong, are examined. This issue is important as the majority of countries are moving toward being elderly populations. Improving global surveillance and the monitoring of instances is essential to inform policy actions to prevent elder abuse. In addition, a thorough assessment of the identified risk factors for violence and steps to prevent violence is required.

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed numerous lives worldwide. Malaysia documented about 118 mortalities during the second wave of the outbreak. This study aims to assess associated risk factors of the COVID-19 mortalities from 18 March until 22 May 2020. The majority of patients were above 60 years old (69.0%), male (78.0%), and Malaysian citizens (98.0%). The mean age of the mortalities was 64.01 years old (±SD 14.91 years). The major risk factors consist of hypertension (52.0%), diabetes mellitus (43.0%), cardiovascular diseases (21.0%), extra-pulmonary solid malignancies (5.0%), cerebrovascular diseases (3.0%), pulmonary diseases (1.0%) and pulmonary malignancies (1.0%). About 23.0% of mortalities were related to established clusters while 5.0% had a history of travelling overseas. The mean survival time was 11.87 days (±SD 9.32 days). Approximately 50.0% of the patients survived until day 10 post-admission. The probability of the patients surviving beyond 30 days post-admission was less than 10.0%. There is a significant difference between groups for having a shorter duration to death for risk factors including age group, history of travelling overseas, attending mass gatherings, and having pulmonary malignancies. The hazard ratio (HR) for pulmonary malignancy is 5.512 (95% CI 0.662, 45.899), mass gathering; 3.434 (95% CI 1.375, 8.579), pulmonary disease is 2.442 (95% CI 0.314, 18.983), travelling overseas; 2.251 (95% CI 0.657, 7.711), extra-pulmonary solid malignancy; 2.165 (95% CI 0.767, 6.112), and despite the significant result only applied for mass gathering (p-value = 0.008). COVID-19 screening should be mandatory for those who attend mass gatherings as they are the main source of COVID-19 spread in the community during the second wave outbreak in Malaysia.

BACKGROUND: Climate change will affect the transmission of malaria by shifting the geographical space of the vector. AIM: The review aims to examine the climate change modeling approach and climatic variables used for malaria projection. METHODS: Articles were systematically searched from four databases, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and SAGE. The PICO concept was used for formulation search and PRISMA approach to identify the final articles. RESULTS: A total of 27 articles were retrieved and reviewed. There were six climate factors identified in this review: Temperature, rainfall/precipitation, humidity, wind, solar radiation, and climate change scenarios. Modeling approaches used to project future malarial trend includes mathematical and computational approach. CONCLUSION: This review provides robust evidence of an association between the impact of climate change and malaria incidence. Prediction on seasonal patterns would be useful for malaria surveillance in public health prevention and mitigation strategies.

Healthcare workers typically work in shift to ensure smooth operation of healthcare industries around the clock. However, working in shift put them at risk of developing occupational fatigue and sleepiness during and after work, with multiple adverse effects to themselves and patients under their care. This review aims to identify available evidence-based intervention for fatigue and sleepiness among healthcare workers working in shift. We searched PubMed, Scopus and CENTRAL database from January 2013 to December 2017. Selection criteria included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the effect of any interventions on fatigue and/or sleepiness among shift workers. Two authors independently screened titles and abstracts for relevant studies, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. We included 8 relevant trials with 7 review-relevant participants. Given the methodological diversity of the included studies in terms of interventions and assessment tools, it is not possible to determine the effectiveness of these interventions to reduce occupational fatigue or sleepiness among healthcare workers working in shift. More good quality RCTs with comparable assessment tools is needed.

BACKGROUND: The World health organization reported that 875 million children worldwide require antihelminth preventive chemotherapy annually. Vast majority of STH infections (67%) and YLDs (68%) occurred in Asia. METHODS: A systematic search was performed for relevant titles, abstract, and keywords from Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Scopus around October 2018 based on the PICO strategy. Out of 173 papers that were evaluated, final assessment for eligibility had yielded a total of five papers to be included for analysis covering period from 2013 to 2018. RESULTS: Of the five selected studies, three were randomized controlled trial, one was cohort and another one was described more like a quasi-experimental trial. All infection intensity showed improvement post-intervention. Four of the five studies used Kato Katz as diagnostic method with one combined it with Baermann techniques. One used McMaster egg counting method. All except one study tested albendazole efficacy in their study either alone or in combination with other chemotherapy such as diethyl carbazide or combining with education pamphlet. Egg reduction rate was reported as low as 63% and as high as 99.9%. CONCLUSION: In general, albendazole is efficacious enough to control STH.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have assessed the burden of tropical diseases among migrants into non-endemic countries. AIM: This study aimed to systematically review the existing data of the prevalence of tropical diseases globally, including neglected tropical diseases globally. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The authors conducted a systematic review reporting prevalence (including seroprevalence) of tropical diseases following the PRISMA guidelines and based on the database from PUBMED, WoS, and PROQUEST. All the identified records were screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The selected articles’ quality was appraised using the mixed methods appraisal tool to ensure its quality. RESULTS: Overall, 19 studies conducted in 13 countries published between the year 2017–2020 were included in the study. Based on the thematic analysis, two themes (type of organism) and 11 sub-themes (disease) were used. The prevalence of tropical diseases among migrants ranged from 0.2 to 31% for malaria; 3–20% for Chagas Disease; 3.2–3.5% for Giardiasis; 31.7–57.4% for Toxoplasmosis; 0.1–51%, for Schistosomiasis; 0.1–15.8%, for Strongyloidiasis; 0.3–3.8% for Trichuriasis; 0.2–0.9% for Ascariasis; 6.4–9.7% for Toxocariasis; 0.3% for Loiasis; and 0.5% for Filariasis. All migrants warrant thorough screening and testing, based on the country of origin of their last visit. Routine screening and follow-up may reduce the re-emergence of tropical disease in non-endemic countries. CONCLUSION: Multiple approaches in managing social and health issues among migrants are vital to secure healthy labor forces for the country’s economy and development. Public health sectors should implement strategic promotive, preventive, and curative programs targeted to this group.