Background: The COVID-19 infection spread rapidly in Malaysia, and elderly people with underlying comorbidities were affected most. The study aimed to determine the effect of exercise on QOL and mental health among elderly people residing in old age homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Out of 178 older adults from old age homes in Kedah and Penang States, 39 respondents undertook aerobic and strengthening exercises. A single group pre-test and post-test study was conducted in one government home and nine private homes in the northern region of Malaysia. The DASS-21 scale was used to assess mental health, and the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was used to evaluate QOL. Results: After 12 weeks of the exercise programme, scores for the physical domain increased from 53.1 to 61.8, for the psychological domain from 51.8 to 59.3, for the social domain from 53.2 to 60.5 and for the environmental domain from 67.2 to 72.1. Moreover, there was a significant reduction in the depression score from 6.2 to 4.4, the anxiety score from 3.5 to 2.2 and the stress score, from 4.6 to 2.8. Conclusion: Performing aerobic and strengthening exercises for a minimum of 12 weeks may have helped to improve mental health among the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it may also improve the quality of life for those who are residing in old age homes.

(1) Background: The teaching profession has become more challenging due to the increased use of information technology, which potentially increases psychological distress among teachers. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among school teachers in Malaysia during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated sociodemographic factors. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among primary and secondary school teachers in Malaysia. A validated DASS-21 questionnaire was used for mental health screening, and the study was conducted online during the pandemic period. (3) Results: The percentages of respondents with mild, moderate, severe, and extremely severe depression were 12%, 9.7%, 4.7%, and 3.1%, respectively. Those with mild, moderate, severe, and extremely severe anxiety accounted for 11.5%, 12.3%, 6.3%, and 6%, respectively. Those with mild, moderate, severe, and very severe stress accounted for 12.8%, 12%, 5.3%, and 2.5%, respectively. Perceived overworking was significantly greater during the pandemic compared to before the pandemic. Significant experience in teaching, and less perceived overworking before and during the pandemic were associated with better mental health. (4) Conclusions: Periodic mental health screening for teachers may be beneficial in preventing mental health disorders and improving the quality of student education. A full assessment and innovation of the curriculum and workload should be implemented.

Background: Health seeking behavior is defined as any deed that an individual tackles to perceive themselves to have a health issue or to be sick for the endeavor of discovering a suitable countermeasure. Delays in seeking health care are usually associated with an increase in the mortality rate and the perk of early treatment and control are also acknowledged. Aims and Objective: The present study aimed at finding the morbidity and health seeking behavior among the rural population, Malaysia. Materials and Methods: A community survey was carried out in the rural area of Kedah State and the sample size was 114. A structured questionnaire was used and the data were collected by face to face interview method. Results: Majority of the residents (71.9%) were apparently healthy while 28.1% were diagnosed with illness. Top three common diseases were hypertension (53.1%), diabetes (34.4%) and heart disease (6.3%). About 81.3% of them were taking their medications regularly whereas18.7% were not compliant. Among those with illnesses,31.3% of the respondents were using traditional medicine. About half of the respondents felt that they need not get check-ups and this becomes the major barrier to health care. It was followed by long wait,lack of doctors and mass media. The source of health information was mainly from health staff followed by mass media, friends and campaigns. Conclusion: Based on the study we can conclude that improving health literacy through intensive awareness campaigns and mass media and providing access to technology may create more health awareness and healthconsciousness in individuals and encourage them to lead a healthy lifestyle. Increasing the number of health care professionals and health care centers will motivate the individuals to monitor their diseases and treatment to improve the quality of life.

Background: Polio is reported as reemerging disease in Malaysia after 27 years of being free from it. It is important to identify the awareness towards polio vaccine among the medical students who are the future and the pillars of the nation, to develop a country. Aims and Objectives: This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, and barriers toward polio immunization among pre-clinical medical students. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 190 pre-clinical students from a private university after obtaining informed consent and institutional ethical clearance. Data collected from Google Forms questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: Insufficient knowledge, especially on disease nature, transmission, and correct dosage of vaccine, was noticed. Findings revealed that 79.5% of the students showed unfavorable attitude toward polio immunization. Year 2 students are more positive toward the vaccination compared to year 1. Main barriers toward polio immunization selected by the respondents are disagreement from the spouse, insecure about vaccine safety, and distance of the health center. Conclusion: Pre-clinical students should enhance their knowledge to be able to recognize the various barriers of polio immunization in our country and be part of the effort in solving these barriers as polio eradication is critical to ensuring a healthier future for children.

Background and aim Biochemistry, a basic science subject taught during the first year of medical studies includes teaching and learning of pathways in metabolism and constitutes a major portion of biochemistry syllabus. Students often get lost in the mountain of details of metabolism, lose interest and thus fail to make connection between biochemistry and clinical practice. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of case-based learning (CBL) in improving the understanding and acceptability of biochemistry by the first-year medical students. Materials and methods First-year MBBS students were divided into two groups. Group 1(roll numbers 1–100, control) was reinforced by regular teaching, and group 2 (roll numbers 101–210, test) was exposed to CBL on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. Assessment was done by administering 14 chemistry and 14 case-based questions. An open-ended feedback was obtained regarding the perception of CBL. Results Group 2 performed better in all sections with respect to all grades except grade D in overall and chemistrybased questions. On applying Chi-square test with Yates correction, number of students failing the test was more in group 1 in all sections. In the feedback obtained, majority of students agreed that CBL is an effective method to understand, review biochemistry and connect topics learnt during lectures to medical practice. Conclusion The authors conclude that CBL is an effective teaching/learning methodology for improving meaningful understanding of biochemistry by first-year medical students. Incorporating CBL into the biochemistry curriculum also improves the attitude of students towards biochemistry.

During the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, public and healthcare workers were recommended to use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to prevent the spread of infection. With the increased use of different types of respiratory protection, including facemasks and PPE, cardiovascular parameters are expected to vary within physiological levels. This study aimed to evaluate the variations in cardiovascular parameters on wearing facemasks or full-body PPE while performing the 6-Minute Walk Test (6-MWT), a standardized physical exercise. This quasi-experimental study involved 99 healthy young adults aged 18-24 years with a normal mean BMI. The participants were randomly selected into a control and two experimental groups (wearing a facemask, or full-body PPE). Measurements of Heart Rate (HR), Blood Pressure (BP), and Oxygen Saturation (SpO₂%) were performed before and after 6-MWT. The data were analyzed using paired t-tests for comparison of parameters and repeated measures ANOVA for a Group × Time (Pretest/Posttest) interaction between the groups, where p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Based on paired t-tests, heart rate and blood pressure showed a significant difference between pretest and posttest in each group. Mixed-model ANOVA revealed no significant Group × Time interactions for any cardiovascular parameter, indicating that the physiological response to the 6-MWT was similar regardless of PPE worn. A significant difference in 6-minute walk distance was observed between the facemask group and full-body PPE group. In this cohort, no significant effects of Group × Time interaction were observed for SpO₂%, HR, and BP on wearing different PPE and performing 6-MWT, a submaximal physical activity.