The widespread use of social media has opened a new dimension to the community to use this medium for the delivery of da'wah. For celebrity preachers, the influence and attraction that they have within them is able to attract hundreds of thousands of social media users to follow their accounts and subsequently accept and trust the da’wah content posted. Celebrity preachers need to build credibility so that the posting of da'wah content uploaded through social media does not cause the effect of the disorder of religious information presented especially involving the ruling of religious hakams. This study aims to study the credibility that should be built as guidance for the celebrity preachers before uploading any posts of da'wah content on social media. This study uses in-depth interview methods with two preachers namely Mohd Farid Ravi Abdullah and Don Daniyal Don Biyajid. The results found that celebrity preachers on social media should build their credibility by being purely sincere in da’wah intention for Allah (ikhlas), having a sense of responsibility for the content of da'wah posted, seeking to gather religious knowledge as deeply and morally as these celebrity preachers are exemplary followers of their social media accounts.

This study explores at-risk communities’ attitudes toward Plasmodium knowlesi (P. knowlesi) malaria prevention behaviours using the Integrated Behavioural Model (IBM) as a guiding framework. This study also presents efforts and challenges faced by district health officers in Peninsular Malaysia in their role as the health authority for mitigating the disease. Seventeen informants were selected from at-risk areas in three states with high cases of P. knowlesi in 2019 (Johor, Pahang, Kelantan) to be interviewed. Semi-structured interview questions were developed guided by the IBM framework. Three district health officers who were involved in malaria prevention efforts in the selected states were also interviewed. Qualitative data analysis using Atlas.ti 8 software was used to facilitate thematic coding. Five prevention behaviours were found to be prevalent among the informants and are hypothesised to be suited for behavioural improvement intervention among at-risk communities. The prevention behaviours identified are: consuming prophylaxis, wearing long sleeves, using bed nets, mosquito coils and insect repellent. Current efforts by health district officers for P. knowlesi malaria prevention include erecting warning signs, community education programmes, and empowering community influencers. Challenges faced by the health district officers include difficulty accessing remote locations, limited facilities, and military-specific issues. This study suggests that future prevention efforts focused on behavioural improvement among at-risk communities in Malaysia should concentrate on the five prevention efforts most prevalent among these communities. Keywords: P. knowlesi malaria, attitude, prevention challenges, prevention efforts, peninsular Malaysia.

Malaria is a significant health problem, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions, regardless of it being a preventable disease. Despite numerous measures taken by health-related agencies, malaria cases continue to increase globally. Most of these interventions are intended to change the behaviours of individuals and communities to reduce the risk of malaria transmission, especially in the long run. However, there is a limited number of systematic reviews in the existing literature that focus on behavioural interventions for malaria prevention. Hence, this systematic review aims to highlight and synthesise studies implementing behavioural interventions to prevent malaria infection among at-risk communities. This study includes English articles from Scopus and Web of Science between the years 2009 to 2022, conducted based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis 2020 (PRISMA 2020). Out of the initial 67 articles identified through the screening process, four eligible studies of good to medium quality were selected for review. Three main themes were determined based on the deductive thematic analysis: i) tailor-made content, ii) community engagement and outreach, and iii) interpersonal communication. Based on the impact analysis of the four studies, this review concludes that behavioural interventions are an effective strategy to combat the prevalence of malaria worldwide. Hence, communities at risk of malaria would benefit from intervention programs that tap into behavioural change approaches inclusive of the three main themes identified in this review. Keywords: Malaria intervention, behavioural intervention, social behavioural intervention, at-risk communities, systematic review.

Plasmodium knowlesi (P. knowlesi) malaria remains a significant public health challenge in Southeast Asia, particularly in Malaysia. Despite various preventive strategies, the rise in zoonotic malaria cases highlights the need for behaviourally focused interventions. This study aims to develop and validate a reliable instrument based on the Integrated Behaviour Model (IBM) to measure P. knowlesi malaria prevention behaviours among at-risk communities. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Hulu Selangor using a two-phase approach. Phase 1 involved qualitative elicitation interviews to explore attitudes, norms and perceived control toward five prevention behaviours: taking prophylaxis, wearing long sleeves and long pants, using insect repellent, using bed nets and using mosquito coils. These findings informed the development of a structured instrument. In Phase 2, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied to assess the validity and reliability of the instrument, using responses from 277 respondents. The CFA results showed that the developed instruments have achieved acceptable model fit, although some constructs exhibited reliability and validity concerns particularly attitude, subjective norm, and environmental constraint. The prevention behaviour items that showed the highest model fit among the five prevention behaviour items were wearing long sleeves and long pants and the lowest model fit was using insect repellent. This study provides a validated IBM based tool to assess P. knowlesi malaria prevention behaviours, contributing to more targeted intervention strategies. Future research should expand geographic coverage and use longitudinal methods to assess behavioural change over time. Keywords: Integrated behaviour model (IBM), knowlesi malaria, behavioural change, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), instrument development and validation.