Background: High rates of psychological problems including depression among university students have been reported in various studies around the world. The objectives of this study were to explore the prevalence of depressive disorder, as well as the associated sociodemographic factors (gender, origin, school, and year of study) among health sciences students. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 425 students from 5 different schools of health sciences at International Islamic University Malaysia, using the Patient Health Questionaire-9 (PHQ-9). Results: With a response rate of 85.9% (n = 365), the results showed a depressive disorder prevalence of 36.4%. The mean PHQ-9 score of the respondents was 8.10 (SD = 4.9), indicating mild depression severity. A statistically significant association was revealed between gender and severity of depression (P = 0.03), as well as between students’ origin and severity of depression (P = 0.02). Conclusion: The findings indicated high prevalence of depression among undergraduate health sciences students. While providing significant information to students’ affairs department, the study findings suggest the necessity to address depressive disorder in health sciences university students in Malaysia. Future research is needed to confirm these results in larger samples.

Background: The awareness of symptoms and action towards heart attack and stroke is important to reduce the morbidity and mortality in both developed and developing countries. The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire on awareness and action towards symptoms and risk factors of heart attack and stroke among lay public in Malaysia. The questionnaire was developed in both English and Bahasa Melayu. Methods: Primarily the questions were generated in English. Face and content validity were performed by five experts in Pharmacy Practice and Medicine. A translation as per guidelines into Malay language was performed; followed by face-to-face interview of 96 lay public in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. For internal consistency, reliability was assessed utilizing Cronbach’s alpha. Results: The mean ± SD of the awareness and action towards heart attack symptoms and risk factors was 65.52 ± 6.3, with a good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.75), whereas the mean of the awareness and action towards stroke symptoms and risk factors was 61.93 ± 7.11, with an accepted internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.86). Conclusion: The current validation research showed that the developed questionnaire is valid and reliable for assessing the awareness and action towards symptoms and risk factors of heart attack and stroke among lay public in Malaysia.

Introduction: Potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) use and polypharmacy are two issues that are commonly encountered among older people. They are associated with several negative outcomes including adverse drug reactions and medication-related hospitalization. There are insufficient studies regarding the impact of both PIMs and polypharmacy on hospital readmission, especially in Malaysia. Aim: To investigate the possible association between polypharmacy and prescribing PIMs at discharge and 3-month hospital readmission among older patients. Materials and method: A retrospective cohort study involved 600 patients ≥60 years discharged from the general medical wards in a Malaysian teaching hospital. The patients were divided into two equal groups: patients with or without PIMs. The main outcome was any readmission during the 3-month follow-up. The discharged medications were assessed for polypharmacy (≥five medications) and PIMs (using 2019 Beers’ criteria). Chi-square test, Mann–Whitney test, and a multiple logistic regression were conducted to study the impact of PIMs/polypharmacy on 3-month hospital readmission. Results: The median number for discharge medications were six and five for PIMs and non-PIMs patients, respectively. The most frequently prescribed PIMs was aspirin as primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases (33.43%) followed by tramadol (13.25%). The number of medications at discharge and polypharmacy status were significantly associated with PIMs use. Overall, 152 (25.3%) patients were re-admitted. Polypharmacy and PIMs at discharge did not significantly impact the hospital readmission. After applying the logistic regression, only male gender was a predictor for 3-month hospital readmission (OR: 2.07, 95% CI: 1.022–4.225). Conclusion: About one-quarter of the patients were admitted again within three months of discharge. PIMs and polypharmacy were not significantly associated with 3-month hospital readmissions while male gender was found to be an independent risk factor for readmission.

Introduction: Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are predisposed to nutritional deficiencies, resulting in vitamin B12 deficiency with negative hematologic consequences. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the impact of intramuscular B12 on renal anemia among ESRD patients receiving hemodialysis (HD) at El-Najar hospital, Gaza Strip. Patients and Methods: A case-control study conducted, which included 110 healthy controls and 110 HD patients who received B12 on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis over two months. Sociodemographics and current diseases were reported. Serum levels of serum B12, white blood cell (WBC), red blood cell (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and platelet (PLT) were recorded before and after treatment. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS. Results: Baseline serum B12 level was significantly lower in HD patients compared to controls (362.62 ± 166.40 versus 483.36 ± 115.07 ρg/mL, P<0.001), which significantly improved after vitamin B12 treatment (639.08 ± 362.99 ρg/mL, P<0.001). Additionally, mean WBCs, RBCs, Hb, and PLT levels were significantly increased after treatment (P<0.001). Serum B12 level was positively and significantly (P<0.001) correlated with levels of WBC (r = 0.45), RBC (r = 0.43), Hb (r = 0.39) and PLT (r = 0.51), and negatively correlated with MCV (r = -0.46, P<0.001). Conclusion: Administration of vitamin B12 improves serum B12 levels in HD patients, which was associated with increased WBCs, RBCs, Hb, and PLT levels and decreased MCV levels. Treatment by vitamin B12 can improve HD patients’ renal anemia. Future studies with larger sample sizes and prolonged follow-up are advocated.

Objectives: To explore pharmacy students’ attitudes, satisfaction, and feedback regarding the introduction of a new project-based learning (PrBL) module in a Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm.) curriculum in a Malaysian public university. Method: A pre-tested, validated 33-item web-based questionnaire was administered to third-year undergraduate pharmacy students in a Malaysian school of pharmacy (n=102). The grading and assessment tools consisted of a group-based research proposal, final project presentation, and final project report. Descriptive and inferential data analyses were performed using SPSS version 22. A p-value ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There was good receptiveness, positive attitude, and satisfaction towards the PrBL module among the study participants. The vast majority of the students (94.1%) believed that the module helped them in learning a topic that they did not know previously and found that it was fun and entertaining to work with friends. Many of students revealed that the PrBL increased their desire to learn and improve their communication skills (76.9%). Also, they agreed that the PrBL module was suitable to prepare them for future practice and problem solving (72.5%). About half of the students (48.0%) expressed their desire for future courses to adopt a PrBL approach. Overall, the majority of students indicated that they were satisfied with the performance of their supervisors (79.4%) and their supervisors made the aims and objectives of the module clear from the outset (65.7%). Conclusion: A new PrBL module was received with good levels of satisfaction, and it is feasible to introduce such modules in other pharmacy programmes in Malaysia. Good PrBL design, a proper educational environment, and well- trained supervisors assisted in the implementation of the module. Feedback from students and preceptors is essential in module enhancement to accommodate their evolving demands and expectations.

Introduction: Infection prevention and control (IPC) is a crucial component of the healthcare system that demands adherence to standards to avoid and reduce the risk of infectious diseases spreading among patients, staff members, and visitors to healthcare institutions. The aim of this study was to assess IPC knowledge among undergraduate health sciences students and to identify the critical IPC components that need to be addressed. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 235 final-year health science students at International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), involving five faculties: the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, and Allied Health Science. A 45-item questionnaire was used to collect participants’ sociodemographics (5 items) and explore their knowledge about IPC across six aspects (40 items). A score of > 24 (62%) indicates satisfactory knowledge. Results: The majority of the participants were female (74.9%), and 34% were from the Faculty of Pharmacy. Medicine students had the highest level of IPC knowledge with a mean score of 29.3 (n = 52), which was significantly different from Allied Health Science students (M = 25.6, n =55, p < 0.001). Other faculties students had similar IPC knowledge with no significant differences (Pharmacy: M = 27.5, n = 80; Nursing: M = 27.4, n = 29; Dentistry: M = 27.2, n = 19). IPC components that need to be improved are knowledge about sharp disposals and sharp injuries, as well as respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette. Conclusion: IPC knowledge was adequate among health science students at IIUM, although certain IPC components still require improvement. Additional IPC educational materials and workshops should be added to all faculties' syllabi to address this issue.