Background: The European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q47) is becoming a widely used tool to measure health literacy (HL), including in Malaysia. There are efforts to reduce the 47-item scale to parsimonious short item scales that still reflect the assumptions and requirements of the conceptual model. This study used confirmatory factor analysis to reduce the 47-item scale to a short scale that can offer a feasible HL screening tool with sufficient psychometric properties. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on the Malaysian population based on ethnic distribution to ensure that the short version instrument reflects the country’s varied ethnicities. The survey was administered by well-trained interviewers working for the Ministry of Health Malaysia. A total of 866 responses were obtained. Data was analysed using multi-factorial confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with categorical variables. Results: The analysis resulted in a satisfactory 18-item model. There were high correlations among the 18 items. The internal consistency reliability was robust, with no floor/ceiling effects. These results represented equivalence and consistency among the responses to items, suggesting that these items were homogenous in measuring Malaysian health literacy. The strong convergent and discriminant validity of the model makes the proposed 18 items a suitable short version of the health literacy instrument for Malaysia. Conclusions: The researchers propose the 18-item instrument to be named HLS-M-Q18. This short version instrument may be used in measuring health literacy in Malaysia as it achieved robust reliability, structural validity and construct validity that fulfilled goodness-of-fit criteria.

Over the past years, there have been great concerns over the global environmental issues. Human activities have contributed towards climate changes that are affecting the world. The rise of temperature has been noticeable and this strengthens the arguments of the greenhouse effect. Among the environmental concerns include carbon dioxide emissions by transportation, deforestation, open burning, excessive waste, river pollution and etc. These issues have raised the global need for environmental citizenship. It is a form of citizenship that prioritizes and emphasizes the importance of the environment and one that crosses the national territorial borders. It stresses the need to have citizens who inhibit greater awareness of the environment and try to maintain and preserve the earth by participating in ‘green’ activities and saving the earth. This research aimed at exploring the awareness, understanding, perception and participation of Malaysian youth with regards to environmental citizenship. Six focus groups were conducted within Klang Valley with each group comprising of 5-6 people. The informants consisted of Malay, Chinese and Indian youths between the age of 18-25. The questions were focused on the general and technical understanding of environmental issues, the sources of information on the environment and the role that these individuals and the community have played as environmental citizens.

Health literacy is progressively seen as an indicator to describe a nation’s health status. To improve health literacy, countries need to address health inequalities by examining different social demographic factors across the population. This assessment is crucial to identify and evaluate the strengths and limitations of a country in addressing health issues. By addressing these health inequalities, a country would be better informed to take necessary steps to improve the nation’s health literacy. This study examines health literacy levels in Malaysia and analyses socio-demographic factors that are associated with health literacy. A cross-sectional survey was carried out using the HLS-M-Q18 instrument, which was validated for the Malaysian population. Multi-stage random sampling strategy was used in this study, utilising several sampling techniques including quota sampling, cluster sampling, and simple random sampling to allow random data collection. A total of 855 respondents were sampled. Our results showed that there were significant associations between health literacy and age, health status, and health problems. Our findings also suggest that lower health literacy levels were associated with the younger generation. This study’s findings have provided baseline data on Malaysians’ health literacy and provide evidence showing potential areas of intervention.

The paper aims to examine religious and cultural issues with regards to breastfeeding and explore how this awareness can improve breastfeeding promotion in a contemporary Muslim society. Focusing specifically on Malay women, the study looks at how breastfeeding is being negotiated into women’s understanding of modesty in Islam and how this may affect the practice of breastfeeding in public. Using qualitative approach, nine focus groups were conducted among Malay mothers in different parts of Malaysia to explore their experiences breastfeeding in different locations. The respondents were also asked to comment on a breastfeeding picture taken from a local magazine to explore their level of acceptance and responses to image of breastfeeding in the media. It was observed that Malay women were very concerned about Islamic rules with regards to female modesty but often negotiated the sexualized breasts into their overall understanding. The combination of these concerns has discouraged many Malay women to breastfeed in public. The study also found that while many respondents are not comfortable with the idea of having images of Muslim breastfeeding women in the media, their concerns are all related to religious matters. The study suggests that images of Muslim women breastfeeding can and should be used in any promotional items in order to make it a culturally accepted behavior but must also adhere to Islamic rulings.

Malaysia is known for having a mixed population with diverse backgrounds and religions living in peace. Malaysian education systems opened their doors to foreign countries in 1996, allowing for the establishment of branch campuses, and the private education system entered our educational sector. Since then, many international students have travelled to Malaysia to study. According to the Star Online in 2019, Malaysian higher education institutions have registered more than 170,000 international students from over 135 countries for their intercultural adaptation experiences. The top three countries are from Bangladesh, Indonesia, and China. This qualitative study investigates the academic adjustment experiences of international students in private universities in Malaysia through the lens of Cross-Cultural Adaptation (CCA) theory. Employing in-depth interviews, the research seeks to unveil the intricate processes, challenges, and adaptive strategies that shape the academic trajectories of international students within the Malaysian higher education landscape. The study aims to explore how cultural, linguistic, and academic factors influence the academic adaptation of international students. Through purposive sampling, participants will share their personal narratives, shedding light on the dynamic interplay between cultural nuances and the pursuit of academic success. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data will uncover patterns and insights into the ways in which international students negotiate academic challenges and integrate into the Malaysian educational milieu. The findings aim to contribute to the broader understanding of cross-cultural adaptation in academic settings, providing context-specific knowledge that can inform institutional policies and practices to foster a more inclusive and supportive environment for international students in Malaysian private universities.   Keywords: International Students, undergraduate, adaptation, challenges, Malaysia. https://doi.org/10.17576/JKMJC-2023-3904-12

In recent years, there has been a notable rise in the number of Chinese applicants seeking admission to Malaysian tertiary education institutions, particularly for postgraduate programmes. This trend can be attributed to the favourable policies implemented by the Malaysian government. For Chinese students themselves, the prior task of studying abroad is to achieve their educational goals, which is challenging for them to study in an unfamiliar educational context. This study aims to explore Chinese postgraduate students’ academic adaptation to Malaysian research-oriented universities that provide qualified postgraduate programmes. Using qualitative methods, the study conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 Chinese postgraduate students studying in five Malaysian public universities. Thematic analysis was adopted to analyse the data collected. The study’s findings unveiled the various factors affecting Chinese postgraduate students’ academic adaptation throughout their postgraduate tenure, encompassing language ability, supervisor-supervisee relationship, pedagogic differences, academic support and emotional support. In addition, the study also highlighted the strategies that Chinese postgraduate students employed to embrace these challenges. The implications of the findings are expected to help Chinese postgraduate students develop effective strategies and programs to facilitate their academic adaptation in Malaysia. Further to this, these findings can offer recommendations to higher education institutions on how to collaborate effectively with Chinese students. Keywords: Academic adaptation, Chinese postgraduate students, Malaysian universities, challenges, strategies.