Background: Healthcare workers face burnout from high job demands and prolonged working conditions. While mental health services are available, barriers to access persist. Evidence suggests digital platforms can enhance accessibility. However, there is a lack of systematic reviews on the effectiveness of digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) for healthcare professionals. This review aims to synthesize evidence on DMHIs’ effectiveness in reducing burnout, their acceptability by users, and implementation lessons learned. Method: This Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)-guided review included 12 RCTs on DMHIs for healthcare professionals, published before 31 May 2024. The primary focus was on burnout, with secondary outcomes related to mental health and occupation. Quality appraisal used Cochrane risk of bias tools. A narrative synthesis explored DMHIs’ effectiveness, acceptability, utilization, and implementation lessons. Results: Significant improvements in mental health outcomes were observed in 10 out of 16 RCTs. Burnout and its constructs showed significant improvement in five RCTs. Studies that measured the acceptability of the interventions reported good acceptability. Factors such as attrition, intervention design and duration, cultural sensitivities, flexibility and ease of use, and support availability were identified as key implementation considerations. Conclusions: Web-based DMHIs positively impact burnout, mental health, and occupational outcomes among healthcare professionals, as shown in most RCTs. Future research should enhance DMHIs’ effectiveness and acceptability by addressing identified factors. Increasing awareness of DMHIs’ benefits will foster acceptance and positive attitudes. Lessons indicate that improving user engagement and effectiveness requires a multifaceted approach.

Background: Sleep quality is an important determinant of health; so much so that the socio-economic and healthcare burden of poor sleep quality is alarming. In Malaysia, there is a shortage of sleep-quality studies conducted on Myanmar migrant workers, who comprise a significant proportion of the Malaysian workforce. Aims: To identify the prevalence and determinants of poor sleep quality among Myanmar migrant workers in Malaysia. Study Design: A cross-sectional study utilising systematic random sampling with replacement method. Methodology: The study was conducted on 216 Myanmar migrant workers. A questionnaire was used to detect the socio-demographic information, health status, socio-economic information and lifestyle factors, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to measure sleep quality. Results: The prevalence of poor sleep quality was found in 62.5% of the study population. The factors significantly associated with poor sleep quality were body mass index (BMI) (OR = 0.462, 95% CI 0.225-0.950, P = 0.036), skill level (OR = 0.283, 95% CI 0.097-0.822, P = 0.020), shift work (OR = 3.393, 95% CI 1.456-7.908, P = 0.005), days worked per week (OR = 2.317, 95% CI = 1.022-5.252, P = 0.044), working hours per day (OR = 2.305, 95% CI = 1.134-4.685, P= 0.021) and work-related physical tiredness (OR = 2.304, 95% CI = 1.186-4.476, P = 0.014). Conclusions: The findings highlight the burden and determinants of poor sleep quality among Myanmar migrant workers in Malaysia. The prevalence of poor sleep quality was 62.5% of the study population. Six factors were associated with poor sleep quality in this population: having a lower BMI (Body mass index), being engaged in upper skill level jobs, being a shift worker, working 6 to 7 days a week and more than 8 hours per day and having to spend more than 30 minutes on a daily commute.

Background: Following the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, academicians from the universities in Malaysia needed to ensure that the quality-of-service delivery to the stakeholders is undisturbed by adopting new challenging norms. This compromises the work-life balance (WLB), causes more stress and potentially affects their quality of life (QoL). Aim: This study investigates how perceived stress (PS) impacts the QoL of Malaysian academicians during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the mediating role of WLB. Setting: Academics working in Malaysia during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study, using a voluntary response sampling method, was conducted among 417 academicians from universities in Malaysia in September 2021. A self-reported online questionnaire, measuring PS, WLB and QoL, was distributed. Results: The QoL scored a mean of 50 (standard deviation [s.d.] = 9.84), PS scored a mean of 24.26 (s.d. = 8.19) and WLB had a mean score of 51.12 (s.d. = 18.73). Work-life balance was a significant mediator of PS and QoL (β = –0.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] = –0.52 to –0.35, p = 0.0001). Perceived stress was a significant predictor of WLB (β = 1.62, p = 0.0001). Conclusion: Institutions should consider implementing flexible working arrangements, and providing workshops on crisis management, time management, and resilience. Stress coping methods are recommended for enhancing WLB among academicians. Contribution: This study contributes to the pool of evidence to support intervention strategies and policy recommendations aimed to enhance well-being.

BackgroundIn Malaysia, a nationwide movement control order (MCO), implemented to curb the COVID-19 spread, impacted on the lives of the working population which could impair sleep quality.ObjectiveThis study aims to find the sleep quality status and its association with the socioeconomic, employment and lifestyle factors of working adults during the MCO period.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 500 eligible working adults. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire consisting of the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index.ResultsThe proportion of poor sleep quality is found to be 59.4%. Analysis shows that the use of electronic devices before sleep (OR = 2.33, 95% CI = 1.02–5.35, p-value = 0.046), increased amount of workload (OR = 0.45, p-value = 0.005), decreased in amount of workload (OR = 0.48, p-value = 0.003) and distracted while working (OR = 0.57, p-value = 0.014) are the factors significantly associated with and are predictors of poor sleep quality.ConclusionDuring crisis, there is a need for public health interventions for the working population to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Employers are recommended to support employees’ well-being and to provide a healthy workplace during challenging times. Policy recommendations are also made to implement flexible working arrangements, workload management, workplace mental health support and legal protections on reasonable working hours, rest breaks and time off during crises.

Aims: There is a growing number of institutionalized elderly in Malaysia. This group of elderly are commonly not included in population based surveys, thus little is known about their health and well-being. This study aims to determine the self-rated health of the elderly living in institutions and the associated factors. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014, in eight elderly institutions in Kuala Lumpur. The institutions were selected randomly, and the participants were selected through stratified proportionate sampling. A total of 203 residents participated in this study. Chi-square test was used for univariate analysis and binary logistic regression was used for multivariate analysis. P value less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The prevalence of poor self-rated health was 39.9%. Factors significantly associated with self-rated health included educational level (OR=2.1, 95%CI=1.18-3.74), physical activity (OR=0.4, 95%CI=0.22-0.81) outdoor leisure activity (OR=0.4, 95%CI= 0.21-0.82), visual impairment (OR=1.9, 95%CI= 1.06-3.52), chronic pain (OR= 2.4, 95%CI=1.35-4.27), diabetes (OR=1.9, 95%CI=1.03-3.49) heart disease (OR=4.2, 95%CI=1.25-13.74), renal failure (OR=11.5, 95%CI= 1.38-94.89), fall (OR=2.9, 95%CI= 1.28-6.48) hospitalization (OR=4.9, 95%CI= 2.43-9.86) co-morbidities (OR=3.2, 95%CI=1.30-761), and satisfaction with access to healthcare (OR=0.3 95%CI= 0.17-0.79). Conclusion: This study revealed a high prevalence of poor self-rated health among residents in these institutions. Factors significantly associated with self-rated health were mostly co-morbidities. There is need for interventions targeted at improving healthcare services and leisure activities for residents of these institutions.

Background: In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI)-integrated platforms have emerged, providing access to health information and extending beyond information retrieval to include personalized health monitoring and decision support. However, many older adults still have limited digital health literacy, placing them at risk of increased health inequalities and missing opportunities for better health outcomes. Despite the growing importance of digital health information, evidence on eHealth literacy among older adults in Malaysia remains limited, particularly regarding the sociodemographic factors associated with differences in eHealth literacy. Understanding these associations is important for identifying population groups that may be more vulnerable to disparities in accessing, understanding, and evaluating online health information. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the association between eHealth literacy levels and sociodemographic factors among older adults in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Methods: A community survey recruited older adult participants in Klang Valley, Malaysia. An internationally validated instrument, the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS), was used to measure the current eHealth literacy level of older adults. Chi-square tests and bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with eHealth literacy. Results: The mean eHEALS score was 27.29 ± 7.61 (range: 8–40), with the majority of participants demonstrating moderate or high perceived eHealth literacy. The bivariate analysis showed that age, ethnicity, education level, pre-retirement occupation, household income, language ability, and English proficiency were significantly associated with eHealth literacy. The multivariable analysis revealed that participants aged 70 years and above and those with a lower income had higher odds of low eHealth literacy (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study demonstrates that eHealth literacy among older adults in Klang Valley is at a moderate level and is significantly associated with key sociodemographic factors. These findings underscore the need for targeted interventions and inclusive digital health strategies to improve eHealth literacy and reduce health inequalities among older adults in Malaysia.