Implementation of a Healthcare of Elderly Course With Multi-Professional Teachers for Undergraduate Medical Students in a Public University in Malaysia-A Quasi-Experimental Pre and Post Study.

Clinical practise in the ageing population is changing from organ-specific specialty care to holistic care. This is done through comprehensive geriatric assessment and multi-disciplinary team management. Hence, we adopted an approach consisting of multi-professional teachers teaching a Healthcare of Elderly Course (HEC), in a public university in Malaysia. We aimed to analyze the students' attitude, self-perceived competency and interest in geriatric medicine as a career before and after the course. We also investigated variables that might influence this interest among these students. All 96 students in the course were invited to participate in the survey. Sixty-eight (70.8%) completed both pre and post-course questionnaires. Although most students (93%) have a positive attitude (University of California at Los Angeles Geriatric Attitude Scale >3) toward older adults at baseline, it did not significantly increase post-course. We found that the mean scores for self-perceived competency increased from 3.62 (±0.76) to 3.81 (±0.56) post-course (p < 0.01). However, the students remained neutral with no significant change in the mean interest in pursuing a geriatric medicine career after the course. Students with higher self-perceived competency post-course were found to be more interested in geriatric medicine (ß = 0.56, p < 0.001). In conclusion, the HEC in our centre could sustain a positive attitude and increase self-perceived competency in students. It is important to increase the preparedness of our graduates in managing older adults with frailty and multimorbidity. Future studies may involve inter-professional education of students from multiple disciplines undergoing the same course to nurture real-life collaborations in managing the ageing population.

Pap Smear Uptake and Its Associated Factors among Orang Asli Women in Selangor

Introduction: Pap smear screening may increase the quality of women’s health through early detection of cervical cancer thus providing a better prognosis for women with cervical cancer. While the benefit of Pap smear screening is well documented, the screening uptake among Malaysian women in general was unsatisfactory with only 47.3% being screened. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Pap smear uptake and its associated factors among Orang Asli women who lives in rural areas in Selangor. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Hulu Langat and Kuala Langat districts from April to July 2017. Through cluster sampling, five Orang Asli settlements in the two districts were chosen. All women in the selected village aged between 18 to 65 years were invited to participate and interviewed using a structured, pretested questionnaire. Data were analysed using SPSS Version 22. Univariate and bivariate analysis were conducted to identify factors associated with Pap smear uptake among the participants. All hypotheses tests were two-sided and level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: Out of the 147 respondents, 114 (77.6%) had undergone Pap smear for at least once in the past. Women aged more than 35 years (p=0.013) were shown to be significantly more likely to take Pap smear compared to women who were 35 years old and less. There were significant associations between marital status (p<0.001), knowledge (p<0.001), attitude (p<0.001) and use of oral contraceptive (p=0.001) with Pap smear uptake. Conclusion: This study showed a high prevalence of Pap smear uptake among Orang Asli women in Selangor.