Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Impact of Maternal Marital Status on Birth Outcomes Among Young Malaysian Women: A Prospective Cohort Study
This study evaluated the impact of maternal marital status on birth outcomes among young Malaysian women and investigated other risk factors influencing the birth outcomes. Pregnant women with and without marital ties at the point of pregnancy diagnosis were invited to participate in this study. Participants were interviewed using a structured questionnaire at pregnancy diagnosis and shortly after childbirth. From a total of 229 unmarried and 213 married women who participated, marital status was significantly associated with preterm birth (odds ratio [OR], 1.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-2.61) and low birth weigh...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 21, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Mohd Zain, N., Low, W.-Y., Othman, S. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Korean Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey: Association Between Part-time Employment and Suicide Attempts
This study investigated the association between in-school students’ part-time work and 1-year suicide attempts in Korea. The authors analyzed Korean Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance data (2008), which included 75 238 samples that represent Korean middle and high school students. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the association between part-time work and suicide attempt during the past 1 year, controlled by sociodemographic, school-related, lifestyle, and psychological factors. Among high school students, there was no association between part-time work and suicide attempts. However, p...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 21, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Jo, S.-J., Yim, H. W., Lee, M.-S., Jeong, H., Lee, W.-C. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Predictors of Physical Inactivity Among Elderly Malaysians: Recommendations for Policy Planning
Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. Regular moderate-intensity physical activity has significant benefits for health. To determine the socioeconomic predictors of physical inactivity among elderly Malaysian population. A nationwide community-based survey was conducted among 4831 respondents aged ≥60 years with a face-to-face questionnaire. The prevalence of physical inactivity among the elderly was 88.0%, highest in respondents aged older than 80 years (95.4%), females (90.1%), other Bumiputra (92.2%), earning household income less than RM1000 (87.9%), and residing in urban locali...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 21, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Kaur, J., Kaur, G., Ho, B. K., Yao, W. K., Salleh, M., Lim, K. H. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

The Relationship Between Healthy Lifestyle and Hospital Utilization Among Adults With Diabetes: Results From a National Cohort in Taiwan
The aim of this study was to investigate whether adopting healthy lifestyle habits, such as engaging in leisure time physical activity (LTPA), adopting recommended dietary patterns, and not smoking, are associated with reduced hospitalizations over 1 year among adults with diabetes. We analyzed data from a national sample of people aged 18 years and above with self-reported physician-diagnosed diabetes (n = 664) through linkage to the 2001 National Health Interview Survey in Taiwan and the 2002 National Health Insurance claims data. Multivariate analysis showed that participants reporting greater than 150 min/wk of moderat...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 21, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Li, C.-L., Sheu, J.-T., Wang, T.-A., Wen, Y.-P., Chao, M., Chang, H.-Y. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Lifestyle Health Behaviors of Hong Kong Chinese: Results of a Cluster Analysis
Sociodemographics affect health through pathways of lifestyle choices. Using data from a survey of 467 Hong Kong Chinese, this study aims to examine the prevalence of their lifestyle behaviors, identify profiles based on their sociodemographic and lifestyle variables, and compare differences among the profile groups. Two-step cluster analysis was used to identify natural profile groups within the data set: only 37% of the participants engaged in regular physical exercises, and less than 50% monitored their dietary intake carefully. The analysis yields 2 clusters, representing a "healthy" and a "less-healthy" lifestyle grou...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 21, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Chan, C. W., Leung, S. F. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

A Logistic Regression Model for Estimating Transport Accident Deaths Using Verbal Autopsy Data
This study aimed to create an appropriate model using verbal autopsy (VA) data to estimate transport accident deaths from vital registration data in Thailand. A sample of 9644 VA deaths was obtained from the Thai Ministry of Public Health. VA assessed transport accidents accounted for 546 deaths (5.7% of sample). Logistic regression was used to model transport accident deaths classified by 9 provinces, 16 gender–age groups, 14 combinations of vital reported cause groups, and place of death (in or outside hospital). The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to match the number of reported transport accident...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 21, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Klinjun, N., Lim, A., Bundhamcharoen, K. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Determinants of Road Traffic Injury Among Adult Motorcyclists in Male, Maldives
This study investigates the incidence of nonfatal road traffic injuries (RTIs) in Malé, the capital city of the Maldives, and identifies risk factors associated with RTIs. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among young adult motorcyclists in 3 public areas. A total of 350 self-administered questionnaires were distributed to the motorcycle riders who visited the study areas between December 2012 and January 2013. The incidence of RTIs for the previous 12 months was 39.8% among the 294 respondents who returned a completed questionnaire. About half (49.6%) of those were caused by the riders. The majority...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 21, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Waseela, M., Laosee, O. Tags: Articles Source Type: research

Climate Change, Water Quality, and Water-Related Diseases in the Mekong Delta Basin: A Systematic Review
The objectives of this review are to understand of water related health effects exacerbated by climate change and the gaps of knowledge on the relationships between climate conditions, water quality, and water-related diseases in the MDB. The findings indicate that a few studies with qualitative emphases on the relationships between climate and water quality have been conducted in MDB, and they are insufficient to describe the pattern of climate-disease relationship. The diseases caused by chemical contaminants in relation to changes of climate conditions are neglected in MDB. We suggest further studies to examine the infl...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 21, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Phung, D., Huang, C., Rutherford, S., Chu, C., Wang, X., Nguyen, M. Tags: Review Article Source Type: research

In Memoriam: Professor Dr. Jason Teoh Soon Teong September 3, 1938-March 9, 2015
(Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health)
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 21, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Low, W.-Y., Binns, C. Tags: Obituary Source Type: research

Malaria Continues as a Major Public Health Problem
(Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health)
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - April 21, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Binns, C., Low, W.-Y. Tags: Editorial Source Type: research

Psychometric Properties of the Coronary Heart Disease Scale of the Quality-of-Life Instruments for Chronic Diseases (QLICD-CHD): An Application to Cantonese Patients
The purpose of this study was to validate the applicability of our proposed disease-specific questionnaire to Cantonese coronary heart disease (CHD) patients. During the investigation from August 2010 to March 2012, 1000 Cantonese inpatients were recruited. The reliability of the scale was judged by the internal consistency, and the content and construct validity were assessed by using Pearson correlation and confirmatory factor analysis, respectively. Results showed that the Cronbach’s α coefficient for the whole scale and most domains/facets were larger than .70 (.59 to .93). Most items had moderate to strong...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Fan, A., Zhong, S. Q., Zuo, X. Y., Liang, Y., Mai, W. Y., Chen, C., Su, W. Y., Zhang, F., Zhao, X. L., Lin, M. H., Wan, C. H., Ding, Y. L., Rao, S. Q. Tags: Original Papers Source Type: research

Noise Monitoring and Adverse Health Effects in Residents in Different Functional Areas of Luzhou, China
The purpose of the study was to investigate the noise pollution situation and the resulting adverse effect on residents’ health in Luzhou, China, to provide data for noise pollution prevention policies and interventions. Four different functional areas (commercial, construction, residential, and transportation hub areas) were chosen to monitor noise level for 3 months. The survey was performed by questionnaire on the spot on randomly selected individuals; it collected data on the impact of noise on residents’ health (quality of sleep, high blood pressure, subjective feeling of nervous system damage, and attenti...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Han, Z.-X., Lei, Z.-H., Zhang, C.-L., Xiong, W., Gan, Z.-L., Hu, P., Zhang, Q.-B. Tags: Original Papers Source Type: research

Retention in Care and Factors Affecting It Among People Living With HIV/AIDS in Changsha City, China
In conclusion, the intervention to improve retention in care for PLWHA in Changsha is warranted, especially for those who have lower education level, for those who have higher baseline CD4 count, and for those who have not initiated antiretroviral therapy. (Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health)
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Yang, G. L., Yan, J., Liu, Y., Huang, Z. L., Long, S. Tags: Original Papers Source Type: research

Factors Influencing Patients' Contract Choice With General Practitioners in Shanghai: A Preliminary Study
The general practitioner (GP) system has been widely applied around the world and experimented with in Shanghai, China. To analyze some of the influencing factors on patient-GP contracts, we developed a questionnaire and conducted site investigations in 2011 and 2012 to 1200 patients by random sampling from 6 pilot community health service (CHS) centers in Pudong, Shanghai. The t test, 2 test, factor analysis, and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The factors influencing patients’ contract behavior were age (OR = 1.03; 95%CI = 1.02-1.04), education level (OR = 0.83; 95% CI = 0.75-0.93), soci...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Jing, L., Shu, Z., Sun, X., Chiu, J. F., Lou, J., Xie, C. Tags: Original Papers Source Type: research

Challenges of Basic Public Health Services Provided by Village Doctors in Guizhou, China
This study was undertaken to uncover the challenges faced by village doctors in providing basic public health services (BPHS) in western rural areas of China. This field research for BPHS, with 12 managers and 82 village doctors of county Y in Guizhou province, was conducted in July 2012 using a combination of random and purposive sampling methods. Quantitative and qualitative methods were applied for data collection. EpiData 3.1, SPSS 15.0, and NVivo 10.0 were used to analyze the data. The results showed that the main challenges in delivering BPHS include heavy workload, poor working conditions, low income, lack of social...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Zhang, Y., Chen, M., Shi, X.-Q. Tags: Original Papers Source Type: research