Perceptions of hand hygiene amongst health care workers in Sibu, East Malaysia
- Authors: Birks, Melanie , Coyle, Meaghan , Porter, Joanne , Mills, Jane
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Infection Control Vol. 8, no. 1 (2012), p. 10-13
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- Description: The importance of hand hygiene in preventing the spread of disease is universally accepted. Nonetheless, many health care professionals, in spite of acknowledging the significance of this practice, are not always vigilant in carrying out hand hygiene. The purpose of this paper is to report on a study of the perceptions of health care workers in relation to hand hygiene. This study employed a quantitative survey design to ascertain the perceptions of hand hygiene amongst health care professions in the unique location of Sibu, East Malaysia. A modified World Health Organisation questionnaire was used to gather data that was subjected to descriptive analytical techniques. The outcomes of this research indicated that those sampled recognise the importance of performing hand hygiene both for themselves and others. Participants rated a number of activities as of particular value in promoting hand hygiene. The findings of this study reinforce much of the literature, particularly in relation to need for education, resources and supportive measures in ensuring good hand hygiene practices. Recommendations from this study suggest the need for future larger research studies that explore additional socio-cultural factors and employ more diverse methods to enhance the validity of the findings.
Factors that make the health care professions an attractive career option in East Malaysia
- Authors: Birks, Melanie , Coyle, Meaghan , Porter, Joanne , Mills, Jane
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Singapore Nursing Journal Vol. 38, no. 1 (2011), p.18-22
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- Description: A shortage of health care professionals, particularly nurses, has led to the development of strategies to increase recruitment to these disciplines. This paper describes the findings of a study of factors that attract nurses and related health care professionals to their chosen discipline. A survey design was employed, in which a questionnaire was administered at a research seminar with the intent of demonstrating the conduct of research in real time. Seventy-six health care professionals participated in this survey. Most respondents were female and employed as nurses. The mean age of participants was 39 years. The ability to help others, training being provided and job security were rated highly by respondents as factors attracting them to their profession, along with the ability that to combine work and family commitments. While the findings reported here reflect some similarities with those of earlier studies, the demographically different sample may account for many of the differences.
Supporting the evolution of a research culture among nurses in Malaysia
- Authors: Birks, Melanie , Francis, Karen , Chapman, Ysanne , Mills, Jane , Porter, Joanne
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: The Australian journal of advanced nursing Vol. 27, no. 1 (2009), p. 89-93
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- Description: This paper describes a project to promote a research culture amongst nurses in Malaysia. The project, funded by the Australian Government’s Australia Malaysia Institute, and implemented by a group of Australian nurse academics, provided a rare professional development opportunity to nurses in urban and remote areas of Malaysia