Findings from International Medical University Update Understanding of Public Health

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Vaccine Weekly -- A new study on Public Health is now available. According to news reporting out of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, by NewsRx editors, research stated, "(i) To determine knowledge of, and self-protecting preventive behaviours towards influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and (ii) to identify the factors influencing intention to take influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccination among the study population. This is a cross-sectional survey carried out in Mantin Town, a semi-urban area of Malaysia."

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from International Medical University, "A structured questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge of pandemic influenza symptoms, mode of transmission, self-protecting preventive behaviours, and intention to receive the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine was used for face-to-face interviews with the household members. Of 230 who heard about pandemic influenza A(H1N1), 86% had misconception about mode of transmission of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, and 52% had sufficient self-protecting behaviours. A majority (58.3%; 134/230) had intended to receive the vaccine. In the multivariate analysis, the intention to get vaccinated was significantly higher among 'those who trusted in efficacy of vaccine for prevention of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09' (p <0.001), 'those who were equipped with higher education level' (p=0.015) and 'those who worry about themselves contracting illness' (p=0.008). Our findings highlig! ht the need to scale up the community's knowledge regarding influenza A(H1N1)pdm09."