Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) is any behaviour within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psychological or sexual harm to those in the relationship. IPV is an important public health problem with substantial consequences on physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive health. Data on the systematic review of IPV are vital as basis for policy and program recommendations. The purpose of this systematic review was to ascertain the prevalence of IPV and its associated factors in Malaysia. Materials and methods A systematic review was conducted on published research studies from four databases which included Scopus, Medline, Sage and Google Scholar using keywords of intimate partner violence OR IPV AND associated factors OR risk factors OR protective factors AND Malaysia. Articles included were either cross-sectional, cohort or case-control studies which were published between the year 2005 till present. Excluded articles were the non-Malaysian origin, irrelevant topics being studied and articles not written in English. Results and discussion Out of 1983 records identified and screened, five were included for the analysis and interpretation of the data. All of the included studies were of cross-sectional design in which one of the studies was secondary data. IPV prevalence in Malaysia has a wide range between 4.94 and 35.9%. Two studies reported emotional or psychological abuse as the most common form of IPV (13% out of 22%) and (29.8%; CI = [0.27, 0.32]). Significant factors associated with IPV were lower education background, lower socio-economic status, history/ current substance abuse, exposure to prior abuse or violence, violence-condoning attitude; husbands or partners controlling behaviour, substance abuse and involvement in fights and lack of social support. Conclusion Specific IPV intervention should focus on lower socio-economic groups, high-risk institutionalised groups, the involvement of partners or husband and addressing issues of substance abuse.

Background: Premarital sexual behaviours among adolescents and the associated negative consequences of teenage pregnancy is an increasing public health concerns in Malaysia. Despite the extensive research related to sexual and reproductive health of adolescents, the problems remain reflecting the possible poor understanding of the underlying causes contribute to the problem. This systematic review is aimed at critically evaluating the available evidence on the contributing factors related to premarital sexual behaviours among adolescents in Malaysia. Methods: Five databases; Scopus, MEDLINE/ PubMed, CINAHL, Science Direct and Google Scholar were utilized to systematically searched related articles up to July 2018. Searching involved local quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods studies with premarital sexual behaviours among adolescents in Malaysia being the primary outcome. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study risks of bias.Results: We identified 1762 articles, of which only nine articles were included, which was dominated by six cross sectional studies. A total of 41 939 adolescents aged between 12 to 19 years old were included in this review. The prevalence of premarital sexual behaviours among adolescents was ranging between 2.9% to 8.3%, reported by history of ever had sex. Religiosity, attitude towards sexual urge (pornography and masturbation), high-risk behaviours (bullying, smoking and substance intake – alcohol and drugs) and parents-peers influence were main contributing factors identified to associate with premarital sexual behaviours.Conclusion: Negative attitude towards sexual urge and involvement in high risk behaviours put adolescents at higher risk of premarital sexual behaviour, while religious beliefs and reciprocal relationship between parents and peers influence may act as protective factors. However, more qualitative, and mixed methods studies needed to get in-depth understanding on the relationship between these factors and premarital sexual behaviours.

Objective: Aged-care facilities are high-risk settings for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks because residents have risk factors such as advanced age and multiple comorbidities. This report details a COVID-19 outbreak at an aged-care facility in Selangor, Malaysia during March–April 2020. Methods: Epidemiological and environmental data were gathered via telephone interviews and field investigations. Swab samples were taken from all residents and staff for laboratory investigation. Possible contributing factors to the outbreak were explored. Results: There were a total of 18 individuals at the institution: nine elderly residents and nine staff. The attack rate was 66.67% (6/9) among the elderly residents and 55.56% (5/9) among the staff. The most common symptoms reported were fever, cough, shortness of breath and diarrhoea. The fatality rate among COVID-19 cases was 18.18% (2/11). Both fatal cases occurred in people of advanced age (86 and 92 years old), who had comorbidities and had fever at presentation. The factors contributing to the outbreak included a delay in isolating symptomatic residents, the use of common facilities, caregivers providing support to more than one resident and a lack of natural ventilation. Discussion: Prevention and control measures must be aggressively implemented in high-risk sites to significantly reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality during COVID-19 outbreaks. Specific guidelines should be developed detailing the management of outbreaks in institutions such as aged-care facilities.