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Breast Self-Examination (BSE) is important to be introduced to secondary school girls in order to develop a positive health behavior. Limited attention has been given on knowledge among school girls. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of educational intervention program on knowledge of BSE among secondary school girls in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 502 volunteered secondary school girls using pre and post self-administered validated questionnaire. The mean (SD) age of the participants was 14.9 (± 0.1) years. Majority of the participants were Malays (87.1%). Pre-intervention educational program revealed that 91% of the participants had poor knowledge whereas 9% had good knowledge on BSE. Post-educational intervention program showed that knowledge has increased by 33.4% and percentage for 'poor' knowledge reduced by 33.4% from pre-intervention scored (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference on knowledge of BSE among participants with and without family history of breast cancer (p = 0.204). Health campaign was the top source of information to gain knowledge related to BSE prior (56.6%) and after (90.2%) the intervention program (p < 0.001). Thus, the educational intervention program was found to be effective method to improve the knowledge on BSE among secondary school girls.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the perception of health-care students on the recent COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. There was one study by Caliskhan et al. (2020) conducted among Turkish final-year medical students showed that the students were knowledgeable about and aware of the COVID-19 pandemic. To the authors’ knowledge, there are limited number of studies conducted among health-care students in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThe online questionnaire was randomly distributed to the health-care students in Malaysia. The questionnaire consists of socio-demographic data and perceptions on COVID-19. Descriptive analysis was used to analyse the perceptions of the health-care students on COVID-19.FindingsHealth-care students in Malaysia have positive perceptions on COVID-19, and it did not give huge impact of their interest in this health-care field. Thus, it is important that this issue is investigated, and the perceptions of health-care students on COVID-19 can be highlighted.Research limitations/implicationsThe strength of this study was the participation from the health-care students from various institutions, which have different experience and backgrounds. The study was limited on the items of question utilised. Due to the limited time and urgency of the survey, the authors were unable to study their knowledge, attitudes and way they are going to cope with this kind of pandemic as the students and as future health-care workers.Originality/valueThe paper points out the effect on the recent COVID-19 pandemic on health-care students in Malaysia. It also points out the perceptions of health-care students in Malaysia on the current pandemic. It is expected that the results of this research would serve as baseline data for health-care institutions in Malaysia to continue equip the future front liners that can adapt future challenges.

<span lang="EN-US">The decision on school reopening has evoked mixed reactions from parents as they become nervous regarding this action and are uncertain to send their children to school. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the teachers’ perspectives on the readiness and challenges of school reopening in Malaysia. A study was conducted through online interview sessions amongst 20 teachers for primary and secondary schools at Seremban district, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia from October 2020 until February 2021. Data were coded into themes and sub-themes based on the similarities of the data. The respondents in this study agreed that they are ready for school reopening and fully follow the guidelines prepared by the Ministry of Education Malaysia such as checking body temperature, physical distancing inside and outside the classroom, enforcement of wearing mask and sanitize the area regularly. Undeniably, the teachers faced some challenges regarding new norms during school sessions. Therefore, to ensure that the students receive proper education, at the same time the measures to contain the transmission of COVID-19 are followed properly, a few suggestions have been made. The cooperation from the teachers, parents and students are also needed to ensure and achieve the smoothness of school sessions.</span>

Anxiety was the barrier mostly chosen by women for not performing mammography examination. Music was perceived as an effective method in reducing these barriers. Thus, this study was done to investigate how music would influence anxiety level among women undergoing mammogram screening. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at randomly selected private hospitals around Klang Valley. The ’State-Trait Anxiety Inventory’ form was used to measure the level of anxiety. Respondents were categorized into two groups, which are control (no music) and experimental (with music) groups. Descriptive analysis was used to determine the anxiety level and T-test analysis were used to compare the anxiety level between both groups. A total of 60 respondents participated in this study in which 30 (50.0%) were in a control group and 30 (50.0%) were in the experimental group. Mean age of respondents were 53.5 (±12.7) years. The anxiety level is high in women who underwent mammography with no music (60.0%) as compared those with music (53.3%), although the difference is not significant (p>0.05). Music intervention has potential in reducing anxiety level during mammography examination.