Background Absenteeism amongst pre-school children is often due to illnesses such as hand, foot, and mouth disease, acute gastroenteritis, cold and flu, which are easily spread amongst them. This is because of weak immunity and lack of knowledge on proper hand hygiene. This quasi-experimental study assessed the efficacy of an intervention consisting of a hand hygiene education programme, along with digital tools in bringing about a change in behaviour and health conditions amongst pre-school children in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Methods A total of 377 school children, male and female, aged 5-6 years old, participated and were assigned to either the intervention or a control group. During the 2 months intervention period, children in the test group were trained on proper hand hygiene practices and techniques with the aid of the interactive android-based tablets. The numbers of absent days of all the children were recorded for 2 months before the intervention and during the intervention. Results In the test group, there was a 25% increase in the total number of absent days from the pre-intervention period to the intervention period, a much lesser increment observed as compared to that of control group in which the increase was much higher at 89%. Results showed a significant difference (P < 0 center dot 05) between the absenteeism rates for the test and control group during the intervention period. Conclusion These results suggest that proper education and intervention increase hand hygiene compliance, which may help decrease school absenteeism due to illness; however, a longer study duration may be necessary to evaluate the benefit further.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) represent the foremost cause of mortality worldwide, including Malaysia. In this study, we aim to gauge the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices on NCDs using a validated questionnaire. A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among the general adult population in selected areas of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia conducted from October 2017 to February 2018. Of the 486 respondents, 57.4% (279) were from rural communities. The mean age of the respondents was 53.68 (SD:19.69). For both urban and rural respondents, more than half of the respondents showed good knowledge (78.7% vs 69.9%), good attitude (53.1% vs 93.2%), and moderate practice (63.8% vs 54.8%). In bivariate analysis, rural respondents have a significantly higher total attitude [66.01 (SD = 5.049) vs 57.18 (SD = 4.825), p < 0.001] and practice [7.65 (SD = 1.891) vs 7.24 (SD = 1.624), p = 0.013] scores than urban respondents with no significant difference in total knowledge scores. However, rural respondents had lower scores regarding general knowledge on NCDs [5.71 (SD = 2.288) vs 6.35 (SD = 1.587), p = 0.001] and diabetes mellitus diseases [2.91 (1.134) vs 3.24 (0.954), p = 0.001] compared to urban communities. This study identified that even with adequate knowledge, the attitude and practices towards NCDs were unsatisfactory, particularly among urban respondents. Considering the future burden of NCDs management and complication, efforts are needed to assess the factors that decrease the attitude and lifestyle practices in the prevention of NCDs, particularly among the urban community.

There are many references to the date palm in Judeo-Christian scripture and also in the Islamic holy book, the Quran. The date palm is prominently featured in the description of Maryam’s (also known as the virgin Mary) travails during her childbirth. By reviewing some of the verses mentioning the date palm in the Quran and relating them with current scientific findings, this paper explores the potential beneficial properties of the date palm to human health. Although relatively few scientific studies have been done on the date palm, many very promising beneficial properties are shown and further work should be done to highlight the benefits of this important plant.