Subramaniam Munusamy | UPM - Universiti Putra Malaysia (original) (raw)

Papers by Subramaniam Munusamy

Structural equation model of willingness to pay for hepatitis B among 728 participants i... more Structural equation model of willingness to pay for hepatitis B among 728 participants in Selangor, Malaysia, 2016.</p

Outer factor loadings analysis of construct items among 728 participants in Selangor, Ma... more Outer factor loadings analysis of construct items among 728 participants in Selangor, Malaysia, 2016.</p

Distribution of willingness to pay for hepatitis B vaccination, Selangor, Malaysia, 2016... more Distribution of willingness to pay for hepatitis B vaccination, Selangor, Malaysia, 2016.</p

Fornell-Larcker and Heterotrait-Monotrait criterion for discriminant validity in a study... more Fornell-Larcker and Heterotrait-Monotrait criterion for discriminant validity in a study of perceptions of hepatitis B among 728 participants in Selangor, Malaysia, 2016.</p

Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health

Background: Outbreaks of hand foot mouth disease (HFMD) is endemic in Malaysia and causes outbrea... more Background: Outbreaks of hand foot mouth disease (HFMD) is endemic in Malaysia and causes outbreaks and deaths amongst young children. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and awareness towards HFMD and their associated determinants among parents in Malaysia. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted between January and March 2020 in Selangor state of Malaysia using a self-administered survey. The validated questionnaires were distributed to parents with children attending kindergartens in the nine districts of Selangor through multistage sampling. Logistic regression was used to estimate the differences in knowledge and awareness between groups and to identify their associated variables. Results: We received 690 participant responses of which 485 were included in the final analysis. We found that only 34.4% of parents had good knowledge and 78.1% had good awareness of HFMD. The multivariate analysis found that those who were working in the private sectors had lower odds of having good knowledge compared to those who were working in the public sectors, adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 0.59; 95%CI: 0.36-0.97. Compared to Malay, Malaysian Chinese and Malaysian Indian had lower odds of having good awareness with aOR: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.29-0.81 and aOR: 0.44; 95%CI: 0.23-0.83, respectively. Conclusion: Although parents' awareness was relatively high, they have poor knowledge on HFMD in particular to identify the symptoms of severe cases, basic treatment and preventive measures of HFMD. HFMD information needs to be communicated in a simplified language including in online communications to improve parents' knowledge and awareness of HFMD.

Flowchart how willingness to pay for hepatitis B vaccination was measured during the sur... more Flowchart how willingness to pay for hepatitis B vaccination was measured during the survey.</p

Mean of willingness to pay according to demographic factors (N = 273).</p

Demographic distribution and perceptions among participants from Selangor, Malaysia, 201... more Demographic distribution and perceptions among participants from Selangor, Malaysia, 2016 (N = 728).</p

Price elasticity of demand.</p

Factors associated with willingness to pay for hepatitis B vaccination, Selangor, Malays... more Factors associated with willingness to pay for hepatitis B vaccination, Selangor, Malaysia, 2016 (N = 728).</p

IIUM Medical Journal Malaysia, 2022

Background: Hand, foot mouth disease (HFMD)is caused by a virus and commonly affects children fiv... more Background: Hand, foot mouth disease (HFMD)is caused by a virus and commonly affects children five years or below. However, the determinants of the associated factors with preventive behaviour among parents are still lacking. This study aims to assess the range of preventive behaviour towards HFMD among parents in Selangor, Malaysia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a three-stage cluster sampling method. The associations between independent variables and preventive behaviours were assessed with multivariate regressions. Result: In total, 556 parents completed the survey. The majority of the parents had good preventive behaviours towards HFMD. Age, gender, income, perceived susceptibility and the perceived benefit was associated with preventive behaviour. Conclusion: Although, the preventive behaviour of HFMD among parents is crucial, however, it is influenced by parents own perceptions. The strategies to enhancing the parent’s perception are neede...

Table S2. Questionnaire used in the study. (PDF 201 kb)

Table S1. STROBE checklist of the study. (PDF 162 kb)

This study examines the trend of paddy production and allocation of land for between 2014 and 203... more This study examines the trend of paddy production and allocation of land for between 2014 and 2030 based on polynomial function. In order to gauge the time variance effect on sustainable land allocation for paddy production, short-term and long-term scenarios were used in estimating future paddy production and average yield. This study finds that with successive increases in the intensity of the long-term paddy productivity, the land required for paddy plantation in the future will be diminished. Additionally, the average yield per hectare explains the difference between long-term and short-term projection and emphasises the crucial need for improvement in research and development (R&D) and discovering alternative measures for domestic paddy production. Therefore, due to its increasing population, Malaysia has to ensure an efficient allocation of land for development and paddy plantation to cater to both current and future needs.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is an upcoming public health problem in Malaysia. This study an... more Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is an upcoming public health problem in Malaysia. This study analysed the trend of Hepatitis B (HB) cases from 2003 to 2012 and project the cases for an 18-year period (2013–2030). Based on the national data of annual reported cases and the Malaysian population projections (2010–2040), trend/regression lines were fitted to analyse the trend and estimated HB incidence. The number of HB cases decreased for six consecutive years and began to increase from 2010 onwards. During the 10-year period (2003–2012), the highest number of HB cases was reported in Sabah, followed by Pahang and Wilayah Persekutuan; the lowest was reported in Perlis. The exponential curve shows a decrease of HB cases by an average of 6.3%. However, the polynomial curve shows fluctuations in the trend, with a higher degree of R-square (0.8655). Most states appear to be at moderate vulnerability to HBV infection (Kedah, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu, Sabah, and Sarawak), except ...

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2020

Hepatitis B (HB) is an upcoming health issue in Malaysia. Even though the Expanded Programme on I... more Hepatitis B (HB) is an upcoming health issue in Malaysia. Even though the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) for HB vaccination implemented by the Malaysia government in 1989, individuals born before 1989 were not covered under the EPI and should immunised against the HB virus. Examining the Malaysians’ perception of vaccination is very important in order to determine their behaviour regarding HB vaccination. Most of the studies only gave priority to analysing this issue from an occupational risk perspective, consumers’ perceptions of the HB vaccination are still lacking. This study is aimed at assessing the validity and reliability of the Malay version of the perception questionnaire used for Malaysian households. A pilot study involving 300 respondents was conducted in six districts in the Selangor area. Factor analysis constructed four components: perceived sustainability, perceived severity, perceived benefit and perceived barriers loaded on the corresponding component wit...

Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, 2020

This study examines the contribution of factor accumulation on Total Factor Productivity (TFP) gr... more This study examines the contribution of factor accumulation on Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth in the eight ASEAN countries with specific reference to short-term and long-term estimation effect. Using Mean Group (MG) estimator on data between 1990 and 2018, this study found a significant relationship between capital accumulation and TFP growth. Our analysis suggests that the positive growth on TFP in most ASEAN countries was due to the short-run effect of capital accumulation. This study also found that the ASEAN economies have a relatively lower rate of capital utilization that adversely affects TFP growth in the long run. The contribution of TFP to output growth is paramount for the sustainability of long-term economic growth. Thus, ASEAN countries need to accelerate capital accumulation and technology adoption in the short-term and utilize idle capital in the long-term.

Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health, 2019

Background: The objective of this study was to identify the magnitude of various risk behaviours ... more Background: The objective of this study was to identify the magnitude of various risk behaviours related to Hepatitis B (HepB) and to characterize the relationship between socio-demographic determinants and these risk factors among adults in Malaysia. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in nine districts in the state of Selangor in 2016. A two-stage cluster sampling design was used and adults aged 20 years or above who were living in the selected living quarters were interviewed face-to-face. A multivariable linear regression model analysed the association between sociodemographic predictors and eleven outcomes (different HepB risk behaviours). Results: A total of 728 respondents were included in the final analysis. Sharing nail cutters, body-piercing, and alcohol use were the most prevalent risk behaviours among respondents. Males, married couples, adult respondents (between 27 and 40 years old), and individuals with low educational attainment were more likely to be exposed to HepB risk behaviours. Conclusion: HepB risk behaviours are relatively high among Malaysians and particularly among certain groups. Therefore, specific programs such as forums, seminars and continuous education on preventive measures for HepB should be tailored to these groups. These programs could be conducted by government authorities such as the Ministry of Women, Family and Community of Malaysia.

BMC Public Health, 2019

Background: Hepatitis B (HepB) is a major public health concern in Malaysia yet little is known a... more Background: Hepatitis B (HepB) is a major public health concern in Malaysia yet little is known about knowledge and awareness of this infection in the country. Such information is essential for designing effective intervention strategies for HepB prevention and control. The aim of this study was to characterize knowledge and awareness regarding HepB in Malaysia and to identify their associated sociodemographic determinants. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted between January and May 2016 in Selangor state of Malaysia. A two-stage cluster random sampling design was used and one adult member of selected households was interviewed face-to-face. Logistic regression was used to estimate the differences in knowledge and awareness between groups. Results: A total of 764 households completed the interviews and were included in the final analysis. Only 36.9 and 38.8% of the participants had good knowledge and awareness, respectively. The factors associated with good knowledge were being in the 35-44 year age group, Malay ethnicity, high educational attainment and high family income. Being Chinese, being older and having high educational attainment were determinants of having good awareness towards HepB. Participants who had good knowledge were 2.5 times more likely to also have good awareness (OR: 2.41, 95% CI: 1.78-3.26, p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study reveals a low level of knowledge and awareness of HepB among households in Malaysia. This finding highlights the need to improve public knowledge and awareness through well-designed programs targeting vulnerable groups in order to reduce hepatitis B virus transmission and achieve the governmental target of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health concern by 2030.