Health & Living

On the 26th of July, a group of contract medical officers are planning a nationwide strike in response to lack of job security and opportunities for career progression that junior contract doctors have been facing for the past 5 years. In this episode of our Public Health series, we discuss the ethics of a strike during a pandemic, what has led to this moment, and the solutions that can be taken t...

Working long hours at home with poor posture has led to pain being a dominant complaint during this pandemic. With consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Rajesh Singh, we explore the structural and biological basis of posture-related aches and pains, for a deeper understanding of what we can do at home, as well as with a physiotherapist. Image source: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...

Working long hours at home with poor posture has led to pain being a dominant complaint during this pandemic. With consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Rajesh Singh, we explore the structural and biological basis of posture-related aches and pains, for a deeper understanding of what we can do at home, as well as with a physiotherapist. Image source: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...

SPM-year students might be getting their COVID-19 vaccination very soon, so we explore the safety, efficacy, as well as ethical considerations in vaccinating minors. And do teenagers and parents have enough information about COVID-19 and the vaccines? We find out from a teen herself.   Image source: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coordinating Minister for the National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme Khairy Jamaluddin recently announced that there is not enough data for Malaysia to consider mixing two different COVID-19 vaccines. What do current studies on mixing vaccines show, and what kind of data would help Malaysian authorities to make an evidence-based decision? We find out more from Dr Vinod Balasubramaniam, molecular...

Osteoarthritis is a chronic disease that we often associate with the elderly, because it’s seen as caused by wear and tear of the cartilage in the joints. But is this a condition that younger people should be more worried about as well? With more of us living sedentary lifestyles, how would that affect our risk of arthritis? We speak to Dato’ Dr Badrul Shah Badaruddin, Consultant Ortho...

Work – it’s where we spend eight hours or more hunched over our computers and desks. And with more people working from home during the pandemic, we’re even sitting on the floor, on our beds, and anywhere around the house to work. In this webinar, we look at the aches, pains, and injuries that can develop, and what you can do to change things at your workplace (or at home). ...

Work – it’s where we spend eight hours or more hunched over our computers and desks. And with more people working from home during the pandemic, we’re even sitting on the floor, on our beds, and anywhere around the house to work. In this webinar, we look at the aches, pains, and injuries that can develop, and what you can do to change things at your workplace (or at home). ...

Work – it’s where we spend eight hours or more hunched over our computers and desks. And with more people working from home during the pandemic, we’re even sitting on the floor, on our beds, and anywhere around the house to work. In this webinar, we look at the aches, pains, and injuries that can develop, and what you can do to change things at your workplace (or at home). ...

Having to deal with a sports injury can be difficult, more so if you’re an active person and it’s affecting your mobility. In this first of a three-part series, we catch up with consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Harjeet Singh and someone who recently had a knee injury, to find out what it’s like to decide on the right treatment for injuries, and what the recovery process is like...

The economic impact of the pandemic has pushed more people into lower-income groups, amid an increase in Malaysia’s poverty rate. Several cycles and variations of the MCO have left the B40 communities particularly hard hit, due to job losses, low social protection and lack of safety nets. While there have been urgent calls for financial assistance for the B40, their mental and emotional need...

In this past year, we have heard a lot about clinical trials and how important they are in the development of COVID-19 vaccines. Conducting research of drugs and vaccines on people is a key aspect of ensuring they are safe and effective, and has to be guided by ethical principles to ensure that people are not harmed or exploited in the course of the research. We find out more from Assoc Prof Dr Ju...

The World Health Organization has finally recognised that COVID-19 can be spread through the air, instead of just through contact with droplets. What does airborne transmission of the disease mean for our efforts to control the pandemic? Prof Dr Victor Hoe, Professor of Occupational and Environmental Health & Public Health Medicine Specialist, University of Malaya joins Dr George to discuss ho...

If you have a preschool-aged child, this past year has probably disrupted normal learning and development. Research from the UK shows that lockdowns due to the pandemic have had an impact on young children's language skills. Consultant developmental paediatrician Dr Rajini Sarvananthan and speech-language therapist Dr Etain Vong join us to discuss what red flags parents should look out for, and wh...

Earlier this month, Malaysia’s Drug Control Authority granted conditional registration of a new drug to treat hepatitis C. This move was hailed by many as another step towards eliminating hepatitis C, making treatment both more affordable and accessible in low- and middle-income countries like Malaysia. Why was this hailed as a new milestone and how long will it take before we achieve a hepa...

The National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) in Malaysia has approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in children aged 12 years and above. While the Ministry of Health has said that high-risk groups should still continue to be prioritised for vaccination under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Program, it won’t be long before the conversation about jabbing children...

More reports are surfacing about long COVID – a range of symptoms that last weeks or months after the initial COVID-19 infection. For these “long-haulers”, the symptoms – ranging from breathing difficulties to cognitive and psychological problems – can be debilitating and bewildering, underlining the importance of not diminishing COVID-19 as “the flu”. We...

Medical experts have been talking about COVID-19 variants and the importance of genomic surveillance, but what exactly does that involve? With variants of concern spreading across the country - and the world - we are joined by consultant urologist Dr George Lee and Dr Dale Fisher, Professor of Infectious Diseases at the National University of Singapore to find out what effective genomic surveillan...

 We are back for our monthly open clinic segment, where we get our doctors to address your health concerns. Consultant gastroenterologist and hepatologist Prof Dr Ida Normiha Hilmi answers all your questions about bowel movements and other gut health problems. Image source: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many of us are familiar with the story of trying to convince older family members to familiarise themselves with devices like smartphones or smart watches. Some of them learn how to use these devices fairly quickly, while others may be more averse to depending on technology. But assistive technology can be extremely helpful to monitor the health and wellbeing of senior citizens, especially if they...

Have you been going through the motions of work, friendships and family life in recent months, while feeling “blah”? According to a sociologist named Corey Keyes, you may be “languishing” – and there are a lot of people feeling this way during the pandemic. We dial in to psychotherapist Dr Suzanne Anderson to try to understand why people are languishing, and what we c...

Malaysia is an ageing nation, which means that by 2030, 15 per cent of our population will be above the age of 65. Will they be healthy and fit, or burdened by disease? Do we know what kind of health risks they have, and how to protect them? What can we learn from the COVID-19 pandemic, where older adults have been most vulnerable? We find out from Prof Zamberi Sekawi, Chairman of the Malaysian In...

Psoriasis is often seen as just a “cosmetic” problem, although there is a lot more going on beneath the surface of the skin. What’s causing the constant discomfort, and the potential inflammation in other parts of the body? Consultant dermatologist Dr Bong Jan Ling and Marsitah Mansor, who lives with psoriasis, help us to demystify and destigmatise this autoimmune skin condition....

2021 marks twenty years since the first sequencing of the human genome was published back in February 2001. In the past two decades, the Human Genome Project has played a huge role in advancing medical research but even when the project ended, the human reference genome wasn’t really finished. So what lies ahead for research in this field and why does it matter? That is our topic for today&r...

Malaysia has entered a full lockdown under MCO 3.0, amid record numbers of COVID-19 cases, deaths and ICU admissions. What is the exit strategy to ensure that this lockdown isn’t just a temporary breather, but a chance to properly bring our cases on a downward trend? We explore what this lockdown should expect to achieve, how to reopen other sectors safely, and why it’s important not t...