Page 65 - Malaysian Journal of Health Promotion, Vol 4 (Supplementary 1) 2022

Malaysian Journal of Health Promotion, Vol 4 (Supplementary 1) 2022
rd
14 MOH-AMM Scientific Meeting 2022 in conjunction with 23 NIH Scientific Conference Abstract Book
th
1 Institute for Health Systems Research, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
2 Institute for Clinical Research, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
INTRODUCTION: Among the crucial components of infection prevention and control during
the COVID-19 is the mandatory use of PPE by HCWs as they are at greater risk of contracting
the disease. Hence, an assessment of attitudes towards PPE use among HCWs was duly
needed.
METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was disseminated among the public HCWs via
online platforms, from February to March 2021. This validated 5-point Likert scale
questionnaire contained 7 socio-demographic items and 7 items assessing attitude. A cut-off
level of higher than the mean score indicated good attitude. HCWs who worked directly in
contact with patients/specimens/close contacts were included in this study. Descriptive and
inferential analyses were performed using the SPSS 26.0.
RESULTS: Of the 3132 respondents, 71.1% had good attitudes. Respondents aged 41-50,
nurses, and those who had received training less than 3 months ago showed significant
association with good attitude. Majority agreed to the high risks of their workstations (94.3%),
usage according to risk exposure can protect them (95.9%) as well as address shortage issues
(85.8%), and monitoring can help control usage (87.1%). Despite 52.4% feeling uncomfortable,
49.1% disagreed that PPE made it difficult to work. Wearing full PPE made 62.5% feel
protected regardless of risk, location, and mode of transmission.
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: While good attitudes confer adequate precaution, the perceived
high risk may lead to irrational use of PPE, which contrasts guideline recommendations. The
study findings suggest that periodic refresher training would enhance the knowledge of HCWs
on the scientific knowledge behind PPE recommendations thereby improving their attitudes
towards proper use.

ID 43 ROLE OF STRESS HORMONE (CRH) IN METASTATIC POTENTIAL OF BREAST CANCER
CELLS, IN VITRO.

2
1
Siti Sarah Hamzah & Dimitris K. Grammatopolous
1 Institute for Medical Research (IMR), Malaysia
2 University of Warwick, United Kingdom

INTRODUCTION: Studies on the role of stress hormones, such as corticotropin-releasing
hormone (CRH) in breast cancer cells show the complexity of its actions in cancer progression.
CRH has been shown to promote cell proliferation and inhibit apoptosis by triggering cellular
processes such as abnormal pre-mRNA splicing. Another cellular event that can cause cancer
cells to become aggressive is through epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) event.
Therefore, this experiment was set out to assess the effects of CRH on the metastatic
potential of breast cancer cells by investigating the expression level of EMT-associated gene
markers (Twist and Snail), as well as the change in cell invasion ability of the MCF7 breast
cancer cell line.
METHODS: MCF7 cells were treated with CRH (100nM) for 24hrs, followed by RNA extraction
and RT-qPCR analysis of Twist and Snail expression. In addition to this, cell invasion ability was
monitored using Xcelligence system to measure whether the changes in these gene
expression were translated into altered functional behaviour of the cells.
RESULTS: The expression level of EMT genes Twist and Snail were found elevated in the CRH-
stimulated cells. In line with this, findings from the Xcelligence cell monitoring also

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