Submited on: 22 Dec 2011 01:38:14 AM GMT
Published on: 22 Dec 2011 05:50:24 PM GMT
 
Maternal Health in Malaysia: A Review
Posted by Ms. Tasnuva Wahed on 12 Mar 2012 04:50:57 AM GMT

1 Is the subject of the article within the scope of the subject category? Partly
2 Are the interpretations / conclusions sound and justified by the data? Partly
3 Is this a new and original contribution? Yes
4 Does this paper exemplify an awareness of other research on the topic? No
5 Are structure and length satisfactory? No
6 Can you suggest brief additions or amendments or an introductory statement that will increase the value of this paper for an international audience? Yes
7 Can you suggest any reductions in the paper, or deletions of parts? Yes
8 Is the quality of the diction satisfactory? No
9 Are the illustrations and tables necessary and acceptable? Yes
10 Are the references adequate and are they all necessary? No
11 Are the keywords and abstract or summary informative? Yes
  • Other Comments:

    This paper is not in publication state. It seems a first draft of any scientific writing and very poorly organized. The whole paper should be re-written.

     

    Introduction: the statement of the problem is not clear. Such as-

    • If maternal health in Malaysia is relatively good then why this review
    • There is some unnecessary elaboration which should be brought in a few sentences, such as- “As a result the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that were adopted by the…………by 2015.”

    Method: this section is inadequate. How data were analyzed?


    Result:

    • It is very difficult to understand which issues are being described by the author. The author should sub-categorize them.
    • Here again unnecessary elaboration which should be removed or may be part transferred to method and discussion section according to nature. Such as, “The success in reducing MMR from such high levels has been attributed…….” should be transferred to discussion section while “Direct obstetric deaths are those resulting from………..” should be moved to method section as operation definitions of variables.

    Discussion

    • The discussion section is good. The author has tried to make the logical explanation of his findings.  But re-organization, reduction of unnecessary word is essential.
    • Literature review is too little. There are so many studies on maternal health in South Asia.

     Conclusion

    Conclusion is too lengthy and some sentences may be applicable for discussion section


    Others

    • This paper also requires grammatical correction. Such as- “per cent” should be “percent”
    • There are so many graph and tables. The author should select some significant graph and tables for journal publication.
  • Competing interests:
    No
  • Invited by the author to review this article? :
    No
  • Have you previously published on this or a similar topic?:
    Yes
  • References:
    1. Wahed T, Moran AC, Iqbal M. The perspectives of clients and unqualified allopathic practitioners on the management of delivery care in urban slums, Dhaka, Bangladesh - a mixed method study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 2010;10(50). 2. Moran AC, Wahed T, Afsana K. Oxytocin to augment labour during home births: an exploratory study in the urban slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh. BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology. 2010;117(13):1608-15. 3. Moran AC, Choudhury N, Khan NUZ, Karar ZA, Wahed T, Rashid SF, et al. Newborn care practices among slum dwellers in Dhaka, Bangladesh: a quantitative and qualitative exploratory study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 2009;9(54). 4. Wahed T, Bhuiyan M, Rahman M. The Role of Women in Decision Making on Family Planning among the Slum Women in a selected area of Dhaka city. of Preventive and Social Medicine (JOPSOM). 2006;25(1).
  • Experience and credentials in the specific area of science:

    5 years experience on maternal health research in Bangladesh

  • How to cite:  Wahed T .Maternal Health in Malaysia: A Review [Review of the article 'Maternal Health in Malaysia: A Review ' by Singh H].WebmedCentral 2012;3(3):WMCRW001576
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Maternal Health in Malaysia: A Review
Posted by Dr. Ang K Teng on 28 Dec 2011 04:34:14 AM GMT

  • Other Comments:

    1. There should be more local references on the subject matter, eg. various policy papers on national strategies and programmes introduced to enhance maternal health and reduce maternal mortality such as safe motherhood initiative; risk approach (colour coding of high risk pregnancies); alternative birth centres, training of TBAs; Transit home for orang asli; CPGs introduced; Quality Assurance Programme; National Health and Morbidity Survey on Maternal Health Service; Family planning service and practices. References should also be made on local studies that have been conducted on the subject matter.

    2. A dip in the maternal mortality ratio was noted between 1990 to 1995, and a rise between 1995 to 2000 before  settling to a stable ratio thereafter. Was there some policy changes during these periods? This must be explained.  
    3. Figure 2 showed that Maternal mortality ration was highest among the “other” ethnic group? Were these among the immigrant population? This is a significant group in the country, especially in urban states like Johor and Selangor and in Sabah.  Some mention must be made on this group of population.

    4. There should be analysis on rural/urban distribution of maternal deaths to see if there is a shift in the pattern. Latest population census (2010) showed that 71% of the population are now living in the urban areas. Strategies to address maternal deaths in urban areas may be different.

    5. Format of the paper makes reading very difficult – all in one block for each subject heading ( I presume this is draft stage). Conclusion  is very long – with recommendations, in one block.

    6. Recommendations made were very genera and not evidenced based ( at least not in this paper)  eg:

    a) All forms of barriers; physical, social, financial, should be removed to improve access to effective maternal care
    b) Emergency obstetric care should be readily available and accessible to all who need them.
    c) Health personnel should be equitably distributed
    d) Existing rural health services should be strengthened
    e) Allocation of resource; etc

  • Competing interests:
    None
  • Invited by the author to review this article? :
    Yes
  • Have you previously published on this or a similar topic?:
    No
  • References:
    None
  • Experience and credentials in the specific area of science:
    None
  • How to cite:  Teng A K.Maternal Health in Malaysia: A Review[Review of the article 'Maternal Health in Malaysia: A Review ' by Singh H].WebmedCentral 2012;2(12):WMCRW001309
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Maternal Health in Malaysia
Posted by Dr. Thomas Herchline on 22 Dec 2011 07:31:07 PM GMT

1 Is the subject of the article within the scope of the subject category? Yes
2 Are the interpretations / conclusions sound and justified by the data? Yes
3 Is this a new and original contribution? Yes
4 Does this paper exemplify an awareness of other research on the topic? Yes
5 Are structure and length satisfactory? Yes
6 Can you suggest brief additions or amendments or an introductory statement that will increase the value of this paper for an international audience? No
7 Can you suggest any reductions in the paper, or deletions of parts? No
8 Is the quality of the diction satisfactory? Yes
9 Are the illustrations and tables necessary and acceptable? Yes
10 Are the references adequate and are they all necessary? No
11 Are the keywords and abstract or summary informative? Yes
  • Other Comments:

    This is a review of Maternal Mortality rates for Malaysia over the period from 1990 - 2008. The data available from the Ministry of Health is analyzed for temporal and geographic trends, as well as maternal factors and antenatal care.

     

    The article has been re-formatted from the original posting. The section labelled "Conclusion" is still mostly discussion and the section labelled "Results" contains large amounts of discussion.

     

    The graphs and tables are numerous, but very helpful for understanding the data.

     

    There should be more references for a discussion on this topic. WHO has many publications and several would be appropriate references.

  • Competing interests:
    None
  • Invited by the author to review this article? :
    No
  • Have you previously published on this or a similar topic?:
    No
  • References:
    None
  • Experience and credentials in the specific area of science:

    Medical Director, Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County

  • How to cite:  Herchline T .Maternal Health in Malaysia[Review of the article 'Maternal Health in Malaysia: A Review ' by Singh H].WebmedCentral 2012;2(12):WMCRW001295
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Maternal Health in Malaysia
Posted by Dr. Thomas Herchline on 22 Dec 2011 12:57:19 PM GMT

1 Is the subject of the article within the scope of the subject category? Yes
2 Are the interpretations / conclusions sound and justified by the data? Yes
3 Is this a new and original contribution? Yes
4 Does this paper exemplify an awareness of other research on the topic? Yes
5 Are structure and length satisfactory? Yes
6 Can you suggest brief additions or amendments or an introductory statement that will increase the value of this paper for an international audience? No
7 Can you suggest any reductions in the paper, or deletions of parts? No
8 Is the quality of the diction satisfactory? Yes
9 Are the illustrations and tables necessary and acceptable? Yes
10 Are the references adequate and are they all necessary? No
11 Are the keywords and abstract or summary informative? Yes
  • Other Comments:

    This is a review of Maternal Mortality rates for Malaysia over the period from 1990 - 2008. The data available from the Ministry of Health is analyzed for temporal and geographic trends, as well as maternal factors and antenatal care.

     

    There are some formatting issues in the article: the section labelled "Methods" contains a mixture of methods, results and discussion. The section labelled "Conclusion" is mostly discussion and the section labelled "Discussion" contains only references (the references are listed twice).

     

    The graphs and tables are numerous, but very helpful for understanding the data.

     

    There should be more references for a discussion on this topic. WHO has many publications and several would be appropriate references.

  • Competing interests:
    None
  • Invited by the author to review this article? :
    No
  • Have you previously published on this or a similar topic?:
    No
  • References:
    None
  • Experience and credentials in the specific area of science:

    Medical Director, Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County

  • How to cite:  Herchline T .Maternal Health in Malaysia[Review of the article 'Maternal Health in Malaysia: A Review ' by Singh H].WebmedCentral 2012;2(12):WMCRW001293
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
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