Overview of research design Study type

213 Health Seeking Behaviour towards Communicable Diseases among Foreign Workers in Industrial Agriculture Sectors of Selected Districts in Perak, Malaysia Table 1. Statistics of foreign workers in the state of Perak from January to December 2007 Country Industrial Agriculture Others Total n n n n Indonesia 6,424 22.74 17,641 63.36 16,004 89.02 40,169 54.16 Nepal 10,827 38.33 2,697 9.69 182 1.01 13,706 18.48 India 1,127 3.99 4,653 16.71 1,150 6.40 6,931 9.35 Vietnam 4,888 17.30 181 0.65 156 0.87 5,225 7.04 Bangladesh 1,971 6.98 1,885 6.77 119 0.66 3,975 5.36 Myanmar 2,469 8.74 647 2.32 157 0.87 3,273 4.41 Cambodia 369 1.31 51 0.18 78 0.43 499 0.67 Philippines 20 0.07 16 0.06 90 0.50 126 0.17 Sri Lanka 79 0.28 7 0.02 12 0.07 98 0.13 Pakistan 45 0.16 24 0.09 13 0.07 82 0.11 Thailand 29 0.10 25 0.09 16 0.09 70 0.09 China 1 17 0.06 18 0.02 Total 28,249 100 27,841 100 17,977 100 74,172 100 Source: Perak Immigration Department, 2008 flow of the interview or self-administered questionnaire is shown in Figures 3 and 4.

3.2 Study type

This was a cross-sectional survey conducted among two major groups of foreign workers in the industrial and agriculture sectors of three districts in Perak. Foreign workers from the agriculture sector in Hulu Perak and Kuala Kangsar districts and the industrial sector of Kinta district were involved in the study.

3.3 Ethical considerations

The Medical Research and Ethics Committee MREC of the Ministry of Health Malaysia had approved the study. Verbal consent was taken from the respondents and those who refused were excluded from the study. All respondents who agreed to participate in the study were assured of the confidentiality of their identities and responses, and were free from any legal complications. 214 Health Seeking Behaviour towards Communicable Diseases among Foreign Workers in Industrial Agriculture Sectors of Selected Districts in Perak, Malaysia Figure 3. Work process of the interview or self-administered questionnaire