By Shanthi Viswanathan
Display of banners, balloons, and pamphlets at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Neuroscience Institute.
On the July 22, 2022, the Neurology Department at Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Malaysia, celebrated “World Brain Day” in conjunction with the World Federation of Neurology’s theme of “ Brain Health for All.” The theme for this year’s celebration is very meaningful, inclusive, and diverse. The neurology department at Kuala Lumpur Hospital is part of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Institute of Neurosciences. It is a major national tertiary referral center for neurological conditions.
Hospital Deputy Directors, Dr. Hajjah Shahrum and Dr. Fairoz officiating the World Brain Day on July 22, 2022, at the department of neurology at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital in Malaysia.
As part of the World Brain Day celebrations, there were posters, banners, and pamphlets on common neurological conditions such as epilepsy, stroke, headache, and multiple sclerosis and related disorders, as well as electronic gimmicks such as a brain model with decorative lighting and music in the clinics at the Specialist Ambulatory Care Center and IKTAR ground floor.
Display of World Brain Day corner at the Neurology Clinic, SCACC.
During the celebration on the July 22 and the week following, all members of the neurology department including the porters, department clerks, secretaries, medical assistants, nurses, neurophysiology technicians, medical officers, specialist registrars, and consultants participated in creating awareness about common neurological conditions and preventive measures emphasizing a healthy diet and exercise to reduce the occurrence of a number of these debilitating conditions. A number of the department registrars also came up with useful short educational videos in English and the national language Bahasa Melayu with useful infographics on stroke, epilepsy, headaches and multiple sclerosis to be played continuously during the peak clinic hours from 7:30 a.m.- 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. During the clinic hours, senior day care nurses also taught patients attending the Tuesday and Thursday clinics finger exercises and mind exercises to stay alert and engaged. By participating, we hope to empower patients with neurological diseases to be more self aware and mentally positive about their diseases. We also hope this will spur patients, caregivers, and the public to work toward improved access to investigations and treatments for neurological diseases such as epilepsy, stroke, and multiple sclerosis and related disorders.
World Brain Day celebration with the neurology department staff.
Our department hopes to continue to celebrate this wonderful event in the future and further improve awareness, knowledge, and access to both preventive and maintenance treatments for neurological disorders among Malaysian patients.
We sincerely thank the World Federation of Neurology for spearheading this initiative and collectively look forward to next years “World Brain Day Celebrations.” •
Dr. Shanthi Viswanathan MBBS (India), FRCP(Ireland), Fellowship in Neurology (Malaysia) is consultant neurologist and head of the department of neurology at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital in Malaysia.
Written on behalf of the World Brain Day Neurology Department Celebration Committee
- Dr. Ahmad Shahir
- Dr. Suganthi Chinnasami
- Dr. Chey Shin Yee
- Dr. Izyan
- Dr. Elaine Chew
- Dr. Nurasyikin Bt Arriffin
- Staff Nurse Izwan
- Sister Halizan
- Matron Habibah
- Matron Norizian
- Puan Norhafizah Murad
