Table 1.
Participant background.
| Variable | Focus group discussions (11 discussions; n=70) | Semistructured interviews (n=25) | Total (n=95) | ||||
| Age (years), mean | 20 | 21 | 20 | ||||
| Gender, n (%) |
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|
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|
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Female | 37 (52.9) | 14 (56.0) | 51 (53.7) | |||
|
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Male | 33 (47.1) | 11 (44.0) | 44 (46.3) | |||
| Ethnicity, n (%) |
|
|
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||||
|
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Chinese | 25 (35.7) | 7 (28.0) | 32 (33.7) | |||
|
|
Indian | 20 (28.6) | 7 (28.0) | 27 (28.4) | |||
|
|
Malay | 21 (30.0) | 7 (28.0) | 28 (29.5) | |||
|
|
Others | 4 (5.7) | 4 (16.0) | 8 (8.4) | |||
| Highest education level attained, n (%) |
|
|
|
||||
|
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Primary | 1 (1.4) | 2 (8.0) | 3 (3.2) | |||
|
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Secondary | 32 (45.7) | 4 (16.0) | 36 (37.9) | |||
|
|
Junior college | 13 (18.6) | 10 (40.0) | 23 (24.2) | |||
|
|
Diploma | 12 (17.1) | 4 (16.0) | 16 (16.8) | |||
|
|
Institute of Technical Education | 6 (8.6) | 2 (8.0) | 8 (8.4) | |||
|
|
Tertiary (graduate/postgraduate degree) | 6 (8.6) | 3 (12.0) | 9 (9.5) | |||
| Employment, n (%) |
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|
|
||||
|
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Employed, full time | 4 (5.7) | 3 (12.0) | 7 (7.4) | |||
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Employed, part time | 6 (8.6) | 6 (24.0) | 12 (12.6) | |||
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Unemployed, never worked | 18 (25.7) | 4 (16.0) | 22 (23.2) | |||
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Unemployed, past work/internship experience | 42 (60.0) | 12 (48.0) | 54 (56.8) | |||