Faculty of Medicine

Permanent URI for this collection

https://ir.lib.pdn.ac.lk/handle/20.500.14444/212

Browse

Browsing Faculty of Medicine by Subject "Community medicine"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Awareness and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS among residents of Kandy
    (Taylor and Francis, 2015) Navaratna, Samidi; Kanda, Koji; Dharmaratne, Samath D.; Tennakoon, Sampath; Jayasinghe, Ananda; Jayasekera, Niroshan; Nagano, Katsutoshi; Obayashi, Yoshihide; Arai, Asuna; Tamashiro, Hiko
    Currently, interventions for HIV/AIDS control in Sri Lanka are only carried out among the most-at-risk populations. This study was conducted to identify the level of awareness and stigma-related attitudes among the general population of Sri Lanka. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 869 residents of 18-64 years of age in Kandy, Sri Lanka. A self-administered questionnaire was utilised to obtain information about stigma, discrimination and HIV/AIDS-related knowledge. Chi-square test and multivariate analysis were applied to find possible associations between HIV-related variables and socio-demographic indicators. Response rate was 82.0%. Overall, 93.5% of the participants have heard of HIV/AIDS but the knowledge on HIV/AIDS was low with an average score of 51.7%, no statistically significant difference between genders (p = 0.352). Only 58.1% were aware that a condom was an effective tool for its prevention. There were many misconceptions related to epidemiology of HIV/AIDS. The participants showed more positive attitudes towards HIV/AIDS and people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) for all questionnaire items except for those listed under shame and blame. Positive attitudes towards PLHIV were observed to be greater among those with a better HIV/AIDS-related knowledge score. There was no significant association between the attitudes towards PLHIV and socio-demographic characteristics such as ethnicity and religion. There is a greater need of making attempts towards educating the public regarding HIV/AIDS to eliminate misconceptions prevalent in the society. Stigma-related attitudes are mainly due to shame and blame associated with the disease. As the attitudes towards PLHIV were more positive among those with a better HIV/AIDS-related knowledge score, targeted HIV/AIDS-related health education interventions maybe recommended in this regard.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Comparison of cardiovascilar risk factors between Sri Lankans living in Kandy and Oslo
    (2010) Tennakoon, Sampath U. B.; Kumar, Bernadett, N.; Nugegoda, Danasela, B.; Meyer, Haakon E.
    Background: South Asians living in western countries are known to have unfavourable cardiovascular risk profiles. Studies indicate migrants are worse off when compared to those living in country of origin. The purpose of this study was to compare selected cardiovascular risk factors between migrant Sri Lankans living in Oslo, Norway and Urban dwellers from Kandy, Sri Lanka. Methods: Data on non fasting serum lipids, blood pressure, anthropometrics and socio demographics of Sri Lankan Tamils from two almost similar population based cross sectional studies in Oslo, Norway between 2000 and 2002 (1145 participants) and Kandy, Sri Lanka in 2005 (233 participants) were compared. Combined data were analyzed using linear regression analyses. Results: Men and women in Oslo had higher HDL cholesterol. Men and women from Kandy had higher Total/HDL cholesterol ratios. Mean waist circumference and body mass index was higher in Oslo. Smoking among men was low (19.2% Oslo, 13.1% Kandy, P = 0.16). None of the women smoked. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure was significantly higher in Kandy than in Oslo. Conclusions: Our comparison showed unexpected differences in risk factors between Sri Lankan migrants living in Oslo and those living in Kandy Sri Lanka. Sri Lankans in Oslo had favorable lipid profiles and blood pressure levels despite being more obese.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Differences in predicted cardiovascular risk in Sinhalese and Tamils in Sri Lanka compared with Sri Lankans in Norway
    (2013) Tennakoon, Samapth U. B.; Kumar, Bernadette N.; Selmer, Randi; Mikram, Mihamed J. M.; Meyer, Haakon E.
    Using data from 3 cross‐sectional studies, the authors compared the estimated risk of cardiovascular diseases between migrant Sri Lankans in Oslo, Norway, and Tamils and Sinhalese in Kandy, Sri Lanka. The authors found that Sri Lankans in Oslo had significantly lower Framingham coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. Among men, the prevalence with estimated 10‐ year risk of a CHD event ≥10% was 20.6% in Oslo, 31.1% in Kandy Tamils, and 44.2% in Kandy Sinhalese. The corresponding figures in women were 10.4% in Oslo, 19.2% in Tamils, and 14.9% in Sinhalese. Risk of fatal cardiovascular disease estimated by the SCORE model showed a similar pattern. The Oslo group had a higher body mass index (BMI), but the differences were observed in all BMI categories. In conclusion, despite a lower BMI, Tamils and Sinhalese in Sri Lanka had higher estimated cardiovascular risk compared with Sri Lankans in Norway, mainly because of poorer lipid profiles.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Prevealence of behavioral and emotional problems among seven to eleven year old children in selected schools in Kandy district, Sri Lanka
    (Elsivier, 2014) Ginige, P.; Tennakoon, S. U. B.; Wijesinghe, W. H. M. K. J.; Liyanage, L.; Herath, P. S. D.; Bandara, K.
    Background Behavioral and emotional problems comprising internalizing, externalizing and mixed disorders consist of psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescents. Prevalence rates of 8.3% for preschoolers, 12.2% for preadolescents and 15.0% for adolescents have been reported from around the world. This study aimed to measure the prevalence of emotional and behavioral disorders in 7–11 year-old school children studying in Kandy District Sri Lanka which was a first for the geographic area. Method This was a community based study at the primary section of the selected schools. The questionnaire, Child behavior Checklist-Sinhala (CBCL-S) was administered in a group setting to the main caregiver of 562 subjects selected randomly. The questionnaire identified problems in 8 subscales under three main sub categories : internalizing, externalizing and other. Data were analyzed using The Syndrome Scales for Boys and Girls developed for analyzing the questionnaire CBCL. Results Indicated a prevalence of 13.8% of emotional and behavioral problems in the study population. 8.8% of children showed internalizing problems and 8.8% externalizing problems. These findings are in line with the prevailing rates from previous studies of the world. Children in school types 1AB and 1C had less emotional and behavioral problems compared to type 2 and 3 schools. Limitations Only 20 schools in KEZ and Sinhala speaking population of the Kandy were studied. Conclusions This study showed the extent of childhood emotional and behavioral problems and also confirms that the schools with advanced level classes have lesser problems amongst primary children