Faculty of Medicine

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

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Browsing Faculty of Medicine by Subject "Kandy"

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    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.
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    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.