Browsing by Author "Hettiarachchi, R."

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    Association of poor social support and financial insecurity with psychological distress of Chronic Kidney Disease patients attending National Nephrology Unit in Sri Lanka
    (Hindawi Limited, 2018) Hettiarachchi, R.; Abeysena, C.
    BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Hence, CKD patients are often in chronic psychological distress. The objective of the study was to describe factors associated with psychological distress of CKD patients attendingNational Nephrology Unit. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 382 CKD patientsabove 18 years of age applying systematic sampling. The data was collected using self-administered questionnaires to assess the psychological distress (GHQ-12), social support(SSQ6), coping strategies (BRIEFCOPE), pain (0 to 10 numeric pain rating scale), and physical role limitation due to ill health (SF36QOL). Sociodemographic and disease-related data were collected using an interviewer administered questionnaire and a data extraction sheet. Multiple logistic regression was applied for determining the associated factors. The results were expressed as adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). RESULTS: Percentage of psychological distress was 55.2% (95% CI: 48.4% to 62%). Poorsocial support (AOR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.14-2.88), low satisfaction with the social supportreceived (AOR = 4.14, 95% CI: 1.59-10.78), stages IV and V of CKD (AOR = 2.67, 95% CI: 1.65-4.20), presence of comorbidities (AOR = 2.38, 95% CI: 1.21-4.67), within one year of diagnosis (AOR = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.36-3.67), low monthly income (AOR = 2.26, CI: 1.26-4.06), higher out-of-pocket expenditure per month (AOR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.75-1.99), and being a female (AOR = 2.95, 95% CI: 1.79-4.9) were significantly associated with psychologicaldistress. CONCLUSIONS: More than half of the CKD patients were psychologically distressed. Factors such as financial and social support will be worth considering early because of their modifiability.
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    A study of the ideological language in creative fiction with reference to Gabriel Okara’s The Voice and V.S. Naipaul’s A House For Mr. Biswas
    (University of Kelaniya, 2015) Hettiarachchi, R.; Anandawansa, K.
    In an era where a proliferation of various types of literary fiction exists, one needs to question the purpose of such literary creations. In the endeavour, it is inevitable to search for the functional element within the act of creative fiction. With this question in mind, the present paper engages in an examination of the indivisible relationship between language, ideology and literary fiction to ultimately prove that ideology is coded in fiction in what is termed ideological language and that it is a deliberate venture. By means of secondary sources and a highly qualitative approach, which predominantly comprised content analysis and interviews, the paper analyses Gabriel Okara’s The Voice and V.S. Naipaul’s A House for Mr. Biswas for its ideological language, to bring out the relationship between ideology and language, how fiction from different contexts carry different ideologies, the different stylistic features of the texts, the political, economic, socio-cultural and personal aspects coded in the ideological language, and finally the essential didactic element and purpose of this exercise. The findings prove that there is an inextricable link between language and ideology in creative fiction, and that it is not a haphazard endeavour but a deliberate political project. Finally, the paper brings forth several recommendations in relation to ideological language and creative fiction, highlighting the necessity of both positive social change and development geared towards its society’s own progress.