Browsing by Author "Prakash, T.G.S.L."

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Dengue Prevalence Trends in The Past Decade Across All Districts of Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Prakash, T.G.S.L.; Ranasinghe, D.M.S.H.K.
Dengue is a viral infection transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. The global prevalence of dengue has increased dramatically in recent decades. Denguefever, dengue hemorrhagic fever, and dengue shock syndrome (DSS) occur in over 100 countries and threaten the health of more than 2.5 billion people in urban and peri-urban areas especially in south and south East Asia including Sri Lanka. This study was conducted to find out the trends of reporting dengue cases in all the administrative districts over the last decade. All 25 districts were selected as study area. Annual dengue incidence data for each district over a 10-year period from 2006 to 2015 and Midyear population data of each year were collected. Then the number of cases per 1000 people per month was calculated in each year and plotted in scatter plots and calculated the gradient of linear trend line of each district. All statistical and graphical analyses were performed using Microsoft Excel 2010. Reporting of dengue cases of all the 23 districts except Mathale and Vavuniya shows the increasing trend over the past 10 years and it can be recognized as a continues public health hazard in Sri Lanka. The gradients are ranging from 0.555 to -0.038. All the 23 districts show the positive gradients of trendline. People who live in Colombo, Jaffna and Gampaha districts are highly vulnerable for dengue fever. These finding indirectly emphasize that the different efforts employed by the authorities to control dengue cases in the country have less impact on dengue prevention. The researches have to be conducted to find out the actual courses of spreading dengue over the island and controlling measures have to be restructured to manage this public health hazard.
Exploring factors associated with smokeless tobacco use among urban Communities in Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Pallewaththa, P.W.K.; Prakash, T.G.S.L.; Niwarthana, H.P.G.; Kumara, S.G.P.; Abeykoon, P.; Abeynayaka, T.D.
Smokeless tobacco is tobacco or a tobacco product that is used by means other than smoking which implies use of unburned tobacco in the finished products. These products are intended to be used orally, sucked, chewed, gargled or applied to the gums or tooth, while fire tobacco mixtures are usually inhaled into the nostrils. Chewing tobacco is a risk in getting oral cancers and pre-cancers. Other health risks of chewing tobacco include gum disease, tooth decay and tooth loss, and possible links to other cancers and cardiovascular disease. Informal observations reveal an increase in use of smokeless tobacco among youth and adolescence. Studies or health programs related to smokeless tobacco in Sri Lanka is scarce. This study attempted to explore factors associated with smokeless tobacco use among urban communities in Sri Lanka. Study design was qualitative in nature. Subjects / sample were selected based on snow ball sampling method. The study was conducted in Colombo district. Fourteen in-depth Interviews (n=14, including 8 males and 6 females) were conducted to collect data. Inquiries were made with regard to factors effecting initiation and continuing smokeless tobacco (Here, unseen determinant factors were especially taken into consideration). Saturation method was the guiding method of data collection and data were analyzed through framework analyzing method. The study found out the following factors associated with smokeless tobacco use among urban communities in Sri Lanka; Perceptions (‘Being with the gang’, as a youth style, Group action – Ganja Set, Pampara Set, Hanz Set), Expectancies (forget problems, keep the energy, and escape from the loneliness, to gain attraction, to gain pleasure, to keep wake up at night), distributors do it secretly acting as if they are engaged in other things, compare to other substitutions this is cheap, chemical effect cannot be seen by outsiders compared to other drugs, carelessness of parents, lack of knowledge about harmfulness of the product, peers – (not to be stigma, financial support), and certain qualities of the product (no bad smell). The study recommended an effective Health Promotion intervention to address these determinant factors.