Medicine
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This repository contains the published and unpublished research of the Faculty of Medicine by the staff members of the faculty
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Item A Study on the knowledge and attitudes on examination of patients for drunkenness among doctors involved in such examinations(College of Forensic Pathologists of Sri Lanka, 2022) Appuhamy, H.D.S.C.P.; Kitulwatte, I.; Vaasuthevaa, K.; Shanker, K.; Senarathna, U.; Gangahawatte, S.D.S.Introduction: Driving after consumption of alcohol is an offence in Sri Lanka according to the Motor Traffic Act. When a police officer suspects that the driver of a motor vehicle on the highway has consumed alcohol, he may request such person to submit himself immediately to a breath test for alcohol or to an examination by a government medical officer. Hence, the knowledge and attitude of doctors who perform examinations for drunkenness play a crucial role in the administration of justice. The objectives were to study knowledge and attitudes on examination of patients for drunkenness among doctors with different levels of expertise/experience who are engaging in such examinations. Study design: A cross-sectional descriptive study was performed using an interviewer-administered questionnaire, on doctors who engage in an examination of people for drunkenness. The knowledge was assessed by 8 comprehensive questions on the procedures and subjects scoring ≥75% were considered as having ‘satisfactory’ knowledge on the matter. Results: Out of the 306 doctors who participated in the study, 80% (n=246) were ordinary medical officers while there were 9.5% (n= 29) postgraduate trainees in Forensic Medicine and 10% (n = 30) specialists. One-third 34% (n=105) believed that their knowledge on examination procedures is poor. The procedure to be followed in the finger nose test was correctly identified by a majority 95% (n= 290) while only 35% (n= 107) were aware of the procedure to be followed in the one-leg stand test. Conclusions: According to this study, ordinary medical officers who perform a majority of medico-legal examinations for drunkenness in Sri Lanka were found to have poor knowledge on examination procedures. This can adversely affect the results of the tests in the examination of drunk and hence can lead to wrongful convictions. Thus, it is high time to fill the gaps in their knowledge through special professional training programs and by introducing a guideline.Item Study on evaluation of knowledge, attitude, and practice of Sri Lankan traffic police officers related to examination of drunk drivers, in two most populated districts of Sri Lanka(Sage Women's Educational Press, 2021) Thivaharan, Y.; Kitulwatte, I.D.G.; Muthulingam, T.Introduction: Driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol is one of the substantial predisposing factors for mishaps among road users. A traffic police officer will be the first authoritative personnel a drunk driver encounters in the legal system. The absence of accurate skills and knowledge of these officers impedes the structuring of legal procedures and may lead to miscarriage of justice. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of Sri Lankan traffic police in handling and managing an alleged case of driving under influence of alcohol. Methods: This was a descriptive cross sectional study carried on a sample of 384 traffic police officers attached to the districts of Colombo and Gampaha, through a questionnaire. Results: Out of 384, only 75 of police officers knew the correct preliminaries to perform before administering a breathalyzer test. 79.7% knew the correct instructions for using a breathalyzer, but only 3.4% knew the colour changes of the breathalyzer. Significantly poor attitude was observed among the police officers, regarding the importance of producing a drunk driver for medico-legal examination (P = 0.001) Only 222 (57.8%) answered correctly that a drunk driver needs to be subjected to a medico-legal examination as early as possible. Significantly poor practice and attitude was observed in officers with longer service duration but no significant association was observed between ranks of officers and attitude and practice (P = 0.199). Conclusions: The results of our study demonstrate that the knowledge attitude and practice on efficiently handling a case of DUI among traffic police officers is poor, even though all of them are engaged in DUI duties irrespective of their service duration. The need for continuous professional development programmes was highlighted.Item Attitudes towards homosexuality, bisexuality and transgenderism among medical students of a Sri Lankan university(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Rajapaksha, J.S.R.L.; Rajapaksha, R.G.D.T.; Ranawaka, A.U.R.; Rangalla, R.D.M.P.; Ranwala, R.D.E.B.; Chandratilake, M.N.Introduction: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients experience discrimination, insensitivity and ignorance about LGBT-specific health needs among healthcare providers. Developing the correct attitudes among medical students towards LGBT may help provide them with optimal healthcare. Objectives: This study aimed at assessing the attitudes of medical students towards LBGT community. Methods: A cross- sectional descriptive study was among all the medical students in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka using a validated online questionnaire.3 The questionnaire focused on eight areas. The data was descriptively analysed and the demographic groups were compared. Results: 358 completed the survey. Their attitudes on traditional gender role and comfortability in interacting with LGBT people were moderate and they disagreed with negative LGBT social beliefs. They knew less about the origin of sexuality/gender of LGBT. Although they accepted LGBT as a part of diversity, they discouraged normalizing social practices of LGBT people. Their acceptance and association of LGBT was moderately positive. A minority has encountered LGBT in close social circles and the majority of them were batch-mates. Although males’ knowledge about the origin ot LGBT was higher, they favoured traditional gender roles more. The religious groups showed no differences. The favourability of attitudes towards LGBT reflected respondents' political ideology. Conclusions: Although medical students' knowledge on sexuality/gender basis ot LGBT is poor they have moderately favourable attitudes towards them. They accept LGBT as a part of social diversity but not their social practices. Poor knowledge, lack of encounters, cultural influences and political ideology may have influenced their attitudes.Item Level of knowledge, attitudes, practices of cancer palliative care and their associated factors among nursing officers in Apeksha Hospital, Maharagama(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Madushan, T.; Gunasekera, N.; Munasinghe, R.; Uthpala, S.; Karunanayaka, N.; Goonewardena, S.; Meegoda, M.K.D.L.Introduction: Nursing officer, being the first contact of cancer patients, plays a prominent role in providing palliative care. Therefore, having good knowledge, favourable attitudes and correct practices in cancer palliative care uplifts patient quality of life. Objectives: To describe the level of knowledge, attitudes, practices of cancer palliative care and associated factors among the nursing officers in Apeksha Hospital, Maharagama. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 252 participants with more than one year of work experience at Apeksha Hospital, Maharagama. Data were collected using a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS software version 26. P<0.05 was the significance level. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 32.9 (SD= 6.55) years. Majority (59.5%) had good knowledge, 53.2% favourable attitudes and 54% engaged in correct practices. Mean knowledge score was 26.4 (SD= 3.44). Nurses above 30 years of age, married and having more than 10 years’ experience had significant association with knowledge (p<0.05). Most of the participants who had good knowledge had correct practices (p<0.0001). Most of the participants who had favourable attitude had correct practices (p<0.0001). Association of level of knowledge and attitude was not found to be statistically significant (p> 0.05). Conclusions: Majority of the nurses had good knowledge, favourable attitudes and engaged in correct practices in palliative care. There is a significant association between the year of experience and the nurses’ knowledge on palliative care. Having a good knowledge and favourable attitude on palliative care were positive factors for correct practices.Item Sri Lankan parents' attitudes towards adolescent reproductive and sexual health education needs: A qualitative study(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya & Plan International, 2008) Godamunne, P.K.S.INTRODUCTION: Adolescents have unique reproductive health needs when compared to adults, and the behaviours adopted in adolescence have serious implications for their later well being. Serious gaps have been found in providing sexual and reproductive health information to adolescents in Sri Lanka. OBJECTIVE: To explore the attitudes of Sri Lankan parents' towards adolescent reproductive and sexual health education, to identify current parental practices of imparting reproductive and sexual health information to their children and to identify perceived barriers parents face in discussing sexual and reproductive health issues with their children. METHODS: A qualitative study conducted using focus groups discussions in Kurunegala, Kandy, Gampaha and Colombo districts among 71 parents having an adolescent child. RESULTS: All'parents said that it was essential to provide reproductive and sexual health education to adolescents, mainly to deter them from engaging in any precocious sexual activity and to protect children from various threats posed by society, such as sexually transmitted diseases and child sexual abuse. Generally most parents were reluctant to directly discuss reproductive and sexual health issues with their children due to cultural taboos and resultant feelings of shyness and embarrassment. However, mothers, to some extent, discussed reproductive and sexual health matters with their children, often with their daughters and sometimes even with sons. However, some parents expressed lack of knowledge to do so. Parents also indirectly educated their children on sexual and reproductive health topics by providing them with books to read. Many parents considered school and teachers to be the best source of reproductive and sexual health information for their children. Doctors too were considered by parents to be a reliable source of reproductive and sexual health information. CONCLUSION: Parents considered adolescent reproductive and sexual health education as essential to protect and deter children from engaging in any precocious sexual activity. However, most parents were reluctant to openly discuss reproductive and sexual health topics with their children. In general, parents preferred outside sources, people other than themselves, such as teachers and doctors to provide their children with reproductive and sexual health information.