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This repository contains the published and unpublished research of the Faculty of Medicine by the staff members of the faculty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 Knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about liver transplantation among caregivers of children with liver diseases; a single centre experience from Sri Lanka(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2023) Gunaratne, A.L.S.N.; Gunarathna, P.G.P.D.; Gunawardana, A.D.J.N.; Hansamali, U.V.S.; Heenkenda, H.M.A.N.; Ekanayaka, J.; Fernando, C.M.P.INTRODUCTION: Paediatric Liver transplantation (PLT) is evolving in Sri Lanka. There is no data documented related to caregivers' knowledge of PLT. OBJECTIVES: To determine the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about liver transplantation (LT) among caregivers of children with liver diseases. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the caregivers attending the paediatric liver clinic at Ragama. The calculated sample size was 186. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics with SPSS 27.0 were used for analysis. Ethical approval was obtained from the Faculty of Medicine, Ragama. Since there were no previous similar studies, as the tool, we used a newly designed, pre-tested questionnaire which included the basic facts about the knowledge of LT. RESULTS: Of 186 caregivers, the majority were mothers (n=107, 57%). A mixed religious background was noted with Buddhists, Catholics, Islam and Hindus being 80%, 11%, 7% and 2% respectively. Most were educated up to or above the GCE ordinary level (n=180, 97%). The majority (n=124, 68%) were from low-income families with a monthly income of less than 50,000 LKR. Almost half of the participants, 89 (47.8%) knew someone who had undergone an LT. Knowledge of having PLT within the country, living donation, diseased donation, blood group matching and life-long medications were accurate in 171 (91.9%), 170 (91%, 75 (40%), 172 (92%), 116 (62%) respectively. Regarding the beliefs and attitudes towards LT, 170 (91%) were willing to donate and 144 (77%) indicated to support LT. There were 32 (17%) who believed that liver diseases can be cured with alternative medicine and 103 (55%) believed being religious would result in better outcomes. CONCLUSION: Knowledge of LT among caregivers is promising with a positive attitude. Some of their beliefs seem to be non-scientific.Item Caregivers knowledge on "aphasia" based on 'life participation approach to aphasia model; A Sri Lankan experience(Sri Lanka College of Internal Medicine, 2019) Jayarathna, T. V.; Rathnayake, S.; Mettananda, K.C.D.INTRODUCTION: Caregiver knowledge on 'aphasia' is very important in successful rehabilitation of aphasic patients. There are no published data on this from Sri Lanka. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to describe knowledge on aphasia of caregivers caring post-stroke aphasia patients based on 'life participation approach to aphasia (LPAA) model. METHODS: We studied knowledge on aphasia of caregivers caring post-stroke aphasic patients at 3 state sector speech and language therapy clinics of Gampaha district from March to April 2019.Data on language & related impairments and communication & language environment were collected using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. RESULTS: 35 caregivers (male-13 (37.1%), mean age 50.4 ± 16.8) caring aphasia patients for more than 1year were interviewed. All were close relatives of the patients. 77% had studied only up to grade-10. 64.7% knew the primary medical diagnosis and 60% knew the organ involved. However, 68.6% had never heard the term "aphasia". Only 51.4% appreciated aphasia is a language problem. 57% thought it is a memory problem while 14% thought it is a psychiatry problem. Caregivers' knowledge about expressive language was good; 79%, 92%, 96% knew the correct levels of speech, reading and writing skills of patients compared that identified by speech & language therapists (SLT). However, knowledge about comprehensive language was not satisfactory; 88.6% thought their clients can't obey comprehensive commands but it was 42% according to SLTs. CONCLUSION: Knowledge on aphasia of caregivers of this Sri Lankan cohort is not satisfactory. Formal education of caregivers seems a way forward in successful rehabilitation programs.Item Effectiveness of providing health education to caregivers of hospitalized children with asthma for the prevention of recurrent attacks: a quasi-randomized trial(Informa Healthcare, 2020) Perera, N.; Abeysena, C.OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of health education intervention for caregivers of children with asthma, focused on preventing recurrent attacks and improving knowledge. METHODS: A quasi-randomized trial of 177 caregivers of asthmatic children was conducted in government hospitals in a district of Sri Lanka. At the time of discharge from the hospital, a health education booklet was prepared and given to the caregivers in the intervention group, along with individual explanation and discussion. The caregivers' knowledge of asthma and preventive practices was assessed. The primary outcome was the proportion of children with recurrent attacks of asthma who needed doctor visits during the three month post discharge period. The intention-to-treat principle was applied for data analysis.RESULTS: In comparison to the control group, the intervention group had a 76% significant reduction in visits to the doctor for recurrent attacks (95% CI:45%-90%) and a 75% significant reduction in hospital admissions required for asthmatic children (95% CI:16%-93%) at the end of three months of intervention. The mean score of knowledge of asthma in the intervention group was 1.73 units higher at three months (p < 0.01) and 1.47 units higher at six months (p < 0.01) than the control group. The mean score of preventive practices for asthma in the intervention group was 1.25 units higher at three months (p = 0.02) and 1.15 units higher at six months (p < 0.01) versus the control group.CONCLUSION: Health education intervention significantly decreased doctor and hospital visits at three months. In addition, caregiver knowledge of asthma and preventive practices also improved. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: SLCTR/2010/007.Item Effect of an experiential dysphagia workshop on caregivers' knowledge, confidence, anxiety and behaviour during mealtimes(VU e-Publishing, Netherlands, 2013) Hettiarachchi, S.; Kitnasamy, G.PURPOSE: Children with cerebral palsy who have associated feeding difficulties are at risk of aspiration and poor nutrition. This study aimed to measure the changes in knowledge, confidence, anxiety and behaviour among 25 Sri Lankan mothers with responsibility for feeding children diagnosed with cerebral palsy, after they attended an experiential workshop. METHODS: Data collection was done through pre- and post-workshop questionnaires, observations and semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: There was a significant improvement in reported levels of knowledge and confidence and a decrease in the caregivers’ level of anxiety during mealtimes. The qualitative data analysis indicated changes in participant knowledge, particularly about the signs of aspiration and positioning during mealtimes. Observations showed better adherence to recommendations on communication, bolus size and utensils. CONCLUSION: The findings support the utility of experiential training for caregivers, to ensure that children with cerebral palsy are fed safely