Medicine
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/12
This repository contains the published and unpublished research of the Faculty of Medicine by the staff members of the faculty
Browse
3 results
Search Results
Item Sri Lanka's response to prescribed drug misuse: is it enough?(Cambridge University Press, 2023) Hapangama, A.; Kuruppuarachchi, K.A.L.A.A wide range of medications are being misused by people the world over and Sri Lanka is no exception. Reasons for this misuse are manyfold. Regulatory bodies, prescribers, dispensers, as well as the general public, have significant roles to play in mitigating the misuse of prescribed medications and their harmful consequences.Item Substance use disorders and their correlates among inmates in a Sri Lankan prison(Journal of the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, 2021) Hapangama, A.; Dasanayake, D.G.B.M S.; Kuruppuarachchi, K.A.L.A; Pathmeswaran, A.; de Silva, H.J.Introduction Substance abuse and dependence are common among prison populations. However, there is few data regarding this problem in Sri Lankan. Objective: To determine the prevalence of substance use disorders among inmates in a Sri Lankan prison Method: A semi- structured interviewer administered questionnaire and ICD 10 clinical diagnostic criteria were applied to 410 randomly selected male and female prisoners in minimum/medium security settings in the largest prison in Sri Lanka. Results: 75.6% (95% CI 71.2 – 79.5) of prisoners had lifetime substance use disorder while 24.4% (95% CI 20.2– 28.6) met criteria for current substance use disorder. 56.8% and 67 % of participants met criteria for lifetime alcohol and tobacco use disorders, respectively, while and 42 %and 25.6% had lifetime cannabis and opioid dependence, respectively. Factors significantly associated with lifetime substance use disorder were male gender, residence in an urban area, younger age and being unemployed or having only temporary employment. 23% of participants who met criteria for dependence were intravenous substance users. Conclusions: Services should be improved in the prison health system to minimize harm from substance use disorders.Item Knowledge, attitudes, and prevalence of alcohol dependence and alcohol withdrawal among male patients who use harmful amounts of alcohol in the medical and surgical wards at NHSL(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Thilakarathna, S.; Thevapalan, A.; Thevathasan, K.; Jayawardana, A.Introduction: Alcohol dependence and subsequent burden related to morbidity and mortality have a significant impact on the healthcare and socio-economic status of the country. Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitudes, prevalence, and associated socio¬demographic factors of alcohol dependence and withdrawal among male harmful users of alcohol in an inward setting at NHSL. Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was carried out. In a sample of 120 harmful users of alcohol who were selected by administering AUDIT (who scored >8). Interviewer administered questionnaires that included socio-demographic details, knowledge about alcohol dependence and withdrawal, attitudes about dependence were used. Knowledge was graded as adequate and inadequate. Attitudes were classified as positive and negative. Prevalence was found from the scores in AUDIT. Chi square tests were applied to assess association of prevalence with demographic factors. Results: Most were middle aged males (54.2%, n=65) and from Colombo district (61.7%, n=74). They had a moderate level of knowledge regarding dependence and withdrawal (66.7%, n=80). Most had a mean revealing positive attitudes (60%, n=3) towards alcohol dependence and a negative attitude (71.43%, n=5) towards other alcohol dependent populations. From the AUDIT scores, prevalence of alcohol dependence (score of > 15) was 39.2% (n=47). A significant association (p<0.05) between low education and alcohol dependence was established. Conclusions: Participants had moderate levels of knowledge on alcohol dependence and withdrawal, non-favouring attitudes towards alcohol dependence, negative attitudes towards alcohol dependents, and a higher prevalence of dependence. Study also revealed a significant correlation between alcohol dependence and lower educational status.