Manuj C. Weerasinghe

Paradox in Treatment Seeking: An Experience From Rural Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has had a pluralist health care system for centuries, in which Western biomedicine coexists with the Ayurveda system. However, recent studies suggest a declining trend in the use of the Ayurveda system. This study provides insights into the reasons for the low utilization of the Ayurveda system at present. The study findings reveal that low utilization of the Ayurveda system can be attributed to several factors, including the quick effect of Western medicines, the perception of being accustomed to Western medicines, a lack of competent Ayurveda practitioners, the high cost and low quality of Ayurveda medicines, and the rapidly changing lifestyles of villagers. However, for certain conditions such as fractures, snakebite, and paralysis, the majority of the Sri Lankan population still uses Ayurveda treatment. In conclusion, we suggest that health authorities should take into account these changes for future health planning in Sri Lanka.

Prevalence of frailty and prefrailty among community-dwelling older adults in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To systematically review the research conducted on prevalence of frailty and prefrailty among community-dwelling older adults in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) and to estimate the pooled prevalence of frailty and prefrailty in community-dwelling older adults in LMICs. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. PROSPERO registration number is CRD42016036083. Data sources MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, Web of Science, CINAHL and WHO Global Health Library were searched from their inception to 12 September 2017. Setting Low-income and middle-income countries. Participants Community-dwelling older adults aged ≥60 years. Results We screened 7057 citations and 56 studies were included. Forty-seven and 42 studies were included in the frailty and prefrailty meta-analysis, respectively. The majority of studies were from upper middle-income countries. One study was available from low-income countries. The prevalence of frailty varied from 3.9% (China) to 51.4% (Cuba) and prevalence of prefrailty ranged from 13.4% (Tanzania) to 71.6% (Brazil). The pooled prevalence of frailty was 17.4% (95% CI 14.4% to 20.7%, I2=99.2%) and prefrailty was 49.3% (95% CI 46.4% to 52.2%, I2=97.5%). The wide variation in prevalence rates across studies was largely explained by differences in frailty assessment method and the geographic region. These findings are for the studies with a minimum recruitment age 60, 65 and 70 years. Conclusion The prevalence of frailty and prefrailty appears higher in community-dwelling older adults in upper middle-income countries compared with high-income countries, which has important implications for healthcare planning. There is limited evidence on frailty prevalence in lower middle-income and low-income countries. PROSPERO registration number CRD42016036083.

ABPI against Colour Duplex Scan: A Screening Tool for Detection of Peripheral Arterial Disease in Low Resource Setting Approach to Validation

Background. In Sri Lanka the ABPI has not been used as a screening tool to detect peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in epidemiological studies. This study was conducted to determine the best cutoff value of ABPI to detect PAD in Sri Lankan population. Methods. The ABPI measured by arterial Doppler to detect PAD was validated against colour duplex scan as the criterion using 165 individuals referred to vascular laboratory, National Hospital Sri Lanka. In all selected individuals ABPI was measured and lower limb colour duplex scan was performed. Narrowing of luminal diameter of lower limb arteries 50% or more was considered as haemodynamically significant and having PAD. The discriminative performance of the ABPI was assessed using Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curve and calculating the area under the curve (AUC). The sensitivity and specificity of different threshold levels of ABPI and the best cutoff value of ABPI to detect PAD were determined. Results. ABPI 0.89 was determined as the best cutoff value to identify individuals with PAD. At this level of ABPI high sensitivity (87%), specificity (99.1%), positive predictive value (98.9%), and negative predictive value (88.4%) were observed. Conclusion. ABPI ≤ 0.89 could be used as the best cut off value to detect PAD.

Personal and family attributes of pregnant teenagers: findings from a community-based study in Sri Lanka.

Abstract Background: Teenage pregnancies are associated with negative outcomes. Prevention requires understanding them and their families. Objectives: This study aimed to describe personal and family attributes of pregnant teenagers in Sri Lanka. Methods: This was a community-based study in Sri Lanka among 510 pregnant teenagers. Results: Half (50%) of the subjects were 19 years of age at the time of pregnancy. A majority (79.8%) had studied up to grades 6–11. Confidence in decision-making (80.7%) and in refusing unnecessary requests (88.3%) was “excellent” in a majority. Mean age of marriage/co-habiting was 17.6 years. For 31%, marriage/cohabiting was a sudden decision taken jointly with their partner (81.6%) and 83% reported being “legally” married. Substantial proportions of mothers (17.6%) and fathers (13.9%) had not attended school, and 33.1% mothers had worked abroad. Teenagers reported the death of a parent (14.1%), parental separation (10.9%) and being brought up by relatives (20%). Only a few rated strictness of rules/regulations (32.4%), freedom to discuss problems regarding puberty (25.5%), love affairs (12.7%) and sexuality (26.7%) as excellent/good. Of the spouses, 12.9% were <20 years, 71.9% had low education and 98.8% were employed. A majority had “planned” the pregnancy, and for 79.8%, the reason was “husband’s wish to have a baby”. Conclusions: Pregnant teenagers were mostly in their late teens, from poor families and with low formal education. Though teenagers showed confidence in decision-making, the decision to have a pregnancy had mostly been their spouses. Parents and spouses of the teenagers were also young, less educated and poor. There was evidence of poor parenting practices.

Cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the Sinhala version of Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale

Introduction Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) are cognitively complex activities related to independent living in the community. Robust IADL scales are needed, however the psychometric properties of instruments have been little evaluated. There is no validated instrument for Sri Lankan older populations. Sri Lanka has the highest proportion of older people in South Asia with rapid population ageing. Therefore, it is essential to have standard instruments to assess activity limitations. We aimed to cross-culturally adapt the original Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale from English to Sinhala and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Sinhala version. Methods Cross-cultural adaptation of the instrument was performed. The instrument was validated in a sample of 702 community-dwelling older adults aged 60 years and above in Sri Lanka. Reliability (internal consistency and inter-rater reliability) was assessed. Construct validity of the scale was evaluated by performing exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and testing convergent and divergent validity. Results The Lawton IADL scale was successfully adapted to Sri Lankan context. Internal consistency of the scale was very high (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.91). Very good inter-rater reliability was observed with very good agreement for all items. Inter-class correlations for overall IADL score ranged from 0.57 to 0.91. Results of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the unidimensionality of the scale. Goodness of fit indices in confirmatory factor analysis were in acceptable range (CFI = 0.98, SRMR = 0.06, NNFI = 0.97). Strength of associations were significant and in the expected direction. Results of the known group validity were also significant, confirming the convergent and divergent validity. Conclusion The Lawton IADL scale was successfully translated and culturally adapted to Sinhala language. The Sinhala version demonstrated excellent reliability and construct validity. Given good psychometric properties, this scale would be recommended for use in future research.

The rise of private medicine in South Asia

Amit Sengupta and colleagues describe how stagnant public investment in health in South Asia has seen a growth in private practice and may hamper efforts to enable universal health coverage in the region