Link to the up to date list of Pubmed indexed journal articles published by the academics, trainees and students with department affiliation.

Featured publications 2019

Suicidal ideation and intentional self-harm in pregnancy as a neglected agenda in maternal health; an experience from rural Sri Lanka.
The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of depression, suicidal ideation (present and past) and history of ISH among pregnant mothers in rural Sri Lanka……
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How context matters: Demonstrating microgeographical differences in social capital and its implications for mental wellbeing in pregnancy with a novel bubble diagram technique.
Contextual differences of social capital of pregnant women are visualized using bubble plots; a novel mix method approach…..
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Estimating the government health-care costs of treating pesticide poisoned and pesticide self-poisoned patients in Sri Lanka.
To estimate the cost and per patient cost of treating pesticide self-poisoning at different hospital levels in a Sri Lankan district, and to examine the distribution of cost components. Another objective was to investigate changes in total cost of treatment …..
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Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Responsive Feeding in Rural Sri Lanka (A Qualitative Study).
To explore responsive feeding practices among caregivers who have an infant aged between 6 to 12 months and residing in rural Anuradhapura…..
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Comparison of biochemical parameters among DPP4 inhibitor users and other oral hypoglycaemic drug users: a cross-sectional study from Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.
The present study aims at comparing selected biochemical parameters among DPP4 inhibitor users and other oral hypoglycaemic drug user….
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A Case–Control Study of Environmental and Occupational Risks of Leptospirosis in Sri Lanka.
The study investigates risk factors associated with environmental, animal and occupational exposure while acknowledging the potential bias due to hanta viral infections in the study samples….
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A systematic integrative review of programmes addressing the social care needs of older prisoners.
This review aimed to present an overview of programmes that addressed older prisoners’ social care needs, a particularly underdeveloped area, with a view to assessing the extent to which they could inform policy and practice….
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Development and validation of the Social Capital Assessment Tool in pregnancy for Maternal Health in Low and middle income countries (LSCAT-MH).
Social capital which implies ‘features of social organization, such as trust, norms and networks that can improve the efficiency of society by facilitating coordinated actions’ is rarely assessed in relation to maternal health in low/middle-income countries (LMICs). The study developed and validated an instrument to measure social capital among pregnant women….
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Normality data of eGFR and validity of commonly used screening tests for CKD in an area with endemic CKD of unknown etiology; need for age and sex based precise cutoff values.
Chronic Kidney Disease in certain part of Sri Lanka and increasing burden of CKD in some other countries is a global public health problem. While the underlying causes of majority of cases are unknown, effective control and prevention strategies are yet to be taken. ….
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Dementia-friendly prisons: a mixed-methods evaluation of the application of dementia-friendly community principles to two prisons in England.
Objectives:To apply and evaluate dementia-friendly community (DFC) principles in prisons. Design: A pilot study and process evaluation using mixed methods, with a 1-year follow-up evaluation period. Setting Two male prisons: a category C sex offender prison (prison A) and a local prison (prison B)….
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In vivo, ex vivo and in vitro evidence for atropine-mediated attenuation of glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion: findings from a systematic review.
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is involved in postprandial glucose homeostasis. Secretion of which involves a cholinergic pathway. Anticholinergic agent like atropine could act as a competitive antagonist of acetylcholine at muscarinic receptors. This review explores studies that assess the role of atropine in GLP-1 secretion. …..
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Estimating the burden of leptospirosis in Sri Lanka; a systematic review.
Although the assessment of disease burden should be a priority for allocating resources, leptospirosis is grossly underestimated despite its true burden in Sri Lanka. This study aimed to assess the morbidity and mortality of leptospirosis based on routine surveillance data, hospital reported data and scientific publications from Sri Lanka.A systematic review was carried out…….
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Sequel and therapeutic modalities of leptospirosis associated severe pulmonary haemorrhagic syndrome (SPHS); a Sri Lankan experience
The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics and sequel by different therapeutic approaches for SPHS in Leptospirosis in Sri Lanka…..
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Health assets in a global context: a systematic review of the literature.
To provide an up-to-date overview of health assets in a global context both from a theoretical perspective and its practical applications to address health inequalities and achieve sustainable health. A systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items….
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Socioeconomic position and suicidal behaviour in rural Sri Lanka: a prospective cohort study of 168,000+ people.
Lower socioeconomic position (SEP) is associated with an increased risk of suicidal behaviour in high income countries, but this association is not established in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). We investigated the association of SEP with …
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An outbreak of leptospirosis with predominant cardiac involvement: a case series.
Severe leptospirosis is known to cause multi organ dysfunction including cardiac involvement. In the clinical setting with limited resources, high degree of suspicion is needed to diagnose cardiac involvement including myocarditis. …..
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Diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound characteristics in the identification of malignant thyroid nodules.
This study was aimed at determining the diagnostic accuracy of the ultrasound characteristics in the identification of malignant thyroid nodules in patients attending the surgical clinic at a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka.This prospective validation ……
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Study protocol: characterising the clinical, epidemiological and aetiological aspects of leptospirosis in Sri Lanka: a hospital based clinico-epidemiological study.
Our objective is to characterise the clinical, epidemiological and molecular aspects of leptospirosis in Sri Lanka to understand disease progression, risk factors and obtain isolates of Leptospira.
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