Browsing by Author "Arulanandem, K."

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Health care needs and services available for elders in the Batticaloa district.
(College of general practitioners of Sri Lanka, 2018) Arulanandem, K.; Jayawickramaraja, P.T.; Hettige, S.; Ramanayake, R.P.J.C.; Kisokanth, G.
The global and national ageing population led to much health, social and economic concerns. Thus, present study aimed at addressing the health care needs of Elders and assessing the availability of health, social services in Batticaloa district. This community based cross sectional descriptive study was conducted in Batticaloa district with 845 elders who were selected by proportionate random sampling and .interviewer admini~trated questionnaire was used as a major, component.Most of the elders (78%) were in the young old category and majority of them (56.6%) were females and most of elders (77%) were in poor socio economic status. The identified long standing medical problems amongst elders were hypertension (39%), muscular skeletal problems (32%) and bronchialasthma (18%) were also identified. Most of the elders (88%) sought medical treatment in outpatient department as first contact at government hospitals while around half of them had followed clinics for chronic conditions. This study also showed that the health system in Batticaloa district lacked geriatric services and elders were not treated as a special group. In the context of social services, most of the elders were unaware and thus were not benefited by the currently existing social security. Health seeking behavior and accessibility of health and social services were not adequately met for elders. Thus, there is a need to improve their well• being by strengthening primary care in national health system.
Health seeking behavior of elders in Batticaloa district, Sri Lanka: Descriptive cross sectional study
(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Arulanandem, K.; Jayawickramarajah, P.T.; Ramanayake, R.P.J.C.; Hettige, S.; Kisokanth, G.
BACKGROUND: Global population of elderly would increase by 15% in year 2025. The change in age structure affects the society in social, cultural and economic aspects of life. The provision of health care to elderly varies across most of the developing countries. Health care is an important issue for ageing population and living with chronic illnesses become a challenge. Health care services are essential for the population it serves. The health seeking behavior of elders depends on the availability of services, health problems and socio economic status. OBJECTIVE: To describe the health seeking behavior of elders in Batticaloa district, Sri Lanka METHODS: A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out in Batticaloa district on a sample of 845 elders selected by simple random sampling method. Interviewer administrated questionnaire was used to collect data and descriptive statistical analysis was done. RESULTS: Study population consisted of 78% of elders in young old category of whom 57% were females. Most (93%) attended outpatient departments of government hospitals and 8%, general practitioners as their first contact care for acute illnesses. 48% attended clinics for chronic illnesses at government hospitals. Approximately half of them used public transport to access the health facility. 50% of their health expenditure was managed by their children. Frequency of health seeking behavior for acute illness was higher among females and the difference between the two sexes was statistically significant (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: First contact care for acute and chronic disease conditions for more than 90% of elders in Batticaloa district was government hospitals.
Knowledge on hypertension and consequences of its poor control among hypertensive patients at medical clinics, Teaching Hospital, Batticaloa
(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Kisokanth, G.; Ilankoon, I.M.P.S.; Arulanandem, K.; Goonewardena, C.S.E.; Sundaresan, K.T.; Joseph, J.
Background: Hypertension is one of the major non communicable diseases worldwide and isa major risk factor for stroke, coronary heart disease and chronic kidney failure/ disease. Lack of knowledge on the benefits of controlling and seriousness of untreated hypertension is the barrier for hypertensive care. Objective: To assess knowledge on hypertension and the consequences of poor control. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out among 424 patients diagnosed with ‘Essential hypertension’ attending medical clinics at Teaching Hospital, Batticaloa. Systematic sampling technique was used with pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire for data collection and descriptive, inferential statistics were used for analysis. Results: The study consisted of 174 (41%) males and 250 (59%) females. The mean age was 60.4 (SD± 9.6) years. Knowledge score was inadequate (<50%) among 92% (n=391) with mean of 30.8% (SD ± 15.5) ranging from 4.4 – 89.1%. Nearly half of the participants believed that the heart is affected by poor controlled hypertension and about 26% mentioned that kidney, nervous system and eyes could be affected too. A statistical significant relationship was observed between knowledge score and marital status (p = 0.03), family history of chronic disease (P< 0.001), educational level (P<0.001) and monthly income (P<0.001). Conclusions: This study revealed inadequate patient knowledge on hypertension and consequences of poor control. Targeted health education strategies are needed urgently to improve patients’ knowledge level in order to prevent consequences of poorly controlled hypertension.