Browsing by Author "Athauda, L."

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The Alcohol marketing policy environment and adolescent drinking in Sri Lanka: A qualitative exploration of stakeholder perspectives
(Wiley-Blackwell, 2022) Athauda, L.; Peiris-John, R.; McCool, J.; Wickremasinghe, R.; Ameratunga, S.
ABSTRACT: Adolescents continue to be exposed to alcohol marketing, despite the existence of alcohol control policies in Sri Lanka. National-level policies restrict all forms of alcohol advertising, promotions, and sponsorship and sale to minors. The act calls for the need to protect children and adolescents from exposure to the harm of alcohol. This article investigates stakeholders' perceptions of the alcohol marketing policy environment in Sri Lanka, with a specific focus on policies designed to prevent or curtail adolescent drinking. Between May and July 2019, in-depth interviews were conducted with policy stakeholders in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Thematic analysis was conducted on the audio-recorded interviews that were transcribed and translated and imported to NVivo12. Fifteen policy stakeholders from government and nongovernment organizations participated in this study. The overarching theme identified a lukewarm alcohol marketing policy environment. This situation was facilitated by the alcohol industry acting as the vector, an amber light approach towards public health programs, and other factors contributing to the perceived ineffectiveness of the alcohol marketing policy environment. A unified public health approach supported by policy and political commitment may pave the way for better alcohol control in Sri Lanka.
Assessing alcohol industry penetration and government safeguards: the International Alcohol Control Study
(BMJ publishing group Ltd, 2024-11) Leung, J.; Casswell, S.; Randerson, S.; Athauda, L.; Banavaram, A.; Callinan, S.; Campbell, O.; Chaiyasong, S.; Dearak, S.; Dumbili, E.; Garcia, L.; Gururaj, G.; Kalapat, R.; Karki, K.; Karlsson, T.; Kong, M.; Liu, S.; Vargas, N.D.M.; Mejia, J.; Nthomang, T.N.; Oladunni, O.; Owino, K.; Palacio, J.; Phatchana, P.; Pradhan, P.; Rossow, I.; Shorter, G.; Sibounheuang, V.; Stelemėkas, M.; Son, D.T.; Vallance, K.; Dalen, W.V.; Wettlaufer, A.; Zamora, A.; Jankhotkaew, J.
Background The alcohol industry uses many of the tobacco industry’s strategies to influence policy- making, yet unlike the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, there is no intergovernmental guidance on protecting policies from alcohol industry influence. Systematic assessment of alcohol industry penetration and government safeguards is also lacking. Here, we aimed to identify the nature and extent of industry penetration in a cross- section of jurisdictions. Using these data, we suggested ways to protect alcohol policies and policy- makers from undue industry influence. Methods As part of the International Alcohol Control Study, researchers from 24 jurisdictions documented whether 22 indicators of alcohol industry penetration and government safeguards were present or absent in their location. Several sources of publicly available information were used, such as government or alcohol industry reports, websites, media releases, news articles and research articles. We summarised the responses quantitatively by indicator and jurisdiction. We also extracted examples provided of industry penetration and government safeguards. Results There were high levels of alcohol industry penetration overall. Notably, all jurisdictions reported the presence of transnational alcohol corporations, and most (63%) reported government officials or politicians having held industry roles. There were multiple examples of government partnerships or agreements with the alcohol industry as corporate social responsibility activities, and government incentives for the industry in the early COVID- 19 pandemic. In contrast, government safeguards against alcohol industry influence were limited, with only the Philippines reporting a policy to restrict government interactions with the alcohol industry. It was challenging to obtain publicly available information on multiple indicators of alcohol industry penetration. Conclusion Governments need to put in place stronger measures to protect policies from alcohol industry influence, including restricting interactions and partnerships with the alcohol industry, limiting political contributions and enhancing transparency. Data collection can be improved by measuring these government safeguards in future studies.
Coconut consumption and cardiovascular disease incidence, is there an association? a case control study in Sri Lankan population
(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015) Athauda, L.; Kasturiratne, A.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.
INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVES: Consumption of coconut and its products is reported to be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study was conducted to determine if there is an association between coconut consumption (oil and coconuts) and CVD incidence among Sri Lankans who are known to consume a large amount of coconut-based products. METHODS: A hospital based case control study was conducted at the Colombo North Teaching Hospital, Ragama, Sri Lanka comprising 176 cases and 148 controls. Previously healthy patients admitted with a first incident Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) or a Cerebrovascular Event (stroke) were recruited as cases and patients with no previous history of CVD or diabetes mellitus were recruited from surgical wards as controls. There were 136 ACS and 40 Stroke patients as cases. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to estimate the average consumption of coconut (nuts and oil) and to obtain information on risk factors of CVD. Descriptive analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis were conducted using SPSS. RESULTS: The mean (+SD) age of cases and controls were 57.68 +8.91 and 56.05 +10.02, respectively (p=0.192). Mean (+SD) coconut nut consumption per person per week was 1.97 +0.81 in cases and 2.11 +1.01 nuts in controls (P=0.66). Coconut oil use for cooking was 88.44 +61.6 ml/person/week in cases and 81.4 +51.52 ml/person/week in controls (p=0.175). 91.5% cases and 98% controls used coconut oil for cooking. Coconut oil use was protective for cases (OR:0.197, 95% CI:0.052-0.744) while number of sedentary hours per day (OR:1.11, 95% CI: 1.044-1.188) and family history of IHD (OR:2.293, 95%CI:1.318-3.991) and stroke (OR:2.275, 95%CI:1.268-4.082) were significant risk factors after adjusting for each other and for the amount of oil used per person per week, number of coconuts used per person per week, family history of NCD, being current smokers and consumers of alcohol. CONCLUSION: There was no evidence of an association between coconut consumption and incidence of cardiovascular disease or stroke. Use of coconut oil had a protective effect on the incidence of cardiovascular disease.
Role models and teachers: medical students perception of teaching-learning methods in clinical settings, a qualitative study from Sri Lanka
(Biomed Central, 2016) Jayasuriya-Illesinghe, V.; Nazeer, I.; Athauda, L.; Perera, J.
BACKGROUND: Medical education research in general, and those focusing on clinical settings in particular, have been a low priority in South Asia. This explorative study from 3 medical schools in Sri Lanka, a South Asian country, describes undergraduate medical students’ experiences during their final year clinical training with the aim of understanding the teaching-learning experiences. METHODS: Using qualitative methods we conducted an exploratory study. Twenty eight graduates from 3 medical schools participated in individual interviews. Interview recordings were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using qualitative content analysis method. RESULTS: Emergent themes revealed 2 types of teaching-learning experiences, role modeling, and purposive teaching. In role modelling, students were expected to observe teachers while they conduct their clinical work, however, this method failed to create positive learning experiences. The clinical teachers who predominantly used this method appeared to be ‘figurative’ role models and were not perceived as modelling professional behaviors. In contrast, purposeful teaching allowed dedicated time for teacher-student interactions and teachers who created these learning experiences were more likely to be seen as ‘true’ role models. Students’ responses and reciprocations to these interactions were influenced by their perception of teachers’ behaviors, attitudes, and the type of teaching-learning situations created for them. CONCLUSIONS: Making a distinction between role modeling and purposeful teaching is important for students in clinical training settings. Clinical teachers’ awareness of their own manifest professional characterizes, attitudes, and behaviors, could help create better teaching-learning experiences. Moreover, broader systemic reforms are needed to address the prevailing culture of teaching by humiliation and subordination.
Violence seen on Facebook and YouTube videos: a qualitative study
(Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2021) Harshani, P.; Jayananda, C.; Hapuarachchi, N.; Harshana, U.; Kularathna, H.; Athauda, L.
Introduction: Social media is popular specially among young adults in Sri Lanka. In the recent past, violent and graphic content have been seen circulating on social media. Objectives: To describe violence published on social media (Facebook and YouTube) in the last three months of 2019. Methods: This was an observational study. Facebook and YouTube were searched for videos depicting physical, sexual, emotional violence and verbal abuse using Sinhala and English search terms (shoot*, bomb* etc.). Duplicate videos were removed and analysed for their content (types of violence, reactions of viewers). Two researchers individually interpreted the videos for their content. Results: The analysis included 94 videos including 27 from Facebook and 67 from YouTube. YouTube had 28 promoting and 26 educational type violent videos while Facebook had 15 and 6 per each type, respectively. Physical violence (YouTube=52; Facebook=21) was the most common type of violence seen on both media. Likes (n=5326), haha (n=805) and sad (n=286) were the most prominent reactions observed on Facebook. Videos on both Facebook and YouTube represented violence as newsworthy, entertaining items and depicted of misuse of power or law. Violence was also displayed by v-loggers as experiments and used for publicity and promotion of social media channels. Those who witnessed violence reacted against it only if the recipient was a female. Conclusions: During the 3-month period observed, various types of violent content were shared on Facebook and YouTube. Physical violence was prominently seen on both media. Violence was used to increase views and potentially as marketing tools for commercial interests.
Working with and learning from children with disabilities: Experiences of speech and hearing sciences undergraduates at the University of Kelaniya
(University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2022) Chandramali, S.P.D.; Athauda, L.
Background: Undergraduate Speech and Hearing Sciences students work closely with children with disabilities in their clinical training. When working with children with disabilities, there are many experiences that can be gained throughout the academic years. Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe the experiences of working with and learning from children with disabilities among Speech and Hearing Sciences (SHS) undergraduates at the University of Kelaniya. Methods: A total of 15 students participated in the study. These qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted among SHS students at the University of Kelaniya. The experiences of the participants with regard to working with children with disabilities, how experiences affect their personal and career lives in the future, how experiences affect their academic lives, the availability of services for children with disability, the view of society towards children with disability were all discussed in the interviews. Interviews were transcribed, analysed, and translated using a narrative thematic analysis method. Inductive coding was conducted manually by the research student and the supervisor.Results: Four themes emerged from the collected data with both positive and negative aspects: ‘Positive and negative behaviour of children and parents,’ ‘Positive and negative impression of society on children with disabilities,’ ‘Positive and negative emotions of the students’ and ‘Positive and negative impact on self and future career ‘. Conclusion: The results of the study showed that positive and negative experiences have influenced their personal lives and future career. Participants highlighted the importance of increasing speech therapy services in Sri Lanka and raising awareness about children with disability and about the rehabilitation services for those children.