Browsing by Author "Hewage, S.N."
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Item Can we improve the criteria for selection of medical students in Sri Lanka?(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2010) de Silva, N.R.; Salgado, L.S.S.; Fernando, G.M.O.; Liyanage, P.L.C.K.; Hewage, S.N.; Pathmeswaran, A.OBJECTIVE: To examine the validity of selected entry level characteristics in relation to the GCE Advanced Levei (AL) examination as predictors of performance of medical students. METHODS: Data on two consecutive batches of students at the Medical Faculty, Kelaniya University, were analysed. These included students' sex. AL attempt, AL z-score, English placement test marks on registration at the faculty, and aggregate marks at summadve examinations held in the 2nd (Phase I), 3rd and 4l (Phase II) years. The effect of predictor variables on medical school marks was assessed by multivariate analysis with causal path diagrams. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 294 students; 58.8% were females. Most had entered after the 2nd attempt (32% from 1s1, 48.3% from 2nd, 19.7% from 3rd attempt). The mean z-score was 2.017 (SD0.142). Mean English placement test mark was 59.1 (SD14.2). Mean marks in Phase I and II examinations were 54.3 (SD7.3) and 56.5 .(SD7.6) respectively. Significantly more males had entered after the 3rd attempt than females (27.2% of males, vs 14.5% of females, Pearson x2=0.027). Females did significantly better in English and in Phase I and II examinations. Path analysis showed that z-score, attempt and English placement test marks were all significant predictors of outcome at the First Examination. There was high correlation between performance at First and Second Examinations. CONCLUSION: Requiring prospective medical students to pass General English and restricting the number of attempts at the AL to two instead of three, will result in selection of medical students that perform better.Item Mental health research trends in Sri Lanka(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2011) Williams, S.S.; Hewage, S.N.; Karandawala, I.R.OBJECTIVE: To review the number of research publications in the field of mental health in Sri Lanka from 1900 to 2009. METHODS: A search of all publications in psychiatry and mental health from Sri Lanka was conducted using Pubmed, all medical journals published in Sri Lanka and researchers. The identified papers were reviewed for their content and categorised as research in psychiatry and mental health, based on strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. RESULTS: A total of 207 papers were identified. The first mental health research publication from Sri Lanka is in 1964. The last decade (2000-2009) accounted for 62% of the publications with the majority of the papers being published in indexed journals. The Ceylon Medical Journal carried the most number of papers and the topic on which most of the research was conducted was suicide and deliberate self harm. CONCLUSIONS: There is an increasing trend towards research in to psychiatry and mental health in Sri Lanka.Item Selection of medical students in Sri Lanka: time to re-think criteria?(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2011) Hewage, S.N.; Salgado, L.S.S.; Fernando, G.M.O.; Liyanage, P.L.C.K.; Pathmeswaran, A.; de Silva, N.R.OBJECTIVE: To examine the validity of selected entry level characteristics in relation to the GCE A/L examination as independent predictors of performance of students in medical school. METHODS : A retrospective, analytical study was done at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya. Student characteristics at entry were described by sex, the average z-score, General English grade and attempt at GCE A/L examination, and average mark obtained at the English placement test on registration to medical school. Average marks at three summative examinations were used as indicators of performance in medical school. Multivariate analysis using multiple linear regression was carried out using these three outcome measures in relation to four entry point variables as predictors of performance in medical school. Causal path diagrams were constructed using standardised regression coefficients for the whole group and for male and female students separately. RESULTS: The A/L z-score, A/L attempt and English placement test marks were all significant predictors of outcome at the First Examination. Of the variables relating to the A/L examination, the attempt had a much higher path coefficient with performance at the First Examination than the A/L z-score, as did the English marks. Separate path analyses for male and female students showed that while the significance of the relationships remained the same, the magnitude of the correlation was different. CONCLUSIONS: Students who gain admission on their 3rd attempt at the AL examination fare much worse than those admitted to medical school on their 1st attempt. Differences between sexes in examination performance are probably linked to both A/L attempt and English language proficiency.Item Unconfirmed death as a predictor of psychological morbidity in family members of disappeared persons(Cambridge University Press, 2019) Isuru, A.; Hewage, S.N.; Bandumithra, P.; Williams, S.S.BACKGROUND: The 2004 tsunami, the civil conflict until 2009 and the youth insurrection in the late 1980s in Sri Lanka resulted in many persons being classified as 'missing' as they disappeared and were unaccounted for. Our aim was to compare the prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD) and prolonged grief disorder (PGD) in families of disappeared individuals, who eventually received the mortal remains and those who did not. METHOD: An ethically approved cross sectional study was conducted in a purposively selected sample after informed consent. Information on the circumstances of the family member going missing was gathered. Culturally adapted versions of the General Health Questionnaire and the Beck Depression Scale were administered. Those who screened positive were assessed by a psychiatrist on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 criteria to arrive at a diagnosis. RESULTS: Of 391 cases of disappearances studied, MDD (17.5% v. 6%) and PGD (22% v. 7%) were significantly higher in those who did not eventually receive the mortal remains of the disappeared person. Among those who did not receive the mortal remains, being unsure whether the disappeared person was dead or alive was highly predictive of MDD and PGD. Mothers and wives, older family members and those with a family history of mental illness were more vulnerable. CONCLUSIONS: Family members of missing individuals unsure whether their loved one was alive or dead have higher psychological morbidity in the form of MDD and PGD.Item Use of Library and Internet Facilities for Seeking Information among Medical Students at Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya(Faculty of Computing and Technology, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Solangaarachchi, D.I.K.; Marasinghe, M.P.L.R.; Abeygunasekera, C.M.; Hewage, S.N.; Thulani, U.B.Information plays a vital role in education. Students are always seeking information as an aid for their studies. With the development of the internet, which is proving to be an incomparable information resource for learning and research, students are more inclined to use it for finding information. For medical students, many of the tools that support medical education and transmit health research are now available online. There are e-books, e-journals, subject-specific databases, academic and professional websites with numerous educational resources. Therefore, the internet is considered as a rich information resource that can support medical education worldwide. The study was conducted with the objective of assessing the frequency and purposes of using the faculty library and internet facilities by medical students of Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya. A survey was carried out from May to June 2016 on MBBS students at Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya. Students who are in their second to fifth academic years were included in the study while first year students were excluded as they were considered to be still in a period of adjustment to the system. Data collection was done using a self-administered questionnaire distributed among the students that visited the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centre and medical library of the faculty. Two hundred forty six (85%) students responded to the questionnaire. This consisted of 27% (n=67), 20% (n=48), 30% (n=75) and 23% (n=56) from year 2 to 5 respectively. According to the responses provided in the survey, information required by medical students are mainly sought by library material (70.3%), the internet (59.3%), using personal text books (54.9%) and discussions with colleagues (37.4%). Only 13.9% of the students stated that they visited the library at least once a day, while 33.9% goes there several times a week. Those that visit the library once a week or less, but more than once a month represented 30.2% of the responders. A considerable proportion (22%) visits the library less than once a month (or never goes there). The main resources accessed in the library by students were: textbooks (92.7%), past papers (36.2%) and journals (4.9%). When it comes to frequency of internet usage 82.8% of the medical students stated that they accessed it several times per day. While 11.9% accessed internet only once a day and 5.3% accessed internet less frequently than that. Devices used by the responders for accessing the internet included smartphones (55.7%), tablets (32.9%), laptops (32.9%) and desktops (13.0%). When it comes to data access method for connecting to the internet, mobile data (75.8%) and Wi-Fi (73.2%) were most prominently featured, whereas dongle connections (20.3%) and wired connections (3.7%) were less popular. The most frequent reasons noted for accessing the internet were: for finding information related to studies (53.3%), for emailing (30.1%) and using social media such as Facebook (37.0%). Based on the responses of the sampled students, the faculty internet facilities (Wi-Fi or wired) were used by 80.9%. The times of the day for logging on to the faculty internet for most students were ‘12 noon-2 pm’ period (47.5%) and ‘after 4 pm’ period (22.8%). When inquired about problems faced while finding information via the internet: 55.3% noted connection being too slow as an issue, while 34.6% found the inability to access faculty network E-resources outside of the faculty as a hindrance. The other issues expressed were: not having enough time (16.7%), lack of ICT knowledge (6.9%), inadequate information searching skills (6.9%) and not having a device to connect to the internet (2.4%). The results show that even though less than 50% of the sampled students are regular (at least several times a week) visitors to the library, over 70% seek information related to their studies from library material. In contrast, while nearly 95% of the students were daily internet users, only around 60% used it as a source of information. Only about 53% utilised the internet for their academic requirements. The efforts of the university in providing internet facilities appears to have been worthwhile, with over 80% stating that they are consumers of the faculty Wi-Fi and/or wired internet connections. Yet, mobile data connections were the most frequently noted method of obtaining web access. This is reflected by the finding that smartphones and tablets were the most frequently used devices when accessing the web compared to laptops and desktops. The finding of the study that; more than one fifth of the students rarely visit the library could probably mean that they rely on personal text books in their studies. In addition it could also be a reflection of the influence of ICT in academic activities of students. These findings could be explained by the ever increasing influence of ICT in education as well as day-to-day life. Especially, availability of Wi-Fi within the faculty, affordability of mobile internet connections and, handheld devices like smartphones and tablets becoming versatile while also becoming accessible for most people has clearly made an impact in this regard. Recent upgrades to the faculty internet facilities may alleviate the complaint of slowness in connection. Expanding the Wi-Fi network to student hostels and the North Colombo Teaching Hospital at Ragama would help in addressing unavailability of faculty network E-resources outside of the faculty. Even though library based information seeking is still prominently featured, findings of the study show a possible shift towards the internet becoming the main source for information among medical students. The faculty medical library and ICT centre have to be sensitive when it comes to student information source preferences. By working together and adapting to the changing landscape, these two departments of the faculty could play an ever increasing role in improving students’ use of educational resources online.