Browsing by Author "Perera, K. M. N."

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Level of empowerment for tobacco control in a rural low-income district in Sri Lanka
(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2018) Perera, K. M. N.; Guruge, G. N. D.; Jayawardana, P. L.
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Health is determined by a range of factors and health promotion incorporates enabling individuals and communities to have control over determinants of their health. Tobacco, a well-established determinant of ill-health, is portrayed as a factor that is difficult to be controlled Psychological empowerment for tobacco control encompasses an individual's sense of control over tobacco related issues, the foundation for strengthening community actions against tobacco. This study aimed to describe the psychological empowerment for tobacco control in Monaragla District.METHODS: The study used a cross-sectional descriptive design. Psychological empowerment was operationalized based on Zimmerman's definition into a 27 item scale under intrapersonal, interactional and behavioural domains. developed via a modified Delphi technique was validated for the local context. The interviewer administered tool assessed participants recruited via a multi-stage cluster sampling technique using a household (N=1160) survey RESULTS: Response rate was 98 6% (n=l 144). the majority (92 1 %; n=l054), felt they have a responsibility to participate in tobacco control even though only 21.9% (n=251) has ever participated in such activities at least once in their lifetime. Perceived mastery, motivation, competence, awareness and efficacy for tobacco control among participants were satisfactory. Interactional domain, assessing participants' preparedness to act, received the highest scores (M=23 5; SD=5 9) among all the domains.CONCLUSION: Perceived mastery, motivation, competence, awareness and efficacy for tobacco control were satisfactory. However, level of action did not match the levels of intrapersonal and interactional domains that reflect preparedness to act. Unused potential for tobacco control exists among the community to act against tobacco.
Use of a mobile application to engage communities in monitoring tobacco industry interference: A case study of community driven tobacco surveillance system
(Sri Lanka Medical Association., 2019) Perera, N. C. S.; Lakrnal, P. A. S. C.; Wijesuriya, H.; Kandeepan, S.; Fernando, A. I. B.; Dineshkumar, P.; Perera, K. M. N.
INTRODUCTION & OBJECTIVES: Centre for Combating Tobacco (CCT) is the tobacco observatory in Sri Lanka established under the WHO FCTC article 5.3. Resource-efficient methods to engage public in monitoring tobacco industry interference and activities (TIIA) in low-resource settings are needed. METHODS: "TobaccoUnmasked HotSpots"(TU-HotSpots) mobile application was developed and launched in two stages. The preliminary launch, in May 2018, was to pilot the app for feasibility and acceptability. In March 2019, Community Driven Tobacco Surveillance System (CDTSS), a community network to monitor TIIA using the now-upgraded, app following the piloting, was launched. Freely downloadable from any mobile app store, TU-HotSpots enables registered users to report TIIA under three categories:"Report-a-HotSpot" (geographical location circa FCTC articles 5.3, 6, 12, 13, 15, 16), "Interference-through-Media" (Article 13) and "Tobacco-Industry-contacted-me" (Article 5.3). Data thus reported is approved following review by the CCT team, and published via the TU-HotSpots Map, a website with an interactive map and a dashboard. RESULTS: In the Post-launch evaluation, 91.4% (n=54) stated that TU-HotSpots would be useful in tobacco control, while 82.8% (n=48) stated the public would accept it. Inadequate technological knowledge and sub optimal on line connectivity were the perceived challenges for implementation. Active promotion via training sessions for youth and government field officers were the main suggestions for way forward. As at April 2019, 178 registrants reported 416 incidents; with 165 approved-Report-a-HotSpot and 92 approved-Interference-through-Media reports, and one approved-Tobacco-Industry-contacted-me report. CONCLUSION: A mobile application coupled with a community network constitutes an effective strategy to engage public in monitoring TIIA.
Using a MediaWiki platform to disseminate information on tobacco: TobaccoUnmasked.lk
(Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2018) Perera, C. S.; Perera, K. M. N.; Wijesuriya, H.; Lakmal, P. A. S. C.; Fernando, I. B.; Rajasuriya, M. C.
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The Centre for Combating Tobacco (CCT) Sri Lanka is the first, and currently tobacco observatory in the region. The main purpose of CCT is to monitor tobacco industry activities related to implementation of Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). This study aimed to explore the acceptability of a Media Wiki based information portal in disseminating information in Sri Lanka. METHODS: www.tobaccounmasked.lk is the information portal of CCT, containing evidence-based peer-reviewed information under the themes: background, Tobacco Industry (TI), individuals and institutions linked with TI, TI activities and TI arguments and responses. Launched in July 2017, 'TobaccoUnmasked' (TU) is based on Media Wiki, an open source software that serves as a database as well as an information dissemination platform. The reach of the website was monitored using the Google Analytics software. RESULTS: Easy navigation and search, ability to link to internal and external resources and generate categories were the positives identified in the tool during implementation. TobaccoUnmasked was used by 1101 users during the three months with 4799 page views in 1688 sessions. Even though TU reached 55 countries, majority (n=1273; 75.4%) of session views was from Sri Lanka. Apart from the Main page, most viewed page was “Movement to legalise marijuana and the tobacco industry'. Users were mostly referred via 'organic search' (n=676; 40.0%) while direct search referrals (n=406; 24.0%) and referrals via social media (n=306; 18.l %) were also common.CONCLUSION: MediaWiki platform can be effectively used to disseminate information related to tobacco in Sri Lanka.