Purpose: Rehabilitation with assistive devices is of great benefit to people with limb disabilities, enabling them to lead independent and productive lives. While assistive devices improve the quality of life of persons with lower limb disabilities by facilitating activities of daily living, there are also many barriers to their use. This study aims to describe these barriers among community-dwelling persons with lower limb disabilitiesin central Sri Lanka. Methods: A community survey was conducted among adults between 18 and 59 years of age, to find persons with lower limb disabilities in Kandy Municipal Council area, in the central province of Sri Lanka. This was followed by purposive sampling to select a sub-sample of 12 individuals with unilateral lower limb disabilities for a qualitative study using in-depth interviews. Unilateral lower limb disabilities were identified using a clinical examination and World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0). A qualitative thematic content analysis was used to evaluate the interview text. Results: Participants described several barriers in using assistive devices, such as unaffordable assistive technology like wheelchairs and artificial limbs, unavailability of appropriate assistive technology, difficulties associated with repair and maintenance, and problems in accessibility. Limited knowledge of

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Purpose: Assessment of physical disability at the community level is essential for rehabilitation and supply of services. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of physical disability among adults in an urban community in Sri Lanka.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 2460 adults (18-59 years of age) who were selected using cluster sampling. Physical disability was measured using a Physical Impairment Examination Tool (PIET) and World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Schedule II (WHODAS II). Results: Prevalence of physical disability was 4.2% (95% CI= 3.5-5.1). Physical disability was higher among people in the age group of 40-59 years (6.5%, n=64) than among those in the age group of 18-39 years (2.6%, n=39) (P<0.05). Physical disability was more prevalent among females (4.4%, 95% CI= 4.2-4.6) than males (2.6%, 95% CI: 2.4-2.8), and among Tamils (7.8%, 95% CI=5.1%- 10.5%) than Sinhalese (3.3%, 95% CI=2.4%- 4.1%). It was higher among those who were divorced/widowed (58.3%, 95% CI=30.4- 86.2) than among married people (3.6%, 95% CI=2.8- 4.4). The prevalence of physical disability was 7.1% (95% CI=4.6- 9.5) among people with primary education, 4.5% (95% CI=3.4- 5.6) among those with secondary education, and 1.8% (95% CI=0.8- 2.8) among those with tertiary education. It was higher among the unemployed (7.2%, 95% CI=5.7-8.7) than the employed (1.8%, 95% CI=1.1-2.5). Age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, education levels and employment status were significantly associated with physical disability.Conclusions: Though the prevalence of physical disability appears to be higher among Sri Lankan adults than among people in developed countries, it is less than among people in other South-East Asian countries. Associations with socio-demographic variables were consistent with other studies.

BackgroundRoad traffic injuries (RTI) are increasing in low and middle income countries, as twice the risk as the developed countries. This study aims to 1) review national RTI data sources in Sri Lanka, for their strengths and weaknesses and to identify gaps, that if addressed could help improve RTI data systems in Sri Lanka; and 2) summarise the published studies on RTI in Sri Lanka to make recommendations on RTI programs, policies, and research.MethodsA comprehensive review of published articles and grey literature was done together with an analysis of existing data sources. Electronic searches were performed (updated as December 2015) using Pubmed and Google database using specific key words related to RTI. Only studies that included data pertaining to Sri Lanka were selected. Full text articles were then reviewed using the same inclusion criteria, and references from included articles were scanned to find additional relevant articles.ResultsRTI rate and the RTI death rate in 2010 was 130.0 and 13.2 per 100,000 population respectively in Sri Lanka. There is a 19% increase in RTI rate from 2006 to 2010 in Sri Lanka. The main RTI data sources in Sri Lanka are Sri Lanka traffic police, National death registration system, National transport board and Ministry of Health indoor morbidity and mortality reports. Each existing data system has its own strengths and weaknesses. There are gaps in the existing data systems including limited coverage, underreporting, overlapping, lack of injury surveillance system and even lack of data pertaining to financial burden, risk factors and disability. Despite some studies with limited population locally, overall country statistics or interventions have not been fully assessed.ConclusionsLimited availability of important reliable data on RTI in Sri Lanka is an issue. Standardisation of data systems with intersystem connexions covering the country is recommended in order to be comparable internationally.