Introduction: WHO Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) was introduced to address the well-recognized global problem of lack of surgical safety. Although proper implementation of SSC reduces common adverse events occurring during surgical procedures, the practical implementation in some cases has been found to be less than optimal.Objective: To assess the user related factors in the implementation of the SSC at District General Hospital (DGH), Matara Methods:A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at DGH, Matara using a self-administered questionnaire among 76 doctors and 116 nurses who worked in operating theatres of DGH,Matara. A questionnaire based on the SSC and its implementation was used to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of doctors and nurses. Results:On the average,the seniority and experience in working in the operating theatres of DGH,Matara had a significant association with the awareness of the SSC. Nurses were more familiar about the SSC compared to doctors. Even when the user of the checklist had good knowledge, favorable attitudes and interest for proper implementation of the SSC, only a minority (8.7%) was trained in SSC. Discussion:The complexity, uncertainty of the definition of the responsibility and frequent unavailability of checklists were the main perceived barriers. It is recommended to simplify and reformat the checklist to make more user friendly and designating a checklist coordinator, training and monitoring implementation for better compliance.

Introduction: Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19) discovered in December-2019 soon became a pandemic and was declared a global public health emergency.Objectives: The study assessed the public awareness on COVID-19 outbreak among a group of Sri Lankan social media users.Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in late March-2020, using a self-administered online-ques­tionnaire shared in social media.Results: Out of 174 respondents, 97 (55.7%) were male and the mean age was 36.1 years. Most were from western province (n=109, 62.7%) and with higher education (64.5%). All ofthe common transmitting modes were identified by only 141 (81%). Respondents identified fever (97.7%) and Cough-93.7% as features of COVID while 131, (75.3%) knew about asymptomatic patients. Even though170 (97.7%) knew the duration of quarantine pe­riod 24.6% had a misconception on indications for quarantine. Majority (158, 90.8%) thought the herbal drinks are beneficial. Majority (n=153, 87.9%) knew the indications for using masksand 165 (94.8%) were aware about social distancing. Majority (n=162, 93.1%) were satisfied about the initial COVID-19 control-measures by the government.Discussion: The level of overall knowledge on the COVID-19 was satisfactory among the participants with some deficiencies including all the modes of transmission. This shows the space for further awareness for controlling the virus better.

Introduction: Due to the sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits, the prevalence of diabetes is increasing rapidly in urban Sri Lanka than the rural suburbs. Awareness of the disease is pivotal for the prevention and minimization of diabetes-related complications. No information on patient's knowledge is recorded for Sri Lanka, in a country where a comparably high literacy level is recorded. The objective of this study was to evaluate the awareness, knowledge and attitudes regarding their disease among patients with diabetes mellitus in a population of Colombo suburb. Method:This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted over 6 months enrolling a total of 131 patients with Diabetes mellitus. A self-administered questionnaire with demographic information and information regarding the symptoms, the diagnosis, complications, treatment, prevention and prognosis of the disease was used to collect data. A percentage knowledge score was calculated based on the composite score of each patient and the knowledge level was determined.Results: 76 females (58.01%) and 56 (42.75%) males participated the study. The mean age of the population was 57.56 years and the mean duration of diabetes was 10.57 years. A very small percentage (12.98%) of the patients had formal education on the disease. The mean percentage knowledge score was 37.7% with a minimum of 5.3% and a maximum of 73.7%. The knowledge level of 48.82% of patients was 'poor' while 28.3% showed 'very poor' knowledge. Only 22.88% demonstrated 'good' knowledge and none had 'very good' knowledge. Although the majority of the patients had a 'poor' or 'very poor' knowledge regarding the diagnosis (64.1%) and treatment (88.0%), 54.2% had a 'good' or 'very good' knowledge regarding complications. Only 46.7% patients had 'good' or 'very good' knowledge level on prevention and prognosis of the disease. The study failed to establish statistically significant relationships between knowledge level and gender (P = 0.33), literacy level (p = 0.445), duration of diabetes (P = 0.061) or past participation in diabetes education (P = 0.437). Conclusion:Despite having good health care fascilties, awareness and knowledge of diabetes mellitus are inadequate among patient of Colombo suburb. Urgent focus and better action plans are needed to create awareness on diabetes mellitus with the aim of a sustainable reduction in diabetes burden in future.

No abstract

Aim:The aim of this preliminary study was to assess the chance of dental caries level using early childhood oral health impact scale (ECOHIS) in a group of 5-year-old children in Sri Lanka. Materials and methods:A sample of school children aged 5+ years was taken for the study from Denuwara educational zone in Kandy District in Sri Lanka using probability proportional to size sampling method in 2010. Dental caries and oral health impact of the children were recorded. The mean decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) was 0.01 ± 0.3, while mean dmft was 3.7 ± 0.29. The mean decayed teeth (d) was 3.0 ± 0.23, the mean extracted teeth (m) was 0.46± 0.08, and the mean filled teeth (f) was 0.21 ± 0.05. Twenty four percent of them were caries free (95% confidence interval 0.17, 0.32). Ordinal logistic regression models were fitted by considering dmft levels as the response variables, and oral health impact as the predictor variable. Since Pearson test p-value and deviance test p-value are 0.99 (p > 0.05) and 0.986 (p > 0.05) respectively, the null hypothesis is not rejected as the model fitted the data adequately. Conclusion:This model could be used to predict the chance of dental caries level with the score of ECOHIS. Therefore, ECOHIS can be taken as a reliable indicator to assess the level of dental caries.