Background Sri Lanka has undergone rapid development during the past few decades, resulting in broad socioeconomic changes including rapid urbanization and industrialization. This has led to a nutrition transition with an increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Adolescent obesity is a major problem as it leads to several adult life problems such as non-communicable diseases. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity among 14 to 15-year-old school children in the Colombo education zone. Method A school-based cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among a sample of 1728 students representing all schools in the Colombo education zone selected using a multi stage cluster sampling method. Weight and height of all subjects were measured according to standard procedures using standard equipment. BMI for age was calculated using WHO charts. Results Prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescents was revealed as 10.8% (CI 9.3-12.5) and 3.9% (CI 3.1-5.0) respectively, with no gender difference. Studying in semigovernment or international schools was statistically significantly associated with adolescent overweight and obesity (p=0.000). Conclusion Overweight and obesity among adolescents in the Colombo education zone is a significant public health problem.

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Objectives:To describe the use of Electronic Hospital Information System(EHIS) by the staff, to assess the competency of them to handle the EHIS and to assess the computer literacy among health care workers at the Out Patient’s Department(OPD) in District General Hospital(DGH) Trincomalee.Study design:A cross sectional descriptive study. A competency assessment test and a self administered questionnaire were used. Participants: All the staff members operating the EHIS at the OPD in DGH Trincomalee. Results: Regarding the general use of the EHIS medical officers (100%) used the EHIS to write prescriptions,(>70%)to get the patient’s socio-demographic details, enter patient’s history to retrieve previous medical records, to obtain what drugs available and what drugs out of stock at the outdoor pharmacy, for notification of diseases and used less frequently to get the laboratory reports (50-70%). The system was used for 17 tasks out of 20 tasks and most unused tasks were write the diagnosis according to the ICD-10. Nurses and attendents used the system less than half of the tasks for which the system was functional. The pharmacists use of the system was optimal. Overall respondents’ competency of using the system were high (>80%). Conclusions: Majority of staff members had low level of computer literacy. Majority of them used the system successfully. Recommendations: To strengthen the training program,combat several constraints and upgrade the system, provide digital X-ray imaging and download them to CDs and improved to write the diagnosis according to the ICD-10.Key words: Electronic Hospital Information System, Multi Disease Surveillance, Computer Literacy.

Introduction Acute myocardial infarction (MI) is the leading cause of death in Sri Lanka. The American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) guidelines recommend that for patients with acute MI who are candidates for fibrinolytic therapy, the therapy should be administered within 30 min of arrival at the hospital or first contact with the healthcare system (grade 1A).Objective To reduce door-to-needle time to 30 minutes in the management of patients with ST elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) admitted to the coronary care unit in District General Hospital (DGH) Matara.Methodology A clinical audit was done by analyzing the prevailing process of thrombolysis for acute MI. Based on the identified gaps an integrated care pathway (ICP) was introduced as an intervention. This included the removal of irrelevant steps, avoiding unnecessary delays, and assigning a responsible person to each step in the process. A comparison was done between pre and post-interventional groups.Results Door-to-needle time was significantly shorter after the introduction of ICP (intervention).Conclusion ICP is a good tool for quality assurance. It was helpful in reducing the door-to-needle time in the management of patients with STEMI admitted to the cardiac care unit in DGH Matara, once it was used as the intervention in clinical audit.

Introduction:The coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) spreads predominantly between people who are in close contact with an infected person. Hence, the frontline health staff members are more vulnerable for exposure due to rising number of cases. objectives:To describe the possible causes for exposure of health staff in Sri Lanka for COVID-19 infection and to review suggestions made by health staff for minimizing such exposure. Methods:A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2020 to December 2020. A self administered questionnaire was given to health staff when they were admitted to a quarantine center and collected on discharge or transfer. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics.Results and discussion: There were 80 participants with a response rate of 100%. Majority (n=79, 98.8%) were exposed to a confirmed/suspected case within their health institution and most ( 60%; n=48) were exposed within the ward they work.Source of exposure was mostly a patient (55%; n=44) or a staff member(33.7%;n=27). At the time of exposure, majority wore only a facemask (n=43, 53.8%).Shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), inadequate training on infection control, Incorrect contact history provided by patients were stated as the main causes (75%) of exposure. 38% of health staff members share meals with their colleagues at workplace. Conclusions and Recommendations: All staff categories should be provided with necessary PPE. Regular training programs on infection control need to be conducted covering all staff categories. A suitable arrangement to take meals individually must be developed.