http://repo.lib.jfn.ac.lk/ujrr/handle/123456789/9597 2026-05-09T00:08:04Z http://repo.lib.jfn.ac.lk/ujrr/handle/123456789/12636 Title: Knowledge of cardiovascular disease among three-wheeler drivers in Anuradhapura police division Authors: Gunarathne, W.G.R.; Lakshani, L.B.N.; Kamalarupan, L.; Guruparan, M. Abstract: Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading causes of death. Three-wheeler drivers are exposed to various risk factors which make these individuals vulnerable to cardiovascular diseases. Objective: To assess the knowledge on cardiovascular diseases (CVD) among three-wheeler drivers in the Anuradhapura police division. Methodology: A community-based descriptive cross-sectional study was done among 383 three-wheelers in the Anuradhapura police division. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were analyzed by SPSS 25 (Statistical Package of Social Sciences). Data were analyzed in descriptive statistics.100 three-wheeler parks were selected by convenience sampling method based on the distance, among these participants were randomly selected from the list of auto drivers. Results: The age range was 23 to 75 years and the mean age was 50.07 years (SD=10.303). More than fifty percent (51.2%) had an average knowledge of CVDs. The average score of the knowledge was recorded as 68.029 (SD= 11.489). The majority of the participants understood “heart disease” as a blockage in the heart (97.1%) and they only knew the heart is an organ affected by CVDs (96.3%). Only 22.2% identified pain on the left side chest & arm as the symptom of a heart attack. Most of the participants (81.2%) were aware high blood sugar can cause heart disease. The majority of the participants (92.2%) knew that sudden death may occur due to CVD, whereas none of them was aware kidney failure also can occur due to CVDs. The risk factors of CVD identified by many of them were: Smoking (98,2%, oily foods (98.2%), sitting a long time per day (97.4%), Increased salt intake (83.8%), obesity (95.3%), work-related stress (82.2%), sleeping disturbance (85.1%), high blood sugar (86.4%), and high blood pressure (90.9 %). However, almost all of them (99%) were not aware of alcohol, also one of the risk factors. Conclusion: Nearly half of the participants (48.8%) had poor knowledge on cardiovascular diseases. Conduction awareness programme on cardiovascular risk factors, especially hazardous effects of consumption of alcohol is mandatory. 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repo.lib.jfn.ac.lk/ujrr/handle/123456789/12635 Title: Psychological challenges posed by the threat of covid-19 of nursing staff at Teaching hospital Jaffna Authors: Wijesinghe, M.D.; Madhusanka, I.D.H.M.S.; Kamalarupan, L.; Jeyakumar, S. Abstract: Introduction: Health care workers have to play a major role in combating this COVID-19 disease. The health care workers faced many psychological challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: To assess the psychological challenges posed by the threat of COVID-19 for nursing staff at Teaching Hospital Jaffna. Methodology: This study was a hospital based descriptive cross-sectional study. A simple random sampling method was used and 393 nurses were recruited for the study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data and data was analyzed by SPSS version 25. Results: The age range of the participants is 25 and 59 years old. Sri Lankan Tamils (57.5%) and Sinhalese (40.2%) represent the majority of the population. Male: female ratio is 1:2. Near 95% of the participants worried as covid 19 infection is a great danger to health and they worried about covid 19 situation (92.1%). However, they stated (88.9%), they have confident enough to managing covid 19 situation. Most of the participants felt annoyed (44.6%) at work due to the anxiety of getting the infection. Nearly half the nurses stated (54.2%) that they felt sad when the few health care workers skipped from caring the COVID- 19 patients. More than half of (56.4%) them felt that their health condition is threatening while caring the patients with Covid -19. Many nurses stated (92.6%) that they avoided close contact with their family when they suspect they are infected. The worries encountered by the participants about their kids during the COVID pandemic were: disturbed education of children (64.6%), and smartphone addiction of them (69.2%). Conclusion: A significant number of nurses faced various psychological challenges when work is posed by the threat of COVID-19. 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repo.lib.jfn.ac.lk/ujrr/handle/123456789/12634 Title: Attitude on nursing profession and the associated factors among the nursing students at the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University of Jaffna and College of nursing, Jaffna Authors: Malimbada, M.K.V.R.; Hettiwana, J.; Kamalarupan, L.; Jeyakumar, S. Abstract: Introduction: Nursing is one of the honorable professions in the world and nursing education is becoming more demanding each day. Attitude is directly involved in choosing the nursing profession and the quality of the nursing profession. Objective: The study aimed to assess the attitudes towards the nursing profession and the factors that influence on it among nursing students. Methodology: An institutional-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the 323 nursing students who were studying at the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University of Jaffna, and College of Nursing, Jaffna. The data were collected by a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed by using IBM SPSS 25.0. The chi-square test was used to analyze the factors' influence on attitude of the participants. Results: The mean age was 24.28 years, Female and male ratio was 3:1. Majority of the participants stated that they do not have any gender-based preference to choose nursing as their career (96.6%). Most of the students stated that they chose nursing due to their interest and to improve their financial status. The majority (55.9%) indicated that creating a good nurse-patient relationship is the major characteristic needed for a successful nurse. Also, they mentioned this relationship should be in a professional way with sympathy. The major responsibilities of the nurse mentioned by many (93.1%) are caring for the patient, helping in patients’ recovery and maintaining their legal rights regarding their privacy, confidentiality, and psychological support. Half of them did not have a good opinion on going out of the workplace in uniform. There was a statistically significant association between participants' attitudes on the nursing profession and participants’ gender, age, and their father’s education level. Conclusion: The majority of the participants had a good attitude toward the nursing profession. Participants’ gender, age, and their father’s education level were statistically significant associations on participants' attitudes towards the nursing profession. 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repo.lib.jfn.ac.lk/ujrr/handle/123456789/12633 Title: Prevalence of elder abuse and its associated factors among the elderly in Kekirawa division of Anuradhapura district Authors: Nanayakkara, N.K.D.S.; Gunarathna, G.K.S.D.; Sathees, S.; Kamalarupan, L. Abstract: Introduction: The population of elderly is growing rapidly. Global increase of elderly population creates various global challenges. One of the most serious problems is the rise in elder abuse. Objective: To determine the prevalence of elder abuse and its associated factors among the elderly at Kekirawa division of Anuradhapura District. Methodology: This is a community-based cross-sectional descriptive study among 371 elderly people. The data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire and were analyzed using SPSS version 25. Participants were selected randomly from the list of elderly population of each Grama Niladhari division. The association between prevalence and its associated factors was determined by using the chi-square test. Results: Out of 371 participants 28.3% were above 70 years of age and mean age was 67.47(SD=5.63) years. Around half of the elderly were female (51.8%). More than one third (39.1%) of the elderly were reported to experience at least one form of abuse. Psychological abuse was more prevalent (35.8%) while none of them reported sexual abuse. Few have reported other abuses also; such as physical abuse (7.0%), financial abuse (7.5%) and neglect (16.7%). Experiencing at least one form of abuse was associated with the following factors: age, marital status, living with partner, monthly income, receiving physical/ moral support from others & presence of chronic illness. Conclusion: The prevalence of elder abuse among elderly in Anuradhapura district is high. and it is associated with several personal factors of the elderly. Immediate interventions to prevent elder abuse is mandatory. Such interventions should give special attention to the vulnerable elderly. 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z