''Mitigating cancer pain: What else matters?"-A qualitative study into the needs and concerns of cancer patients in Sri Lanka.

Objectives: In Sri Lanka, cancer is a significant contributor to both morbidity and mortality rates. In 2022, 33,243 new cancer cases were reported, resulting in an age- standardized incidence rate of 106.9 per 100,000 individuals.

Coping with cancer pain: a qualitative study to explore pain perception and self-coping strategies of patients with cancer in Sri Lanka.

Unlabelled: Pain is one of the most debilitating symptoms of cancer, substantially diminishing one's quality of life. The level of pain experienced is eventually determined by the pain coping strategies adopted by patients individually. The awareness of the 'self-coping methods of pain' of individual patients would be beneficial for the multidisciplinary pain team to consider such methods when planning future interventions to manage pain.

Severity, interference, qualities, and correlates of severe pain: Descriptive cross-sectional study on pain experience of cancer patients in Sri Lanka.

Objective: Pain is the most debilitating and subjective experience of cancer patients. This study examines the severity, interference, characteristics, and associations of severe pain in Sri Lankan cancer patients.

Methods: A descriptive study was conducted in Sri Lanka on 384 patients at age 18 or older who had cancer pain for 3 months or more due to the initial lesion, secondaries, radiation, or chemotherapy.

Psychometric properties of End Stage Renal Disease-Adherence Questionnaire-Sinhalese version among patients receiving haemodialysis.

The chronic kidney disease is a leading public health concern, particularly in low-to middle-income countries, while the number of patients receiving haemodialysis is rapidly increasing. Adherence to a complex treatment regimen is vital for those patients on maintenance haemodialysis though the precise evaluation is reported inadequately. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of Sinhalese version of End Stage Renal Disease-Adherence Questionnaire (SINESRD-AQ) to assess treatment adherence behaviour among patients receiving haemodialysis in a Sri Lankan hospital.

Development and Validation of a Holistically Based Follow-Up Pain Assessment Diary Leading to Holistic Nursing for Patients with Cancer Pain in Sri Lanka.

The study aimed to develop and validate a holistically based follow-up pain assessment diary for patients with cancer pain in Sri Lanka. Mixed-method design adapted. Developing a pain diary and testing its psychometric qualities were done in two phases.

Evaluating psychometric properties of the Short Form Brief Pain Inventory Sinhala Version (SF BPI-Sin) among Sinhala speaking patients with cancer pain in Sri Lanka.

Background: Pain is one of the most common and unpleasant symptoms of patients with cancer. The Short Form Brief Pain Inventory (SF-BPI), has been psychometrically validated in several languages and widely used globally. Availability of a validated pain tool in Sinhala is a current requirement enabling the use among the majority of Sinhala-speaking cancer patients in Sri Lanka.

Sinhala translation of the Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale: a valid and reliable tool to detect anxiety disorders among antenatal women.

Background: Anxiety disorders during pregnancy are not routinely assessed in Sri Lanka despite being common and being associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Screening can facilitate early detection and management of anxiety and improve pregnancy outcomes. Our aim was to determine the validity of the Sinhala translation of the Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS) to detect anxiety among Sri Lankan pregnant women.

Effectiveness of an educational intervention on vulvo-vaginal discharge for family healthcare workers: A nonrandomized controlled trial.

Women's delay in seeking medical advice for abnormal vaginal discharge can cause serious effects such as infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and advanced cervical cancer. Family healthcare workers are in a unique position to help in the promotion of vaginal health. A nonrandomized controlled trial was conducted among a sample of family healthcare workers in the intervention (n = 37) and a control (n = 37) group to assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention, which was a 2-day intensive workshop combining reading materials.

Psychometric Properties of Sinhala Version of Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire-2 (SF MPQ-2-Sin) among Patients with Cancer Pain in Sri Lanka.

Introduction: Pain is one of the most common and unpleasant symptoms that distress the well-being of patients with cancer. Considerable evidence supports the validity and reliability of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) and its short forms, the SF MPQ and SF MPQ-2-which are the most widely used tools for pain assessment-in terms of patients with cancer. Pain and its characteristics are best assessed using validated and culturally adapted tools developed in participants' mother tongue.

Socioeconomic status is a predictor of neurocognitive performance of early female adolescents.

Objective: Previous studies have shown that high socioeconomic status (SES) is significantly associated with inhibitory control, working memory, verbal comprehension and IQ. However, in the Asian setting, with its prevailing poverty, information about the influence of SES on cognitive development of female adolescents is limited. This study was aimed to investigate the association between SES and neurocognitive performance of early female adolescents in Sri Lanka.

Postpartum family planning: missed opportunities across the continuum of care.

Introduction: Postpartum family planning is defined as the prevention of unintended pregnancies and closely spaced pregnancies during the first 12 months following childbirth.

Objectives: To assess the practice of family planning (FP) by postpartum mothers in the Regional Director of Health Services (RDHS) division, Kalutara, Sri Lanka.

Methods: A community-based, descriptive, cross sectional study was carried out among mothers, 8 to 12 weeks postpartum, in the RDHS division, Kalutara in 2014.