Senarath, U., Senanayake, S., Pathirana, S., Karunaweera, N., Weerasinghe, M.C., Gunawardena, N.S., Munugoda, I.P., Jayasinghe, S., Amarathunga, P., Corea, E., De Silva, V., Fernando, D., Fernando, R., Gnanathasan, A., Gunatilake, M., Gunawardena, S., Katulanda, P., Rajapakse, S., Samaranayake, N. and Siriwardana, Y., 2019. Ceylon Medical Journal, 64(3), pp.103–110. DOI: http://doi.org/10.4038/cmj.v64i3.8957

A descriptive cross-sectional household survey was conducted in 1950 households in three rural districts, selected by a three-stage stratified cluster sampling method. Basic socio-demographic profile showed Agriculture and related work as the main occupation. Most lacked basic amenities (e.g. 61% households lacked a refrigerator) and practiced inappropriate methods of waste disposal (e.g. open burning by 72%). Household illnesses were frequent: episodes of acute illness within two weeks, injuries within past year and chronic illness were reported from 35.9%, 14.9% and 48.3% households. The prevalence of chronic diseases in adults >20 years were high: diabetes 13.5%, hypertension 16.7% and overweight/obesity 28.2%. Of the males, 22.1% smoked and 12.3% took alcohol.  Almost 25% adults chewed betel. Reports of snake bite, dog bites and suicide/attempted suicide were seen in 15.5%, 9.7% and 3.0% households respectively.

This study shows a unique clustering of health-related problems in rural Sri Lanka. This was characterized by demographic transition, burden from snake bites, chronic diseases and acute illnesses. There were resource limitations and low levels of education. Cohort studies and comparisons with urban areas will enable further elucidation of determinants of health and other issues in rural Sri Lanka.