Morbidity profile among patients attending allopathic healthcare facilities in Kalutara District, Sri Lanka
Introduction: To achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), access to quality health services without financial hardship is essential. Although morbidity profiles influence healthcare utilization, national-level morbidity profiles of outpatients are not regularly reported, hindering the assessment of...
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College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of the College of Community Physicians |
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| author | Naveen de Soysa Udayi Gunawardana Supipi Dissanayake Gunawardana Padmal de Silva |
| author_facet | Naveen de Soysa Udayi Gunawardana Supipi Dissanayake Gunawardana Padmal de Silva |
| author_sort | Naveen de Soysa |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Introduction: To achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), access to quality health services without financial hardship is essential. Although morbidity profiles influence healthcare utilization, national-level morbidity profiles of outpatients are not regularly reported, hindering the assessment of UHC progress.
Objectives: To describe the morbidity profile of patients attending out-patient care in all categories of healthcare facilities practising Western medicine in Kalutara District in 2019
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study with an analytical component was conducted on 1,005 outpatients in healthcare institutions practising Western medicine in the Kalutara District. One-day survey via an interviewer-administered questionnaire was done with two-staged stratified-cluster sampling technique. Patients seeking medical certificates/check-ups or living outside the district were excluded.
Results: The sample was 1,005. The commonest groups seeking care were more than 50 years (n=339; 33.7%), females (n=570; 56.7%), Sinhalese (n=890; 88.5%) and with the highest education level between grade 6 to GCE Ordinary Level (n=521; 51.8%) visiting outpatient departments (OPD) in contrast to general practitioners (GP) where less than 18 years (31.3%) and males (52.7%) were the commonest. The commonest symptom category (39.1%) was respiratory in all facilities. More than half (57.6%) sought treatment within the first three days of illness with early presentation to GP. Nearly 50% had comorbidities with the commonest being cardiovascular diseases. More than two fifths (44.2%) had some kind of disability.
Conclusions: Except for a few similarities, the morbidity profile showed variations across different levels of healthcare facilities with notable deviations in relation to age and gender when GP settings were concerned.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e2b33c5239f641b688fb15d1da097f0e |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1391-3174 2579-1451 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka |
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| series | Journal of the College of Community Physicians |
| spelling | doaj-art-e2b33c5239f641b688fb15d1da097f0e2025-08-20T03:07:17ZengCollege of Community Physicians of Sri LankaJournal of the College of Community Physicians1391-31742579-14512025-08-0131210.4038/jccpsl.v31i2.8776Morbidity profile among patients attending allopathic healthcare facilities in Kalutara District, Sri LankaNaveen de Soysahttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0634-0076Udayi GunawardanaSupipi Dissanayake Gunawardanahttps://orcid.org/0009-0001-9165-2789Padmal de Silva0WHO Country Office, Maldives Introduction: To achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), access to quality health services without financial hardship is essential. Although morbidity profiles influence healthcare utilization, national-level morbidity profiles of outpatients are not regularly reported, hindering the assessment of UHC progress. Objectives: To describe the morbidity profile of patients attending out-patient care in all categories of healthcare facilities practising Western medicine in Kalutara District in 2019 Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study with an analytical component was conducted on 1,005 outpatients in healthcare institutions practising Western medicine in the Kalutara District. One-day survey via an interviewer-administered questionnaire was done with two-staged stratified-cluster sampling technique. Patients seeking medical certificates/check-ups or living outside the district were excluded. Results: The sample was 1,005. The commonest groups seeking care were more than 50 years (n=339; 33.7%), females (n=570; 56.7%), Sinhalese (n=890; 88.5%) and with the highest education level between grade 6 to GCE Ordinary Level (n=521; 51.8%) visiting outpatient departments (OPD) in contrast to general practitioners (GP) where less than 18 years (31.3%) and males (52.7%) were the commonest. The commonest symptom category (39.1%) was respiratory in all facilities. More than half (57.6%) sought treatment within the first three days of illness with early presentation to GP. Nearly 50% had comorbidities with the commonest being cardiovascular diseases. More than two fifths (44.2%) had some kind of disability. Conclusions: Except for a few similarities, the morbidity profile showed variations across different levels of healthcare facilities with notable deviations in relation to age and gender when GP settings were concerned. https://account.jccpsl.sljol.info/index.php/sljo-j-jccpsl/article/view/8776Universal health coverageHealthcare UtilizationMorbidity-profileKalutara district |
| spellingShingle | Naveen de Soysa Udayi Gunawardana Supipi Dissanayake Gunawardana Padmal de Silva Morbidity profile among patients attending allopathic healthcare facilities in Kalutara District, Sri Lanka Journal of the College of Community Physicians Universal health coverage Healthcare Utilization Morbidity-profile Kalutara district |
| title | Morbidity profile among patients attending allopathic healthcare facilities in Kalutara District, Sri Lanka |
| title_full | Morbidity profile among patients attending allopathic healthcare facilities in Kalutara District, Sri Lanka |
| title_fullStr | Morbidity profile among patients attending allopathic healthcare facilities in Kalutara District, Sri Lanka |
| title_full_unstemmed | Morbidity profile among patients attending allopathic healthcare facilities in Kalutara District, Sri Lanka |
| title_short | Morbidity profile among patients attending allopathic healthcare facilities in Kalutara District, Sri Lanka |
| title_sort | morbidity profile among patients attending allopathic healthcare facilities in kalutara district sri lanka |
| topic | Universal health coverage Healthcare Utilization Morbidity-profile Kalutara district |
| url | https://account.jccpsl.sljol.info/index.php/sljo-j-jccpsl/article/view/8776 |
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