Department of Community Medicine

This stage has 3 components

 

Health status of a community, nutritional status, communicable and non-communicable diseases, disability; healthcare needs of a community, resources available for health care and health promotion; health related behaviour and factors influencing  it; use of health care services and factors influencing it; application of primary health care concepts: physical and socio-economic factors influencing health of the community;  plan and implement interventions to improve health and health related behaviour of the community based on identified physical and social factor that influence health, through community participation and ensuring sustainability, effectiveness of interventions; reflection on community stream learning; develop leadership skills, health care team concept; effective communication with the individual, family, community; favourable attitudes towards learning from the community, caring for patients and families.

B. Family attachment

Health status of the family, assessment of health status and health needs; accessibility and utilization of health resources; factors influencing health related behaviour and use of health care services; physical and social factors influencing health of the family; carry out measures to improve health and health related behaviour of the family based on identified physical and social factors that influence health; provide first contact care under supervision; motivating family to improve health; develop favourable attitudes in caring for the individual and the family

C. Research project

Design and write a research protocol, access, review and compile scientific work on a research topic; ethical issues and obtaining ethical clearance; data collecting using appropriate, valid methods and instruments, data analysis  using statistical software; interpret results and draw valid conclusions, write a report on the research study; dissemination of findings. 

Period in Community Stream training:  Terms 9 to 13

Duration: One week per Term each is assigned to community based learning in Terms 9 to 13. Family attachment is introduced in Terms 12 and 13. Further learning sessions is scheduled within Terms 12 and 13. The total durations of the community and family attachments together add up to approximately 240 hours. The research project is conducted in Terms 13 and 14 and consists of approximately 100 hours.
 

Teaching- learning methods

For the Community Attachment Programme, each student group is assigned to a ‘community’ of 25-30 households. Each student group is supervised by an Academic staff member throughout the attachment.

For the Family Attachment, one family from the same community is assigned to a pair of students.

Students are provided with a study guide which is used as a guide for learning process, and to maintain records of the activities they perform including reflective logs.

Teaching learning methods include field based activities such as assessment of health status and factors influencing health in  communities and families; planning and implementing and evaluating health interventions; and developing health education material and conduction behavior change communication activities. Lecture discussions, small group discussions, workshops, student seminars are the main faculty based teaching methods.

Students in groups of 3 will design and conduct a research under the guidance of a supervisor.

Teaching is in the form of lectures, student seminars and workshops. A hands-on training workshop is held on using statistical software.

The leaning activities include: selecting a topic, collecting background information, review of scientific information; formulating objectives and writing a comprehensive research proposal. The research proposals are submitted to the Ethics Review Committee of the Faculty of Medicine University of Colombo. Students develop data collecting instruments, collect data, and conduct statistical analysis. A research report is prepared according to the guidelines & specifications provided.

The students are given an opportunity to disseminate their findings at the annual Community Stream Scientific Session.

References: 
Terms 9-13
1. Arambepola CA, Gunawardane N, Withanapathirana A. Community and Family
    Attachment – a study guide: Department of Community Medicine. Faculty of
    Medicine, Colombo; 2010. Volume I. ISBN 978-955-9021-54-4.
2. Arambepola CA, Gunawardane N. Community and Family Attachment – a study
    guide: Department of Community Medicine. Faculty of Medicine, Colombo; 2010.
    Volume II. ISBN 978-955-9021-74-2.
3. Arambepola CA. Student Research programme – a study guide: Department of
    Community Medicine. Faculty of Medicine, Colombo; 2011. ISBN 978-955-0460-
     25-0

Attendance requirement

80% attendance is required at the group work, field visits and seminars in teaching activities during this Stage.

Assessments

This Stage is assessed in two assessments- CSA-II and CSA-III.

CSA-II is a written examination for learning in Community Attachment which is held at the end of Term 11.

CSA-III comprises different assessment methods that examine learning activities, of Community Attachment, Family Attachment and Research Projects.

-The Community Attachment is assessed by a continuous assessment by the Supervisor, end of programme field–based assessment, and a report prepared by each student group.

-The Family Attachment is assessed by end of programme field- based assessment, a report prepared by 2-3 students in each and a viva – voce examination.