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This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of eight Sri Lankan mothers of infants with complex congenital heart disease (CCHD) using semi-structured interviews. Four themes were generated as: illness perception, communication with medical staff, challenges faced, and coping mechanisms. These provided insight into the multi-faceted nature of mothers' experiences, importance of medical-caregiver communications and their need for psychosocial services. The findings enhance the limited knowledge of South–Asian primary CCHD caregiver experiences and will help in improving psychosocial support services in Sri Lanka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and objectives: Leishmania donovani is the causative organism of leishmaniasis in Sri Lanka. Studies on the immunopathology of leishmaniasis due to L. donovani are limited. The objective of this study was to describe the immunopathological characteristics of cutaneous leishmaniasis in a cohort of Sri Lankan patients. Methodology: Fifty skin biopsies of cutaneous leishmaniasis confirmed by detection of organisms by histology, culture, slit-skin smear, and/or polymerase chain reaction were reviewed. The inflammatory infiltrate was characterized by immunohistochemical staining for CD4, CD8, CD20, and CD68. Associations and correlations between immunohistochemical staining pattern and the parasitic load, and patterns of inflammation were determined. Results: The majority of biopsies showed a CD8+/CD4− T lymphocyte predominant infiltrate (84%, n = 42). A CD68 predominant infiltrate was seen in 16%(n = 8). The mean percentage of CD8+, CD4+, CD20+, and CD68+ inflammatory cells in the biopsies were 56.1% (SD = 16.5%), 2.6% (SD = 4.5%), 12.3% (SD = 10.9%), and 25.7% (SD = 15.8%) respectively. There was no association between the predominant inflammatory cell and the degree of inflammation (P =.173), presence of high RPI (P =.922), MRI(P =.367) or presence of granuloma (P =.247).The percentage of CD4+ cells showed a positive correlation with granuloma formation (Correlation coefficient =.411, P =.03). The percentage of CD20+ cells in the infiltrate showed a positive correlation with the degree of inflammation (Correlation coefficient =.491, P =.02) and the RPI (Correlation coefficient =.334, P =.018). Discussion and Conclusion: Skin biopsies from cutaneous leishmaniasis due to L. donovani infection showed a CD8+/CD4− predominant infiltrate. This is similar to the findings of studies on cutaneous leishmaniasis due to some other species and suggests that the cytotoxic T cell response plays a role in infections due to L. donovani. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Extant research has examined women’s under-representation (relative to men) in international careers in respect to prejudice towards women in host countries, organizational resistance to selecting women, women’s own disinterest in taking international work and host country societal expectations of women. Although research has suggested the benefits for global organizations of having management diversity, the literature has given limited consideration to barriers and opportunities for international careers for women from developing countries. This study addresses this gap in examining the perceptions of 243 professional women in Sri Lanka about factors they perceive affect opportunities for international careers. The findings suggest the women perceive that positive female role models and family/husband support may facilitate opportunities, whereas prejudice in host countries, organizational gender discrimination and home country societal values emphasizing a primary responsibility of women as wives, mothers and daughters may hinder opportunities. The research has business implications in that, given a global ageing population and increasing numbers of nontraditional families, organizations seeking to achieve gender and ethnic diversity among their international cross-cultural managers need to be cognizant of supporting employees with extended family responsibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The empowerment potential of transnational labour migration by women has been debated in the field of women’s migration studies. This paper examines the case of women from Sri Lanka, a key home country of low-skilled female labour migrating to the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Using the methodological approach of the case study, the survey found that labour migration does ensure that access to productive resources leads to a measure of economic empowerment in the household. Yet, many women migrants faced intra-household socially disempowering experiences that in turn downplayed their economic contributions. Empowerment as a consequence of migration rested upon a complex interplay of economic factors and contextspecific non-economic factors; the latter were found to be more powerful determinants of women’s empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To explore the salience of pre- and postmigration stresses as risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and to identify resilience factors and explore their mental health salience. Methods: We conducted a mental health survey of 1603 Sri Lankan Tamils in Toronto, incorporating the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview for PTSD. Results: According to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, criteria, lifetime prevalence for PTSD was 12%; according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, criteria it was 5.8%. Female sex and the number of stresses of passage increased the probability of PTSD, whereas satisfaction with life and the availability of nonfamily social relations reduced it. Conclusions: Consideration of pre- and postmigration stresses of passage and of the nature of resilience contributes to an improved understanding of PTSD among refugees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on an intersectional approach, the article examines how Sri Lankan domestic workers' masculinities are constructed and negotiated in conjunction with race and ethnicity by Neapolitan employers and the male domestic workers themselves. The article discusses how Neapolitan employers construct Sri Lankan masculinity as effeminate, asexual, and unthreatening and how these Sri Lankan men themselves strategically exploit these stereotypes in gaining access to jobs that are socially constructed as women's work. However, in relation to their own community and families, and quite contrary to the Neapolitan employers' stereotypes, Sri Lankan men negotiate rather hegemonic and traditional notions of masculinity. The article draws on ethnographic research conducted in Naples including participant observation within the Sri Lankan community and in-depth interviews with Sri Lankan male and female domestic workers, as well as with Neapolitan employers of Sri Lankan male domestic workers. By looking at the experiences of these migrant men, the article contributes to the understanding of how intersectional categories work in different and often contractory ways in the everyday negotiations of subjectivities. The article draws our attention to how racial and ethnic differences can be strategically deployed by the members of a specific group. It also concludes that there is no fixed notion of Sri Lankan masculinity. Rather, it is contextualized and constructed quite differently by Neapolitan employers and Sri Lankan men themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on intimate partner violence (IPV) across populations is challenging because of the multiplicity of definitions and lack of clarity about the behaviors that constitute IPV. The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which Sri Lankan Tamil women in Toronto understand, define, and experience IPV. Focus group interviews were conducted with women representing different ages and stages of life. Findings suggest that definitions of IPV were not culturally specific. Rather, the Tamil women defined IPV broadly and recognized different forms of coercive control. However, psychologically abusive behaviors were identified that held particular meanings for this community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article expands on an emerging mixed-method approach for validating culturally-specific constructs (see Hitchcock et al., 2005). Previous work established an approach for dealing with cultural impacts when assessing psychological constructs and the current article extends these efforts into studying stress reactions among adolescents in Sri Lanka. Ethnographic data collection and analysis techniques were used to construct scenarios that are stressful to Sri Lankan youth, along with survey items that assess their related coping mechanisms. The data were factor analysed, results were triangulated with qualitative findings, and reliability estimates of resulting scales were obtained. This in turn generated a pilot assessment approach that can be used to measure stress and coping reactions in a distinct culture. Use of the procedures described here could be replicated to generate culturally-specific instruments in international contexts, or when working with ethnic minorities within a given nation. This should in turn generate information needed to develop culturally relevant intervention work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the international travel patterns of Sri Lankan residents in Australia. Use of input-output technique to asses the economic impact of their return to Sri Lanka; Importance of ethnic connection for destinations; Behavior of ethnically motivated travellers.