m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog

[m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog]

Final word....

Tasks and survival tips......

First of all, I must say that finding an internship related to nutrition in Sri Lanka through internet was not so easy.... it would be a bit easier if you come up with your own project. That is something I would keep in my mind if I am to do another internship in Sri Lanka. There are a lot to do.....

Also, if you don’t have any contacts it is extremely difficult but not impossible. It takes a lot of time to get a response, so better apply well in advance... also keep more options in hand...

I recommend that, you better discuss with your host supervisor for alternative plans for different tasks (Plan B, Plan C, etc..) when you are preparing your learning objectives and signing the contract.... it makes things easier....

It is wonderful that you get exposed to many new things.. different food items... different cooking methods... etc.. Even I am from the same country, I found that the cooking methods are very diverse. So you should get every single detail when collecting data related to food items.

Thank you all.....

I am happy to be challenged rather than bored when it comes to exploring my capacity and self development.

I am thankful for all GNH teachers, my internship host and all of you who followed my posts....

Looking forward to my next internship....  

[m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog]

Time is up....

Sadly, my internship has come to an end....

Since my last blog, there were not so many tasks but entering data to SPSS software with necessary coding for categorical data and then analyzing data using descriptive statistics, frequencies, chi-square test and regression.

I was invited by my host supervisor to do a presentation at the nutrition seminar room. 

Every Wednesday they have presentations on various topics related to nutrition. So I made a power point presentation about my internship and my GNH experiences. 

The lecturers were interested to know more about my reflections and asked questions. I took this opportunity to emphasis on dietary risks and reflect upon my observations. I am glad that I could bring to their attention about the dietary risks which is the number one risk factor for DALYs in Sri Lanka.

Recalling what I learnt from my internship.....

I was able to accomplish most of my learning objectives and strategies but sadly not all...

Nutrition related research studies done in Sri Lanka

I was able to briefly look into the research studies done by Wayamba University. They are more related to clinical nutrition and not much related to public health nutrition.

I had plenty of time to observe the work done so far in the research study I was contributing to. A research study concerning sports personals in Sri Lanka is a new topic for them and there are no previous studies done on this topic.

I was able to recognize some common dietary habits among the subjects which can be generalized to the whole population. Therefore, I was able to suggest interventions/policies to address these issues during my presentation.

How to plan work as per the given period and practice to be flexible and adaptable to changes

Even though I tried to plan work and make schedules, it was hard to accomplish goals in a timely manner because I was an outsider and I had limited authority to do so, which I find quite natural.

I mastered being flexible during this internship and I had to be adaptable and organize myself accordingly. Since the data collection had to be postponed several times, I had to start organizing the existing data and try my best to make use of the time.

Communicate and navigate in another sub-cultural setting

These sub-cultures I had to navigate include university culture and the sports personals. Since I am an outsider to the institute, I had to communicate and navigate in a different way than the other students of the university. I had to communicate with the administration including my host supervisor, non-academic staff, and senior students. This is a quite new experience for me. Some are very helpful and some are not. Also, the competitive culture I was exposed to, is quite difficult to reach if they weren’t introduced through their own coach. But, once they are exposed to the questionnaires, they are interested to know how their nutritional status and whether we will be providing recommendations for nutritious food they are supposed to consume.

Experience in data collection 

I was able to get experience in data collection through questionnaires and taking anthropometric measurements as I expected. I learned a lot how interviewer-administered questionnaires could result in bias in collected data, depending on the skills and competencies of the interviewers. It is very important to train them well when you are doing a data collection.

Data analysis and data interpretation

I was able to get myself familiarized with analytical software such as “Foodbase 2000″ and SPSS.

Sadly, I didn’t have enough time to learn so much about data interpretation during my internship. But I will look into the research report once it is done to have a better understanding.

Almost everything during my internship surprised me... Most surprising thing is that I have gained a lot of knowledge and skills through GNH without my knowledge.... especially to see the bigger picture.... how nutrition is closely related directly and indirectly to the core problems linked to socio-economic status... and being able to see it in different aspects..... 

I didn’t know that I can address any group of people and explain every single detail in a professional manner. It is like being on a top of a mountain where you can see how everything works down in the valley and you see from the top how everything is related, which others who are down there can’t see.

I was very excited to get my hands on experience in order to observe and learn how GNH theory can be put into practice in any context. 

When it comes to assessing dietary intake based on 24hr. recall, every single detail on how a particular food has been prepared, should be obtained in order to get a fair analysis. Cooking methods, as well as food items in Sri Lanka, is very diverse. For example, there are more than 20 types of rice commonly used in Sri Lanka. Therefore,  the collected data should be very specific in order to get an accurate analysis. On the other hand, the data base found in the software was not enough to get an accurate analysis.

I knew from the very beginning that I don’t belong anywhere else but in this study program because it is all I wanted to do in my life.... “finding a way to make this world a better place for everyone....” Finally, I am following my dream........

[m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog]

I've enjoyed all your illustrative and interesting Photos and writing. As a final one, could you reflect on what learning goals, you've reached and with examples. Do not list them, but do it more reflective e.g. with some themes/titles or just in the text. Also something about what surprised you/what didn't you expect to learn/experience. What's different from theory (GNH, e.g. 24 hr. recall) to practice in Sri Lanka. See U at the internship confence, which I look forward to! :-)

Thank you for the guidance and comments

[m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog]

Eighth week - second blog

I would like to share what I just experienced…

I tasted this “ALIEN” fruit this week…. I have never seen this fruit in my entire life…. It is called “Buul apple” meaning “furry” apple because of its skin. But not sure of the name either….  It has a velvet-like skin to the touch. It tastes so good. it has a mixture of tastes… tastes a little bit like “Anoda” and a little bit like “Durian”.

It grows on large trees like this…

[m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog]

Eighth week

Eighth week was quite intense.... It was all about numbers and formulas....

I was working with foodbase 2000 software, analyzing the nutritional intake of the subjects using 24hr. recall data. Apart from that all the other data we collected had to be entered in an excel sheet. 

Time is flying while I am flooded with data... though it is good to be challenged instead of bored....

I had to stay in a nearby hotel to save time because I was spending more than 4 hrs.in a day to travel.... 

Solving practical matters and cross checking the answers in the questionnaires taught me a whole lot that I will keep in my mind and apply someday when I do my own researches... 

I am ready for the final step.... “ANALYZING”

[m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog]

Seventh week - second blog

When I was waiting outside the laboratory for the lab technician to come, I could see some nice planting beds where they have planted vegetables.

What is most attractive in this vegetable garden is that they have used only natural materials and not a single artificial material which will have subsequent environmental damage.

Outer shell of the coconut is used for covering the edge of the beds. It helps not only to stop soil erosion on rainy season but also it holds moisture as a sponge and help to keep the soil well hydrated for a longer period in dry season.

They have a live fence made with branches of a tree which grows and provide nitrogen rich leaves that can be used to make organic manure. The cross bars and top and bottom railers were made with bamboo. 

Dried leaves of coconuts are used cover the plants at their tender stage to give shade until the roots are well developed

It was interesting to see a branched papaya tree. It is not so common to see because usually papaya trees have only a single stem.

[m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog]

Seventh week

Last week has been very busy and tired. I found my legs swollen due to traveling long distances continuously. 

Therefore, I had to rest during the weekend… but I couldn’t help myself from wanting to go out…. enjoyed visiting a park…

https://www.dreambroker.com/channel/nx90hjak/zzq4ksat

Seventh week has been very eventful….Finally, it was time for data collection after a long waiting…A team of 14 persons joined me and the nutritionist of the institute of sports medicine, for data collection at the NCC grounds, Colombo.

Swimmers are the targeted subjects for this final data collection of the project. We couldn’t find all the facilities needed because there were some renovations going on in the premises and we had to use the building which is still under construction. Not enough chairs or tables… but we managed….

First of all written consent was obtained…

We collected data by taking anthropometric measurements such as weight, height, skinfold thickness (Bicep and Triceps), waist circumference, hip circumference. Also, we took urine samples to check hydration status. 

This is how we did it….

Allocating a reference number and providing a bottle for urine samples…

measuring weight….

measuring height…

Measuring waist and hip circumference…

taking skin fold measurements….

Interviewer guided questionnaires included; general questionnaire about personal information, 24hr. recall dietary assessment, general questionnaire on hydration status, 24hr. recall fluid intake, fluid frequency questionnaire, physical activity questionnaire, questionnaire on knowledge-attitude-and practices.

https://www.dreambroker.com/channel/nx90hjak/4fwdxxoz

Finally, it was all done….and ready to leave….

Next couple of days were all about analyzing. I was asked by my host supervisor to start by analyzing urine samples. So here I was at the laboratory… 

I checked urine colour by comparing to a standard colour chart.

In order to check the specific gravity I used refractometer to get the brix measurements.

This is how refractometer has to be used….

I was introduced to a demonstrator called “Chathurika” to get familiar with the dietary assessment software called “Foodbase2000″ and started feeding data to analyze the energy intake.

Heading home for the weekend after a tiresome but interesting week…. The bus went flying but got a chance to capture some lovely scenaries….

[m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog]

Sixth week

It’s a long week.... I was extracting data from the questionnaires and was cross-checking different data sheets to solve the disputes of the reference numbers used. It took a lot of time and energy.

Since I had to spend long days in the university, I bought lunch from the university canteen. The quality of the food there, was poor in terms of nutrition. There were not so many options either.

Portion sizes of staples (rice) is quite big. People in Sri Lanka were used to have bigger starchy portions because they were physically active with the agricultural work as I mentioned in my previous blog post. These work include working in paddy fields, building lakes, etc. I will talk about this more in the coming weeks....

Also they were used to walk long distances to reach public transport. Therefore, some people consider having a private vehicle as a need more than a luxury despite of the environmental cost. This also leads to a sedentary lifestyle. 

Wish there were less rice and more vegetables.

Since they provide meals for a price affordable for students, the quality and taste doesn’t meet the expectations. A lot to be improved in all aspects... especially food and nutrition policies to meet the nutritional requirement, preferences and promote a healthy diet..... also structural differences concerning food safety and space for sociological and psychological improvements related to diet and well-being.....

I prefer sitting outside and have lunch.....I do enjoy spending sometime under the shade of the trees after having lunch.....

 I could see some lovers sitting under the shade.....In Sri Lanka, university life is the time that youngsters get a chance to enjoy the freedom to love..... 

weekend is here..... see you soon......

[m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog]

Dear Lakshmi, thank you for all you new blog entries. I am happy to see that the internet is working again. Your blogs are really interesting and visual to read. I really enjoy both the pictures and the text. I also think that issues related to culture around physical activity were interesting to read about and how it is very different from what you/we are used to. These cultural dimensions are really interesting. More of that and maybe also about the university you work at/culture there.

It's nice to know that you are interested in what I have to share... more to come and will share more about the university life and culture as well.❤

[m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog]

Fifth week

Started the “Real” stuff.....

Once again I was at the resource center at Wayamba university during the fifth week.

I had to start working with the existing data because data collection had to be postponed. First of all I have to make one Excell sheet with all the available data. Still working on it... it is a huge task...

I have to sort everything out and find and enter all data separately under each and every person... Since these data have been analysed by 4 different persons, there are some disputes about the reference numbers they used. I have to make a fresh sheet clearly showing all relevant information. 

This stage is a bit messy, boring and annoying at times, until I start analyzing the data....

[m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog]

Fourth week

Finally, I was able to meet the collaborative contributors of Sports Medicine Unit in Colombo. Met Ms. Subani, the nutritionist at the Sports medicine unit who has been coordinating to recruit subjects for the research study.

Got an insight of how they have been recruiting subjects to this research study and how they managed to get in touch with 80 athletes so far. She was explaining how limited time they had to spend with the athletes to complete the questionnaires and collect all data. She contacted coaches by telephone calls first and then through the coaches, they reached the targeted subjects. Ethical considerations had to be taken into account when reaching the subjects.

After making numerous telephone calls, we managed to arrange a meeting in the same week with about 15 athletes at one place to recruit for the rest of the study.

 She showed me around and there are separate rooms for each unit which provide different facilities within the premises.

There is also a playground within the institute.

After deciding a date for data collection I left but again, she called me the following day to inform me that the date has to be postponed if the university was unable to provide a team to collect data in one day itself. Therefore, the date for data collection had to be postponed.

[m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog]

Third week

Third week was all about waiting and working on my own. Apart from reviewing and revising, learning to be flexible is the most important thing I learnt during the third week. Yet there are some interesting things to share. 

Met Ida and Nora in Colombo (Colombo is the capital city of Sri Lanka) during their trip to renew visas. They are here in Sri Lanka for their internships as well. It was nice meeting them for a lunch out.

Also, I was going out for a walk to get some fresh air and have a break from continuous staring at my laptop screen. I was longing for these relaxing evening walks in the green...far away in a village... far from home... I am always fascinated by the beauty and serenity of the environment....

These are the places where cobras live....

I could see some nice paddy fields near wetland.... this is where rice is grown...

I could also see vegetables planted near the paddy fields....

Okra/ Ladies fingers

Sweet potatoes

But sadly, the climate change has caused serious consequences.... some of the paddy fields were affected by the drought and were dying...

Also, I must say that evening walks were not so common in these village areas. Since people in Sri Lanka used to be engaged in a lot of physical activities in the agricultural setting in the past, still modern sedentary lifestyles of the villagers are not transformed with inclusion of adequate exercises such as evening walks etc. Introducing such activities could have benefit both physical and mental health of the population. 

I personally experienced that children of my friend loved to go out for a walk around the village and there is a considerable opportunity to increase physical activities in an appealing way.

[m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog]

Hi Lakshmi, How is everything going? I see you have not been blogging for a few weeks. Hope every thing is going well and to read an update from you soon about your internship and progress. Remember blogging is a key requirement for the passing the module. I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, Pernille

Hi, I have been experiencing some internet problems. Even yesterday I tried till 1.00 am. Signal strength is too weak in all of the places I spent the night. I will do tomorrow for sure. And thanks for checking up with me.

[m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog]

Andrea, this is interesting..... thank you for sharing.....

Getting started, observational week

It has come to an end the first week of my internship and I would like to share with you my experience so far from lovely little Barbados.

On the last post I shared with you my expected learning objectives I aim to reach during this internship, and I stated that they would greatly depend on a meeting held this week. Maria and I had such meeting first thing Monday morning, together with HCC and Dance4Life, organizations that have been facilitating our research project here as I mentioned in my last post. I am happy to say that everything will go as planned, we will be able to conduct our research with all 3 different means; survey, workshops and focus group interviews, and we will also assist on different projects for HCC. At the meeting was decided the magnitud of our research project, which will consist of approx. 420 participants and  a schedule that can work for all 4 schools for the next month was created. As well, to ensure we will approach  adolescents in the right way with a full understanding of how they interact within their culture and environment, we were set to visit schools with Dance4Life for 2 days. These observational days - Tuesday and Thursday - have definitely gave me a better insight of how teenagers interact in Barbados, and let me tell you how much differs from school to school.

The first school we visited was St. Michael School, which holds the 3rd place of best schools in Barbados and will be one of the participating schools for our project. We had a great time observing Dance4Life’ lessons which consists mainly on HIV, STIs and Substances and Substitutes - and loved to see how kids interact and participate in these subjects. It was in fact impressive to see how much they knew about cells, the diseases, natural sciences and all the knowledge behind it. From the picture bellow, you can see how these kids were participative and eager to give their opinion. I believe that from the picture you can deduct as well the type of discipline they have and the type of school St. Michael is. 

The second school we visited was very different from the first one and will not participate in our project. However, is was very enriching to visit this school since it gave us an idea of the socioeconomic gap between regions and schools in Barbados. We were told by locals that it is common in Barbados for many students to leave the country in order to have a good education, so many go to different universities mainly in Canada or the UK.  We were also told that most or all of these students will not leave the country nor even the area where they live, and many of them will not go to University. The point I want to arrive with this is that there is a huge difference between the first and second school not only by the area of where they are located, but by the type of class and students as well. The following picture is from the class we attended at that school, and one can notice that the teacher is using a microphone to speak due to the noise in the class, yet this didn’t help her much. 

Moving to the last school we went, St. Leonard’s Boys, it is a school that only enrolls males, fact you can deduct from the school name. Amazingly this school surprised me the most, not because is a one sex school or because of their impressive nice physical education class where students were jumping long distances on “distance jump” (picture bellow) - but because of the type of discipline they have there.

It seemed to be a nice day and a lovely class (it was the second class we had at this school) but an incidence occurred. While students got into the classroom, two boys got into a fight unfortunately, and God I was scared that they were going to hurt themselves bad. The principal got into the classroom to stop the fight and took these students with him. Later on, they came back to apologize to the teachers and the class but that was not all..

When we got to this school I found a stick on a table as you can see in the picture bellow. This stick is used as a punishment tool for those students that misbehave, but I couldn’t believe it. Back to the story of these two boys, after apologizing to everybody they went out of the classroom again and I couldn’t believe my ears. They were being punished with the stick and one could hear how they were being whipped. I just had a huge intercultural experience, I just couldn’t believe that these methods were still allowed and used! Maybe I’m using a lot of sentiments here but was shocking. 

In the final picture bellow, you can see how the kids from this school are in their classes. They did participate but not as St. Michaels School, just different and in their unique way. I believe that this was exactly the point of the observational week at schools, to see how much differs from one to another. 

These observations allowed us to start to modify our survey and workshops, so that the research project is suitable for the participants. 

On a side of going to schools, we helped with small tasks at HCC since they are holding a big meeting in Antigua and Barbuda this weekend. This meeting is aimed for NCD Advocacy, Accountability and Conflict of Interest and will have as participants different ministries from the Caribbean as well different stakeholders from different areas. It was so interesting to observe how such meeting was organized and the different things they had to go over as organizers. We were also offered to read, edit and comment on a policy brief draft “NCD and the Ministry of Agriculture”. Without hesitating we accepted such task and will review next week.

I hope I can bring on my next post more information regarding NCD and agriculture, trade and all the different factors that play a role in the health system of Barbados. At least I hope to get into it and shared it with you through research and experiences.

I am off for today since I got to go and celebrate my birthday :) 

Thanks for reading!

[m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog]

Second week - third blog - my reflections

I had to deal with issues with regard to the internet connection. Blogging for the second week is delayed a little bit due to this..

I observed the work done so far on the project of interest during the 2nd week. Also, I learned and understood the purpose of the study and methods used in the previous week. This helped me to understand the work to be completed in the coming weeks. Therefore, I estimated the time frame for each task by discussing with my internship host supervisor. It was part of the planning I assisted. 

I had to deal with the busy schedule of others and postponing dates. The challenge I faced so far is to make a schedule that suits the busy schedule of others. Since I am an outsider to the institute, getting an appointment for a meeting takes a lot of patience and waiting. My practice will be to be flexible towards the administration. Since this is a university, they expect more independent work especially from an outsider like me.

The options for changes is quite limited with regard to the time schedules. But I learned that I need to express more precisely and come up with suggestions every time because people tend to assume things more, rather than speaking through. Hope to apply this in the coming weeks. ��G

[m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog]

Second week - second blog - my tasks

I read the research project reports and observed the work done so far in the project.

I made my-self familiar with the questionnaires and SPSS software. Sitting area in the out-side of the resource center is my favourite place for this kind of things. I love the calm and relaxing atmosphere there.

Planned my activities and make a schedule by discussing with the host supervisor. I will be collecting data during the 1st week of March. Data analysis will be done during the 2nd and 3rd week of March. Finally, writing the report will be done during the 3rd week of March and 1st week of April

I evaluated my learning objectives and key strategies. This helped me to see the progress and where I am in my learning objectives.

[m7-lakshmipradeepajayawarde-blog]

Second week - first blog

I made my third visit to the internship place this week, met my host supervisor and discussed how the work will be done. I was given the Research project reports of the work done so far in the project. They have divided the study area of the project into 4 categories.

1. Nutrient intake through diet and dietary supplement by Sri Lankan athletes.

2. Determination of energy balance and assessing the nutritional status among national level athletes in Sri Lanka.

3. Hydration status and fluid intake pattern of national level athletes in Sri Lanka

4.Nutrition knowledge, attitudes and practices on food habits of national level athletes in Sri Lanka.

 These reports have been done based on the data they have already collected. I have to complete the task by collecting data from 20 more athletes before start analyzing.

I was also introduced to a trainee lecturer called “Apeksha”. We spent some time in the resource center. 

She introduced me to the SPSS software which I will be using to analyse data. She explained to me how they collected data and how they did 24 hr recall dietary assessment.

I got an insight of how it will be to communicate and navigate within this competitive cultural setting. According to her, the athletes they worked with so far don’t prefer to spend much time on this kind of things and also they do have a busy schedule. Looking forward to this real life experience.