Melissa Pearson

Biographic Data

ID6333617
NAMEMelissa Pearson
GIVEN NAMESMelissa
FAMILY NAMEPearson
SIGNATUREPEARSON M
AFFILIATIONSUniversity of Peradeniya
ORCID0000-0001-6683-3628
VERIFIEDYes
TOTAL WORKS10
TOTAL CITATIONS1
AUTHOR COUNT10
EDITOR COUNT0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR2011
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2023
H-INDEX1

  • Evaluating the programme and behavior change theories of a community alcohol education intervention in rural Sri Lanka

    Open AccessJane Brandt Sørensen, Kelly Kiyeon Lee et al.ARTICLEGlobal Health Action2023

    Risky alcohol use is a major public health problem globally and in Sri Lanka. While a reduction in alcohol consumption can result in physical, mental, and social benefits, behaviour change is difficult to achieve. Effective, context-adapted interventions are required to minimise alcohol-related harm at a community level. THEATRE is a complex, community-based intervention evaluating whether a promising Sri Lankan pilot study that utilised arts-bas…

  • Involvement of alcohol in injury cases in rural Sri Lanka

    Open AccessLisa Schölin, Manjula Weerasinghe et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2022

    One in three injuries among people who drank alcohol in this sample were alcohol-related. In addition, problematic alcohol use was higher among those with alcohol-related injury. Further work is needed to explore whether this prevalence of alcohol-related injury is reflected in other rural settings in Sri Lanka

  • Suicide trends in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic

    Open AccessJane Pirkis, Ann John et al.ARTICLEThe Lancet Psychiatry2021

  • Emerging pesticides responsible for suicide in rural Sri Lanka following the 2008–2014 pesticide bans

    Open AccessManjula Weerasinghe, Melissa Pearson et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2020

    Ingestion of pesticides remains the most important means of suicides in rural Sri Lanka. The pesticides that were once responsible for most pesticide suicides have now been replaced by carbosulfan and profenofos. Their regulation and replacement in agriculture with less hazardous pesticides will further reduce the incidence of both pesticide and overall suicides in rural Sri Lanka

  • Estimating the government health-care costs of treating pesticide poisoned and pesticide self-poisoned patients in Sri Lanka

    Open AccessHannah Ahrensberg, Lizell B Madsen et al.ARTICLEGlobal Health Action2019

    Background: Pesticide self-poisoning as a method of suicide is a major global health problem.Objectives: To estimate the cost and per patient cost of treating pesticide self-poisoning at different hospital levels in a Sri Lankan district, and to examine the distribution of cost components. Another objective was to investigate changes in total cost of treatment of pesticide poisoning for all causes at different administrative levels in Sri Lanka i…

  • A qualitative exploration of rural and semi-urban Sri Lankan men’s alcohol consumption

    Open AccessJane Brandt Sørensen, Flemming Konradsen et al.ARTICLEGlobal Public Health2019

    Harmful alcohol drinking can have health and socio-economic consequences. However, consumption is also associated with pleasure and symbolic meanings. Alcohol intake is increasing in Sri Lanka. In-depth explorations of alcohol patterns are needed to inform interventions and policies. Qualitative data were collected over 11 months in 2014 and 2015 in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka. Ten focus group discussions were conducted in gender, age…

  • Vendor-based restrictions on pesticide sales to prevent pesticide self-poisoning - a pilot study

    Open AccessManjula Weerasinghe, Flemming Konradsen et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2018

    Our study suggests that vendor-based sales restriction in regions with high rates of self-poisoning has the potential to reduce access to pesticides for self-poisoning. A large-scale study of the effectiveness and sustainability of this approach is needed

  • Policymaking ‘under the radar’

    Open AccessMelissa Pearson, Anthony B Zwi et al.ARTICLEHealth Policy and Planning2015Cited by: 1References: 35

    BACKGROUND: Suicide in Sri Lanka is a major public health problem and in 1995 the country had one of the highest rates of suicide worldwide. Since then reductions in overall suicide rates have been largely attributed to efforts to regulate a range of pesticides. The evolution, context, events and implementation of the key policy decisions around regulation are examined. METHODS: This study was undertaken as part of a broader analysis of policy in…

  • Suicide in Sri Lanka 1975–2012

    Open AccessDuleeka Knipe, Duleeka W Knipe et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2014

    The epidemiology of suicide in Sri Lanka has changed noticeably in the last 30 years. The introduction of pesticide regulations in Sri Lanka coincides with a reduction in suicide rates, with evidence of limited method substitution

  • A community-based cluster randomised trial of safe storage to reduce pesticide self-poisoning in rural Sri Lanka

    Open AccessMelissa Pearson, Flemming Konradsen et al.ARTICLEBMC Public Health2011

    This paper describes a large effectiveness study of a community intervention to reduce the burden of intentional poisoning in rural Sri Lanka. The study builds on a strong partnership between provincial health services, local and international researchers, and local communities. We discuss issues in relation to randomisation and contamination, engaging control villages, the intervention, and strategies to improve adherence