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Article History

Received: 28 February 2025

Accepted: 12 December 2025

First Online: 8 January 2026

<!--Emphasis Type='Bold' removed-->Declarations

:

: The requirement for ethical approval for this descriptive and re-analysis study was waived by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Institute of Indigenous Medicine, University of Colombo. This decision was consistent with the institutional guidelines applicable during the original data collection period (2013/2014) for postgraduate diploma research. The research was carried out following the guidelines of the ethics committee listed in this ethics statement.

: Informed consent was obtained from all 17 key informants (elderly residents and traditional physicians) prior to participation. By stating that informed consent was obtained, the authors attest that the participants were aware of the study purpose, risks, and benefits.

: Not applicable. No identifiable images/data of the participants are provided in the manuscript.

: The authors declare no competing interests.