Arambepola, Carukshi
Seneviratne, Ruwanika http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1222-5672
Wijeratne, Sumedha
Gunawardena, Nalika
Wijayamuni, Ruwan
Attygalle, Deepika
Funding for this research was provided by:
World Bank Group (LK-MoH-224251-NC-RFQ)
Article History
Received: 17 February 2024
Accepted: 12 August 2024
First Online: 20 August 2024
Declarations
:
: The study was conducted in accordance with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Review Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo (protocol number EC-20-EM18 approved on 17.12.2020). Data collection commenced from January 2021 to August 2021. Informed written consent was obtained from all participants after providing them with an information sheet in the language of their preference. The participation in the study was voluntary and the right of the participant to withdraw from the study at any time without penalty and effect on medical care or loss of benefits was informed and their rights were respected. Privacy and confidentiality were ensured. Blood collection was carried out by a trained nurse as per the World Health Organization Guidelines on best practices in phlebotomy. Those who were found to have low vitamin D levels were referred to the closest Endocrine clinic of state sector hospital and were advised on vitamin D-rich food that can be consumed and sensible sun exposure. The authors have no conflict of interest and the World Bank, which funded the study, had no role in data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
: The authors declare no competing interests.