SLIIT International Conference on Advancements in Science and Humanities [SICASH]
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SLIIT International Conference on Advancements in Science and Humanities is organized by the Faculty of Humanities and Sciences of the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), the annual research multi-conference of the faculty.
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Publication Open Access Exploring the Determinants of Medical Insurance Expenses: A Quantile Regression Approach(Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2025-10-10) Rathnayake, K; Somasiri, D; Abeygunawardana, T; Nugegoda, K; Fernando, N; Guruge, M. L.; Peiris, T. S. G.Healthcare insurance costs are influenced by a combination of biological and socioeconomic factors. This study investigates how age, body mass index (BMI), gender, and discount eligibility affect medical insurance expenses in the United States, using data from 1,338 individuals. Due to the right-skewed distribution of expenses, quantile regression was applied at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles, providing insights across low-, medium-, and high-cost groups. Results show that age and BMI consistently increase insurance expenses, with stronger effects among high-cost patients. Genderdifferences also emerged, with females incurring higher costs than males at certain expenditure levels. Discount eligibility significantly reduced expenses across all quantiles. In contrast, the number of children was not a significant predictor and was excluded from the final model. Compared to ordinary least squares regression, quantile regression provided a more accurate assessment of cost determinants in skewed data. These findings highlight the importance of adopting advanced modeling approachesin insurance pricing and suggest that targeted policies addressing individuals having high BMI and equitable discount programs could improve healthcare affordability and risk management.Publication Open Access Prevalence and Predictors of Body Mass Index-Based Nutritional Status in Early Pregnancy: A Community-Based Study(School of Nursing, Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, SLIIT, 2025-10-10) De Silva,D.K.M.; Herath,H.M.C.M.Nutritional status in early pregnancy plays a critical role in maternal and foetal health outcomes. The maternal suboptimal nutritional status caused gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders, intrauterine growth restriction, and preterm birth. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess the prevalence and predictors of BMI-based nutritional status in first-trimester pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in the Colombo district, Sri Lanka. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 380 firsttrimester pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in four purposively selected Medical Officer of Health (MOH) areas in Colombo District. Participants were selected through simple random sampling. Data collection involved a validated, interviewer-administered questionnaire. Nutritional status was categorized using international BMI cutoffs. The data were analysed descriptively for frequencies, percentages, mean, and standard deviations. Fisher’s Exact Test identified associations, and significant variables (p<0.05) were further analysed using multinomial logistic regression to identify independent predictors. The mean BMI was 25.79 ± 4.57 kg/m². A substantial proportion of participants were overweight (31.3%) or obese (22.4%), while 42.9% had a normal BMI and 3.4% were underweight. Significant predictors of nutritional status included residential areas (B=0.85, OR=0.42), parity (B=-0.81, OR=0.44), planned pregnancy (B=-3.37, OR=0.034), nutritional guidance (B=-1.22, OR=0.29), and dietary diversity (B=-0.1.91, OR=0.14). Overweight and obesity were prevalent among first-trimester pregnant women in the selected study setting. Improving the existing antenatal health interventions focusing on dietary diversity,pregnancy planning, and nutritional counselling is essential to improve maternal nutrition in early pregnancy.