A study of low clinic attendance of leprosy patients: reasons and solutions.

In this study, the effect of health education on a sample of 325 absentee leprosy patients was assessed in a leprosy endemic area. About 46% of the absentees from the study group returned to the clinic following health education (HE). HE was more effective amongst those who defaulted in the later part of their treatment sessions. Monthly attendance rate increased from 70%-74% to 72%-91% following HE. Amongst the absentees, 58% were absent due to personal reasons and 8% due to health service related reasons. Personal reasons was the commonest cause for absenting at second pulse. At third pulse it was due to socio-economic reasons. At fourth pulse it was due to service-related reasons. At fifth pulse the commonest reason was disease-related. Health education had proved to be a definite solution to solve the absentee problem.

Data utilization and analytical skills among NLEP managers. National Leprosy Elimination Programme.

Mid-level managers of the National Leprosy Elimination Programme, India were assessed regarding their ability to turn routine data received from primary units into tools for management, analysis and decision making. Sixty-two managers (25 District leprosy officers, 37 Medical officers) were administered a questionnaire containing 20 questions on calculations of rates, ratios, proportions, percentages as well as construction and interpretation of graphs. It was found that 11% of the study subjects scored very poor, 48% scored poor, 35% scored good and only 5% of the managers scored very good. Among the district leprosy officers, 8%, 40%, 48% and 4% were rated as performing very poor, poor, good and very good, respectively. Among the medical officers, the corresponding figures were 14%, 54%, 27% and 5%.

Prospects for elimination of leprosy in India by 2000 AD.

Data regarding the trends of new-case detection rates of leprosy for India as a whole, for the State of Andhra Pradesh, and for Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh were generated and projected up to 2000 AD. The prevalence rate by 2000 AD was worked out based on these new -case detection rates. The projections show that at the current slowly declining trend of new-case detection, with 20% MB cases among the newly detected cases and the current mean duration of treatment, the elimination goal of leprosy by 2000 AD, could possibly be achieved at Srikakulam district level only, where the MDT project has been under implementation for over ten years, but not at the State or country levels. The achievement of elimination goal should be possible in other geographic units also if the duration of disease could be shortened to one month or less, for both paucibacillary and multibacillary types of leprosy.