RESUMO
Stigma-associated psychosocial problems are common in leprosy. Hence, this study aimed to measure the attitudes of people affected by leprosy towards fellow people affected by leprosy in an endemic district in West Bengal, India. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 358 people affected by leprosy above 18 years and married who reported at a tertiary referral hospital in Purulia, West Bengal. A structured questionnaire was prepared to collect the demographic profile, disease profile and attitudes towards the disease. The results revealed that 132 (37%) of the respondents allowed their children to play with a child affected by leprosy, and 279 (79%) of them would not allow their son/daughter to marry a bride/groom with leprosy. Two hundred and thirty-nine (67%) recorded that people affected by leprosy should not have a child, and 203 (57%) were unwilling to work with someone concerned with leprosy. Two hundred and five (57%) said they would not employ someone with leprosy. Further, the female respondents had adopted a more positive attitude towards having a child of their own by people affected with leprosy, willing to work with them and employ them. While gender, age and duration of disease had relationship with attitude, no such association was observed with disabilities. This study indicates the potential usefulness of improving the knowledge about disease through proper education and awareness and develop positive attitudes towards affected people.
RESUMO
The consequences of leprosy are often disability and impairments. The physical health ramifications that are evident in the studies, as well as the stigma attached to the disease have implications for a person’s mental health. Depression, among other mental health issues, are frequent among persons with leprosy. This study aims to assess the burden of depression among patients suffering from the consequences of Leprosy (Disability) and its association with demographic and clinical factors. The study was conducted in the Premananda Memorial Leprosy Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal. During the period of study, 99 consecutive patients aged 18 years and above attending the outpatient clinic were assessed for depression using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The questionnaires were administered in the patient’s language, either in Bengali or Hindi.PHQ-9 is a validated tool to screen for depression that carries nine questions, each with a score of 3. The clinician had administered the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to report the findings, and multivariate linear regression was applied to study the association between depression and other factors. The burden of depression among these 99 leprosy patients attending Tertiary Care Hospital as screened with the PHQ9 was about 53.5%. People with grade 1 and grade 2 disabilities had 2.6% and 5.6% more chances of developing signs of mental ill-health than those without any disability.The duration of disease and levels of disability wereobserved tohave a strong positive relation with depression among persons with leprosy. There is a need for effective counselling services at Tertiary care centres for reducing the psychosocial consequences.
RESUMO
Stigma-associated psychosocial problems are common in leprosy. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing the disease disruption among people affected by leprosy (PAL). A cross-sectional study was conducted among 358 people affected by leprosy above the age of 18, married and who were reporting at the tertiary leprosy referral hospital, Purulia, West Bengal. A semi-structured questionnaire was prepared and validated to collect the demographic and disease profile. The 11 points numerical rating scale was used to measure the disease disruption in family, social and work life. The results showed that 42%, 57% and 82% of the respondents felt that their disease conditions did not disrupt their work life, social life, and family life respectively. Association test showed that the male respondents experienced more disruption in their social life whereas female respondents experienced more in their family life. People with disability due to leprosy disease and disease duration above three years experienced more disruption in their work, social and family life due to disease than the people without disability and disease duration less than three years. The study emphasizes that awareness about leprosy should be improved among the family and community to enhance positive attitudes towards the disease