Abstract
Non-compliance among leprosy patients has always been a problem in Nepal. Many researches on drug compliance has indicated that if a patient understands well about his /her disease and its treatment, he /she is more likely to be motivated to take the whole prescribed course of treatment properly. It is widely believed that the understanding and behavior of patients in relation to drug compliance are largely influenced by their socio-economic condition and level of knowledge. In order to determine the socio-economic characteristics of non-compliant leprosy patients and their level of knowledge of leprosy disease and treatment, a non-intervention study was carried-out in Dhanusha - a high prevalent district in Nepal bordering India. A total of 57 non-compliant leprosy cases were selected using systematic sampling method on the basis of available clinical records and an interview-schedule was used for data collection. The result shows that the majority of non-compliant cases were illiterate, laborers by occupation and from poor economic class family background (73.7%). Data revealed that majority did not understand the cause of the disease and were not aware of the duration of treatment. It was interesting to note that an overwhelming majority (94.7%) were having strong belief that the disappearance of sign/symptoms was the only meaning of the "cure of leprosy disease". In view of this, it is strongly recommended that the patient education and counseling, public/community awareness program should be improved and further strengthened. A socio-economic rehabilitation program with vocational/trade training to leprosy patients or their family members should be arranged to up-lift their socio-economic status.
Highlights
IntroductionNepal is moving ahead towards the attainment of national target of “leprosy elimination” as a public health problem (to attain a level of prevalence below one leprosy case per 10,000 population) and His Majesty’s Government has taken it as a priority program and concentrating all its efforts on the formulation and implementation of an effective and qualitative leprosy control services throughout the country.Received Date : 22nd August, 2003 Accepted Date : 23rd April, 2005JNMA, Apr - Jun, 2005, 44Chalise
At present, Nepal is moving ahead towards the attainment of national target of “leprosy elimination” as a public health problem and His Majesty’s Government has taken it as a priority program and concentrating all its efforts on the formulation and implementation of an effective and qualitative leprosy control services throughout the country.Received Date : 22nd August, 2003 Accepted Date : 23rd April, 2005JNMA, Apr - Jun, 2005, 44Chalise
Socio-economic characteristics Of the sample population (n=57), 58% were multibacillary leprosy cases and 42% were paucibacillary cases, which were residing in health post and PHC areas that cover the rural population of the district
Summary
Nepal is moving ahead towards the attainment of national target of “leprosy elimination” as a public health problem (to attain a level of prevalence below one leprosy case per 10,000 population) and His Majesty’s Government has taken it as a priority program and concentrating all its efforts on the formulation and implementation of an effective and qualitative leprosy control services throughout the country.Received Date : 22nd August, 2003 Accepted Date : 23rd April, 2005JNMA, Apr - Jun, 2005, 44Chalise. Nepal is moving ahead towards the attainment of national target of “leprosy elimination” as a public health problem (to attain a level of prevalence below one leprosy case per 10,000 population) and His Majesty’s Government has taken it as a priority program and concentrating all its efforts on the formulation and implementation of an effective and qualitative leprosy control services throughout the country. In implementation of effective and qualitative leprosy control program, it is necessary not to overlook the key aspect of noncompliance. Its rate is an important indicator of the performance and success of a disease control program. In such a program, if non-compliance rate is high, it indicates that the aspects of case holding and compliance with treatment are poor. It is apparent that the overall compliance among leprosy patients is far from satisfactory.[1]
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