Perceived Stigma as a Risk Factor for Delay in Seeking Treatment of Leprosy Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study in Tuban Regency

Zulfah Fitria Fajriahadun Ni’Mah,Nissa Kusariana,Praba Ginandjar,B Warsito,Sudarno Sudarno,T Triadi Putranto

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/202020212011

Zulfah Fitria Fajriahadun Ni’Mah, Nissa Kusariana + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202020212011

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Abstract

Tuban Regency is a leprosy endemic area. Leprosy prevalence in 2018 was 1.5 per 10,000 population with 177 new cases, about 87% of new leprosy cases are MB type and 11% have grade II disability. The high number of MB type and grade II disability leads to the low awareness of treatment-seeking behavior, as early as immediately after symptoms appear. This study aimed to prove that perceived stigma is a risk factor for delay in seeking treatment for leprosy patients. Cross-sectional study design was used in this study and the subject consisted of 112 leprosy patients, selected by proportional random sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. This study showed most of the subjects ranged from 15-60 years, more than half were male, most had low levels of education with low income. Most subjects suffered from the MB type of leprosy. More than half experienced delays in seeking treatment and did not experience disabilities. The variables such as knowledge, attitude, perceived susceptibility and severity of leprosy, and perceived stigma associated with the delay in seeking treatment, and only perceived stigma was proven as a risk factor for delay in seeking treatment of leprosy patients (p = 0.002; OR 4.458 (95% CI; 1,700-11,690)

Highlights

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease that attacks the peripheral nerves, caused by the rodshaped bacteria Mycobacterium leprae [1, 2]
The indicator of leprosy control in Indonesia is the proportion of grade II disability not more than 5%
The results of this study indicate that the majority of respondents who experienced a delay in seeking treatment occurred in respondents with a non-productive age group (87.5%) compared to the productive age group (59.4%), in addition to the proportion of respondents who experienced a delay in seeking treatment a lot occurred in female (69.4%) compared to male (58.7%). delay in seeking leprosy treatment are more experienced by respondents who have low education (63.9%) compared to respondents with higher education (50%), and most respondents who experience delays in seeking treatment are experienced by respondents with low incomes (66.7%) compared respondents with high income (50.0%)

Summary

Introduction

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease that attacks the peripheral nerves, caused by the rodshaped bacteria Mycobacterium leprae [1, 2]. The prevalence of leprosy in Indonesia was 0.70 cases per 10,000 population in 2017, and East Java became the region with the highest number of new leprosy cases, recorded 3,373 cases, and had a prevalence rate of 0.93 per 10,000 population [3, 4]. Tuban Regency is one of the leprosy endemic areas in East Java Province, as many as 175 leprosy patients registered and still undergoing treatment until 2018. The high proportion of MB type of leprosy and the presence of disability leads to low awareness of patients in seeking early treatment

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