Prolonged delays in leprosy case detection in a leprosy hot spot setting in Eastern Ethiopia.
Background Leprosy or Hansen's disease is known to cause disability and disfigurement. A delay in case detection of leprosy patients can lead to severe outcomes. In Ethiopia, the disability rates caused by leprosy among new cases are relatively high compared to other endemic countries. This sug...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:497c2e431aeb4ce7b329d7dc7a417a02 2023-05-15T15:18:16+02:00 Prolonged delays in leprosy case detection in a leprosy hot spot setting in Eastern Ethiopia. Kedir Urgesa Naomi D de Bruijne Kidist Bobosha Berhanu Seyoum Adane Mihret Biftu Geda Anne Schoenmakers Liesbeth Mieras Robin van Wijk Christa Kasang Mirgissa Kaba Abraham Aseffa 2022-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010695 https://doaj.org/article/497c2e431aeb4ce7b329d7dc7a417a02 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010695 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0010695 https://doaj.org/article/497c2e431aeb4ce7b329d7dc7a417a02 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 16, Iss 9, p e0010695 (2022) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010695 2022-12-30T21:03:58Z Background Leprosy or Hansen's disease is known to cause disability and disfigurement. A delay in case detection of leprosy patients can lead to severe outcomes. In Ethiopia, the disability rates caused by leprosy among new cases are relatively high compared to other endemic countries. This suggests the existence of hidden leprosy cases in the community and a delay in timely detection. To reduce disability rates, it is crucial to identify the factors associated with this delay. This study aimed to determine the extent of delay in case detection among leprosy cases in Eastern Ethiopia. Methods This cross-sectional explorative study was conducted in January and February 2019 among 100 leprosy patients diagnosed ≤6 months prior to inclusion. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data, including the initial onset of symptoms, and the reasons for delayed diagnosis. Descriptive statistics, including percentages and medians, were used to describe the case detection delay. Logistic regression analysis was carried out to evaluate the predictors of delay in case detection of >12 months. Findings The median age of patients was 35 years, with a range of 7 to 72 years. The majority were male (80%) and rural residents (90%). The median delay in case detection was 12 months (interquartile range 10-36 months) among the included patients. The mean delay in case detection was 22 months, with a maximum delay of 96 months. The overall prevalence of disability among the study population was 42% (12% grade I and 30% grade II). Fear of stigma (p = 0.018) and experiencing painless symptoms (p = 0.018) were highly associated with a delay in case detection of >12 months. Conclusions Being afraid of stigma and having painless symptoms, which are often misinterpreted as non-alarming at the onset of the disease, were associated with a delay in case detection. This study showed the need to increase knowledge on early symptoms of leprosy among affected communities. Furthermore, it is important to support initiatives that reduce ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 16 9 e0010695 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Kedir Urgesa Naomi D de Bruijne Kidist Bobosha Berhanu Seyoum Adane Mihret Biftu Geda Anne Schoenmakers Liesbeth Mieras Robin van Wijk Christa Kasang Mirgissa Kaba Abraham Aseffa Prolonged delays in leprosy case detection in a leprosy hot spot setting in Eastern Ethiopia. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Background Leprosy or Hansen's disease is known to cause disability and disfigurement. A delay in case detection of leprosy patients can lead to severe outcomes. In Ethiopia, the disability rates caused by leprosy among new cases are relatively high compared to other endemic countries. This suggests the existence of hidden leprosy cases in the community and a delay in timely detection. To reduce disability rates, it is crucial to identify the factors associated with this delay. This study aimed to determine the extent of delay in case detection among leprosy cases in Eastern Ethiopia. Methods This cross-sectional explorative study was conducted in January and February 2019 among 100 leprosy patients diagnosed ≤6 months prior to inclusion. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data, including the initial onset of symptoms, and the reasons for delayed diagnosis. Descriptive statistics, including percentages and medians, were used to describe the case detection delay. Logistic regression analysis was carried out to evaluate the predictors of delay in case detection of >12 months. Findings The median age of patients was 35 years, with a range of 7 to 72 years. The majority were male (80%) and rural residents (90%). The median delay in case detection was 12 months (interquartile range 10-36 months) among the included patients. The mean delay in case detection was 22 months, with a maximum delay of 96 months. The overall prevalence of disability among the study population was 42% (12% grade I and 30% grade II). Fear of stigma (p = 0.018) and experiencing painless symptoms (p = 0.018) were highly associated with a delay in case detection of >12 months. Conclusions Being afraid of stigma and having painless symptoms, which are often misinterpreted as non-alarming at the onset of the disease, were associated with a delay in case detection. This study showed the need to increase knowledge on early symptoms of leprosy among affected communities. Furthermore, it is important to support initiatives that reduce ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kedir Urgesa Naomi D de Bruijne Kidist Bobosha Berhanu Seyoum Adane Mihret Biftu Geda Anne Schoenmakers Liesbeth Mieras Robin van Wijk Christa Kasang Mirgissa Kaba Abraham Aseffa |
author_facet |
Kedir Urgesa Naomi D de Bruijne Kidist Bobosha Berhanu Seyoum Adane Mihret Biftu Geda Anne Schoenmakers Liesbeth Mieras Robin van Wijk Christa Kasang Mirgissa Kaba Abraham Aseffa |
author_sort |
Kedir Urgesa |
title |
Prolonged delays in leprosy case detection in a leprosy hot spot setting in Eastern Ethiopia. |
title_short |
Prolonged delays in leprosy case detection in a leprosy hot spot setting in Eastern Ethiopia. |
title_full |
Prolonged delays in leprosy case detection in a leprosy hot spot setting in Eastern Ethiopia. |
title_fullStr |
Prolonged delays in leprosy case detection in a leprosy hot spot setting in Eastern Ethiopia. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Prolonged delays in leprosy case detection in a leprosy hot spot setting in Eastern Ethiopia. |
title_sort |
prolonged delays in leprosy case detection in a leprosy hot spot setting in eastern ethiopia. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010695 https://doaj.org/article/497c2e431aeb4ce7b329d7dc7a417a02 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 16, Iss 9, p e0010695 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010695 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0010695 https://doaj.org/article/497c2e431aeb4ce7b329d7dc7a417a02 |
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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010695 |
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PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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