Stigma, psychosocial and economic effects of yaws in the Philippines: an exploratory, qualitative study
Abstract Background Yaws is a chronic, non-venereal, highly contagious skin and bone infection affecting children living in impoverished, remote communities and caused by Treponema pallidum subspecie pertenue. Social stigma and economic losses due to yaws have been reported anecdotally in the Southe...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e6e4371105364928b9e8dfc3cd743bf0 2023-05-15T15:16:21+02:00 Stigma, psychosocial and economic effects of yaws in the Philippines: an exploratory, qualitative study Belen Lardizabal Dofitas Sherjan P. Kalim Camille B. Toledo Jan Hendrik Richardus 2022-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-022-00433-4 https://doaj.org/article/e6e4371105364928b9e8dfc3cd743bf0 EN eng BMC https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-022-00433-4 https://doaj.org/toc/1349-4147 doi:10.1186/s41182-022-00433-4 1349-4147 https://doaj.org/article/e6e4371105364928b9e8dfc3cd743bf0 Tropical Medicine and Health, Vol 50, Iss 1, Pp 1-17 (2022) Yaws Psychosocial Stigma Philippines Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-022-00433-4 2022-12-31T01:13:27Z Abstract Background Yaws is a chronic, non-venereal, highly contagious skin and bone infection affecting children living in impoverished, remote communities and caused by Treponema pallidum subspecie pertenue. Social stigma and economic losses due to yaws have been reported anecdotally in the Southern Philippines but have not been well-documented. Objective To describe and compare the psychological, social, and economic effects of yaws from the perspective of patients, contacts, and key informants in two areas of the Philippines. Materials and methods Yaws and contacts were identified through clinicoseroprevalence surveys conducted in the Liguasan Marsh area, Mindanao, Southern Philippines in 2017 and among the Aetas, an indigenous people community in Quezon province, Luzon region in 2020. Skin examinations and serologic tests confirmed the diagnosis of active, latent, or past yaws among the children and adults. Trained health personnel conducted in-depth interviews of those affected by yaws and their guardians, household contacts, and key informants, such as health workers regarding their perceptions, feelings, health-seeking behaviors, and effects of yaws on their lives. Results A total of 26 participants were interviewed: 17 from Mindanao and 9 from Luzon. Aside from the physical discomforts and embarrassment, yaws was considered stigmatizing in Mindanao, because positive non-treponemal tests or treponemal antibody tests were associated with syphilis and promiscuity. These have led to loss of employment and income opportunities for adults with latent or past yaws. In contrast, the Aetas of Luzon did not perceive yaws as stigmatizing, because it was a common skin problem. Plantar yaws interfered with the Aeta’s gold panning livelihood due to the pain of wounds. Conclusions Yaws is not merely a chronic skin and bone disease. It can lead to significant psychosocial and economic problems as well. Yaws is a generally forgotten disease in the Philippines. There is no yaws surveillance and control program. ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Tropical Medicine and Health 50 1 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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Yaws Psychosocial Stigma Philippines Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
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Yaws Psychosocial Stigma Philippines Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Belen Lardizabal Dofitas Sherjan P. Kalim Camille B. Toledo Jan Hendrik Richardus Stigma, psychosocial and economic effects of yaws in the Philippines: an exploratory, qualitative study |
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Yaws Psychosocial Stigma Philippines Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
description |
Abstract Background Yaws is a chronic, non-venereal, highly contagious skin and bone infection affecting children living in impoverished, remote communities and caused by Treponema pallidum subspecie pertenue. Social stigma and economic losses due to yaws have been reported anecdotally in the Southern Philippines but have not been well-documented. Objective To describe and compare the psychological, social, and economic effects of yaws from the perspective of patients, contacts, and key informants in two areas of the Philippines. Materials and methods Yaws and contacts were identified through clinicoseroprevalence surveys conducted in the Liguasan Marsh area, Mindanao, Southern Philippines in 2017 and among the Aetas, an indigenous people community in Quezon province, Luzon region in 2020. Skin examinations and serologic tests confirmed the diagnosis of active, latent, or past yaws among the children and adults. Trained health personnel conducted in-depth interviews of those affected by yaws and their guardians, household contacts, and key informants, such as health workers regarding their perceptions, feelings, health-seeking behaviors, and effects of yaws on their lives. Results A total of 26 participants were interviewed: 17 from Mindanao and 9 from Luzon. Aside from the physical discomforts and embarrassment, yaws was considered stigmatizing in Mindanao, because positive non-treponemal tests or treponemal antibody tests were associated with syphilis and promiscuity. These have led to loss of employment and income opportunities for adults with latent or past yaws. In contrast, the Aetas of Luzon did not perceive yaws as stigmatizing, because it was a common skin problem. Plantar yaws interfered with the Aeta’s gold panning livelihood due to the pain of wounds. Conclusions Yaws is not merely a chronic skin and bone disease. It can lead to significant psychosocial and economic problems as well. Yaws is a generally forgotten disease in the Philippines. There is no yaws surveillance and control program. ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Belen Lardizabal Dofitas Sherjan P. Kalim Camille B. Toledo Jan Hendrik Richardus |
author_facet |
Belen Lardizabal Dofitas Sherjan P. Kalim Camille B. Toledo Jan Hendrik Richardus |
author_sort |
Belen Lardizabal Dofitas |
title |
Stigma, psychosocial and economic effects of yaws in the Philippines: an exploratory, qualitative study |
title_short |
Stigma, psychosocial and economic effects of yaws in the Philippines: an exploratory, qualitative study |
title_full |
Stigma, psychosocial and economic effects of yaws in the Philippines: an exploratory, qualitative study |
title_fullStr |
Stigma, psychosocial and economic effects of yaws in the Philippines: an exploratory, qualitative study |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stigma, psychosocial and economic effects of yaws in the Philippines: an exploratory, qualitative study |
title_sort |
stigma, psychosocial and economic effects of yaws in the philippines: an exploratory, qualitative study |
publisher |
BMC |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-022-00433-4 https://doaj.org/article/e6e4371105364928b9e8dfc3cd743bf0 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Tropical Medicine and Health, Vol 50, Iss 1, Pp 1-17 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-022-00433-4 https://doaj.org/toc/1349-4147 doi:10.1186/s41182-022-00433-4 1349-4147 https://doaj.org/article/e6e4371105364928b9e8dfc3cd743bf0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-022-00433-4 |
container_title |
Tropical Medicine and Health |
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50 |
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1 |
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