A study on knowledge and attitude toward Leprosy among health-care workers of Teaching Hospital Batticaloa.

Abstract

Leprosy also known as Hansen’s disease is a chronic progressive bacterial infection caused by mycobacterium Leprae. It remains a serious public health problem due to its ability to cause disability. Sri Lanka currently reports nearly 2000 leprosy cases per year during the last decades. According to the Annual Health Bulletin out of the total cases 38%, it’s from the Western Province. Nearly 16% is from Eastern Province. It means Eastern Province is in the 2nd highest rank where total cases have been registered for leprosy. The prevention of leprosy ultimately lies in the early diagnosis and treatment of the individuals having leprosy, thereby preventing the further transmission stigma related negative attitudes and inadequate knowledge among healthcare workers can be a major obstacle for patients to present for treatment at an early stage of the disease. Therefore, we are going to assess the extent of knowledge and attitude toward leprosy based on the level of stigma as a barrier to interrupting the transmission of leprosy by examining prevailing ideas and attitudes among healthcare workers. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and describe the attitude towards leprosy among healthcare workers in Teaching Hospital Batticaloa. A descriptive study was carried out for a period of 12 months among 348 healthcare workers, in Teaching Hospital Batticaloa. Stratified random sampling was used as a sampling method and a pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 26. A total 348 of healthcare workers participated Majority had adequate (51.1%),33% had moderate, and a significant minority (15.8%) had inadequate knowledge. A majority (64.1%) had positive attitudes toward leprosy. However, only 60.9% knew that leprosy is transmitted through inhalation. More than one-fifth of healthcare workers (36.5%) mistakenly believed that leprosy is mainly transmitted through skin contact and 37.9% thought brief interaction can lead to the transmission of leprosy. Only 61.5% knew that a patient on treatment can no longer transmit the disease 60.6% identified small pale lesions anywhere on the body with sensory loss.62.1% identified skin nodules, 67.5% identified thickened nerves,69% identified increasing peripheral neuritis, and 64.1% identified deformity of the face respectively.37.9% of healthcare workers were scared of leprosy and 38.5% didn’t want to shake hands 37.6% didn’t want to sit next to them and 35.6% didn’t want to reveal to a friend if they had diagnosed with leprosy.100% of people could seek medical care if they diagnosed with leprosy. Although a majority had either adequate or moderate knowledge of leprosy and a positive attitude towards leprosy, we identified misconceptions and knowledge gaps centered on its mode of transmission, transmissibility, and clinical features of leprosy which can lead to delay in diagnosis of leprosy patient via hindering the patient present at an early stage for treatment and inappropriate fear of acquiring disease from patients. Therefore, a patient affected by leprosy is likely to conceal their condition and not seek or adhere to treatment for fear of social rejection. Late detection also increases disease transmission. Including leprosy in continuous medical education and refresher training is crucial in the early diagnosis of leprosy as a certain gap in knowledge was identified. An emphasis needs to be placed on education regarding transmission, low rate of infectivity and clinical features of leprosy as the study revealed certain misconceptions and prejudices still exist even among healthcare workers.