Background: Leprosy is a public health problem and one of the world’s most stigmatized diseases. The WHO has set a target to eliminate leprosy globally by 2030. A major obstacle to achieve this target is the general population’s wrong perceptions and depressing attitudes toward leprosy
patients. It may lead to delayed presentation and accentuated disease sequelae as well as
continuous spread of the disease until patients start treatment.
Objective: To assess population’s approach towards leprosy, people’s knowledge about the
disease, their believes, attitude and reaction towards leprosy patients.
Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study among residents in Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt,
aged 20-50, randomly selected from visitors to Dermatology outpatient clinic at Benha University
Hospitals, during a 6-month period (from February 2022 till July 2022) using an Arabic selfadministered questionnaire.
Results: A total number of 1470 eligible subjects were interviewed and asked to participate in the
study. Of them, 1020 (69.38%) stated they had heard about leprosy and were asked further to
complete the questionnaire themselves, however 450 people (30.61%) did not have any
background on the disease. Participants were 33.3% males and 66.6% females, 45.1% were
coming from rural areas, and 63.1% finished their university degree.
Conclusion: The study outcomes highlight low level of knowledge and negative community
attitude towards leprosy among general population in Egypt. These necessitate the design of health
education programs and behavior adjustment encouragement activities to improve consciousness
of the community towards leprosy patients as well as improving social adjustment of patients. |
