Access and utilisation of leprosy healthcare services in high-burden districts in Ethiopia

Background: A lack of awareness, poor quality of care, and gender inequalities are factors associated with access and utilisation of leprosy services. Objectives: This study aimed to identify factors affecting community access and utilisation of leprosy services in high-burden districts of Ethiopia...

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Main Authors: Solomon S. Marrye, Simangele Shakwane
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2024-12-01
Series:Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases
Subjects:
Online Access:https://sajid.co.za/index.php/sajid/article/view/664
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author Solomon S. Marrye
Simangele Shakwane
author_facet Solomon S. Marrye
Simangele Shakwane
author_sort Solomon S. Marrye
collection DOAJ
description Background: A lack of awareness, poor quality of care, and gender inequalities are factors associated with access and utilisation of leprosy services. Objectives: This study aimed to identify factors affecting community access and utilisation of leprosy services in high-burden districts of Ethiopia. Method: A community-based cross-sectional study design was utilised and a simple random sampling technique was used to recruit study respondents. One hundred and sixty-one respondents completed the self-administered structured questionnaire. Data were analysed using SPSS version 26. A logistic regression model was used to identify predictors associated with leprosy services. A p-value 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: More than 75% (n = 123) of study respondents had limited knowledge about leprosy. However, respondents who reside in urban areas were knowledgeable about the disease (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 8.2; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.6, 42.0). Men were most likely to use health care facilities (AOR [95% CI] = 2.9 [1.2, 7.2]). In addition, those who had better household income were more likely to have examined their family members for leprosy compared to low-income families (AOR [95% CI] = 4.5 [1.6, 12.9]). Conclusion: General knowledge about leprosy was low in communities. However, persons infected with leprosy who resided in the urban areas had a better understanding of leprosy. Male persons infected with leprosy were more likely to utilise leprosy services. Contribution: The results of this study provide early insights into the factors associated with leprosy service utilisation to provide community-centred leprosy care.
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2313-1810
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spelling doaj-art-ed5f547cc58349bdbe512e29a879c4ee2025-01-14T12:21:35ZengAOSISSouthern African Journal of Infectious Diseases2312-00532313-18102024-12-01391e1e910.4102/sajid.v39i1.664328Access and utilisation of leprosy healthcare services in high-burden districts in EthiopiaSolomon S. Marrye0Simangele Shakwane1Department of Health Studies, College of Human Sciences, University of South Africa, PretoriaDepartment of Health Studies, College of Human Sciences, University of South Africa, PretoriaBackground: A lack of awareness, poor quality of care, and gender inequalities are factors associated with access and utilisation of leprosy services. Objectives: This study aimed to identify factors affecting community access and utilisation of leprosy services in high-burden districts of Ethiopia. Method: A community-based cross-sectional study design was utilised and a simple random sampling technique was used to recruit study respondents. One hundred and sixty-one respondents completed the self-administered structured questionnaire. Data were analysed using SPSS version 26. A logistic regression model was used to identify predictors associated with leprosy services. A p-value 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: More than 75% (n = 123) of study respondents had limited knowledge about leprosy. However, respondents who reside in urban areas were knowledgeable about the disease (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 8.2; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.6, 42.0). Men were most likely to use health care facilities (AOR [95% CI] = 2.9 [1.2, 7.2]). In addition, those who had better household income were more likely to have examined their family members for leprosy compared to low-income families (AOR [95% CI] = 4.5 [1.6, 12.9]). Conclusion: General knowledge about leprosy was low in communities. However, persons infected with leprosy who resided in the urban areas had a better understanding of leprosy. Male persons infected with leprosy were more likely to utilise leprosy services. Contribution: The results of this study provide early insights into the factors associated with leprosy service utilisation to provide community-centred leprosy care.https://sajid.co.za/index.php/sajid/article/view/664accesshigh-burden districtsleprosyleprosy servicesutilisation
spellingShingle Solomon S. Marrye
Simangele Shakwane
Access and utilisation of leprosy healthcare services in high-burden districts in Ethiopia
Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases
access
high-burden districts
leprosy
leprosy services
utilisation
title Access and utilisation of leprosy healthcare services in high-burden districts in Ethiopia
title_full Access and utilisation of leprosy healthcare services in high-burden districts in Ethiopia
title_fullStr Access and utilisation of leprosy healthcare services in high-burden districts in Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Access and utilisation of leprosy healthcare services in high-burden districts in Ethiopia
title_short Access and utilisation of leprosy healthcare services in high-burden districts in Ethiopia
title_sort access and utilisation of leprosy healthcare services in high burden districts in ethiopia
topic access
high-burden districts
leprosy
leprosy services
utilisation
url https://sajid.co.za/index.php/sajid/article/view/664
work_keys_str_mv AT solomonsmarrye accessandutilisationofleprosyhealthcareservicesinhighburdendistrictsinethiopia
AT simangeleshakwane accessandutilisationofleprosyhealthcareservicesinhighburdendistrictsinethiopia