Investigation of community knowledge, attitudes and stigma towards leprosy in Nigeria: a mixed-methods study.

IF 16.4 1区化学 Q1 CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Accounts of Chemical Research Pub Date : 2024-10-01 DOI:10.1093/trstmh/trae050

Ngozi Murphy-Okpala, Tahir Dahiru, Chinwe Eze, Charles Nwafor, Ngozi Ekeke, Suleiman Abdullahi, Francis S Iyama, Anthony Meka, Martin Njoku, Okechukwu Ezeakile, Kingsley N Ukwaja, Chukwuma Anyaike, Omayeli Sesere, Joseph Chukwu

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Little is known about community knowledge and stigma towards leprosy in endemic settings. The aim of this study was to evaluate community knowledge, attitudes and stigma towards leprosy in Nigeria.

Methods: This was a mixed-methods study consisting of a quantitative cross-sectional survey of community members and qualitative focus group discussions with community members and people affected by leprosy as well as key informant interviews with healthcare workers and community leaders.

Results: Of the 811 survey participants, 401 (49.4%) had a poor knowledge of leprosy that was driven by cultural beliefs, fear of its contagiousness and poor knowledge of its means of transmission. The participants reported high stigma levels with a mean score of 18.96±7.73 on the Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue Community Stigma Scale and 9.39±7.03 on the Social Distance Scale. Stigma levels were influenced by age, residence, education and knowledge of leprosy. Qualitative data suggested that community members were scared of leprosy infectiousness, and local illness concepts and misconceptions informed attitudes and behaviour towards leprosy in the community.

Conclusion: Community members have a poor knowledge of, and high stigma levels towards leprosy. Culture-specific health education and behavioural change interventions are needed to address the identified gaps.

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调查尼日利亚社区对麻风病的认识、态度和成见：一项混合方法研究。

背景：在麻风病流行的环境中，人们对麻风病的社区知识和耻辱感知之甚少。本研究旨在评估尼日利亚社区对麻风病的认识、态度和成见：这是一项混合方法研究，包括对社区成员进行横断面定量调查，与社区成员和麻风病患者进行焦点小组定性讨论，以及对医护人员和社区领袖进行关键信息访谈：在 811 名调查参与者中，有 401 人（49.4%）对麻风病知之甚少，其原因包括文化信仰、对麻风病传染性的恐惧以及对麻风病传播途径的缺乏了解。参与者对麻风病的成见程度较高，在解释模型访谈目录社区成见量表中的平均得分为（18.96±7.73）分，在社会距离量表中的平均得分为（9.39±7.03）分。成见程度受年龄、居住地、教育程度和麻风病知识的影响。定性数据表明，社区成员对麻风病的传染性感到恐惧，当地的疾病观念和误解影响着社区成员对麻风病的态度和行为：结论：社区成员对麻风病的认识不足，对麻风病的成见较高。需要采取针对特定文化的健康教育和行为改变干预措施来弥补已发现的不足。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Accounts of Chemical Research 化学-化学综合

CiteScore

31.40

自引率

1.10%

发文量

312

审稿时长

2 months

期刊介绍： Accounts of Chemical Research presents short, concise and critical articles offering easy-to-read overviews of basic research and applications in all areas of chemistry and biochemistry. These short reviews focus on research from the author’s own laboratory and are designed to teach the reader about a research project. In addition, Accounts of Chemical Research publishes commentaries that give an informed opinion on a current research problem. Special Issues online are devoted to a single topic of unusual activity and significance. Accounts of Chemical Research replaces the traditional article abstract with an article "Conspectus." These entries synopsize the research affording the reader a closer look at the content and significance of an article. Through this provision of a more detailed description of the article contents, the Conspectus enhances the article's discoverability by search engines and the exposure for the research.