Knowledge, Beliefs and Perception of Leprosy
Purpose: For intervention to be effective, it is essential that the knowledge, beliefs and perception of a specific social group are taken into account. This is particularly true of leprosy where the problems of social stigma and ostracism are more prominent than the disease itself. There are many misconceptions about the cause, methods of transmission, and treatment. The main objectives of the study were to examine the socio-demographic profile of persons with leprosy and to explore their knowledge, beliefs and perception about the disease and its initial symptoms, within a specific socio-cultural milieu.
Method: Semi-structured interviews were held with a persons with leprosy at various clinics and care-homes for affected persons in and around Chandigarh, India. Those who had completed their treatment and those who were still undergoing treatment were included in the study. Data collection was done through case studies and in-depth interviews.
Results: The name of the disease varied across different geo-cultural zones. Many respondents who were afflicted with only red patches and had no ulcers, believed that they suffered from a skin disease which would turn into leprosy if proper medication was not received. The perception of 64.9 % of the respondents was that leprosy resulted from supernatural causes like God’s punishment, karma, and sin.
Conclusion: There is a need to educate persons with leprosy and their families about the etiology of the disease.
Keywords
Authors
How to Cite
Download Citation
License
Copyright © 2013 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License By-NC-ND 4.0 that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access ).
Similar Articles
- Zarina Syed, Monique De Bastos, Chuma Pindela, Skye Sutherland, Samantha Melis, Brittany Wort, Tashia Shohsa, A Rapid Review of the Roles of Community Rehabilitation Workers in Community-based Mental Health Services in Low- and Middle-Income Countries , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 33 No. 2: (Summer) - 2022
- Holly Noel Wescott, Malcolm MacLachlan, Hasheem Mannan, Disability Inclusion and Global Development: A Preliminary Analysis of the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities programme within the context of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Sustainable Development Goals , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 4 (2020): Winter
- Jean Elphick, Zosa De SasKropiwnicki, Rosalind Elphick, “Our children have the right to an education too”: Strategies employed by Orange Farm Caregivers of Children with Disabilities in Pursuit of the Right to a Basic Education , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 26 No. 4 (2015): Winter 2015
- Huib Cornielje, How Neo-colonial Are We in What we are Doing? , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 32 No. 3 (2021): Autumn 2021
- Rachael Abrokwah, Efua Mantey Aggire-Tettey, Augustina Naami, Accessing Healthcare in Ghana: Challenges Encountered and Strategies Adopted by Persons with Disabilities in Accra , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 1 (2020): Spring 2020
- Annemarie Gindorfer, Huib Cornielje, Editorial: Essential Standards for CBR field workers , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 31 No. 2 (2020): Summer 2020
- K P Kumaran, Role of Self-help Groups in Promoting Inclusion and Rights of Persons with Disabilities , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 22 No. 2 (2011): Autumn
- Noortje P M Lubbers, Reshma Parvin Nuri, Wim H van Brakel, Huib Cornielje, Sexual Health of Women with Spinal Cord Injury in Bangladesh , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 23 No. 3 (2012): Autumn
- Stuart Wark, Kathleen Bleechmore, Twenty-five years of Community Living: Changes in Support Staff Perceptions , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 26 No. 1 (2015): Spring 2015
- Mirna Clemente, Marilis Dallarmi Miguel, Karina Bettega Felipe, Ivan Marangon Schwantes, Darlan Franca Ciesielski Junior, Athos Marangon Schwantes, Christian Burmeister Schonhofen, Tabea Epp Kuster Alves, Tiago Volpi Braz, Luiz Claudio Fernandes, Obdulio Gomes Miguel, Health-Related Quality of Life of Wheelchair Fencers, Sedentary People with Disability and Conventional Fencers in Brazil, Assessed by Short Form 36 (SF-36) , Disability, CBR & Inclusive Development: Vol. 30 No. 3 (2019): Autumn 2019
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.