Activity Limitation of People Affected by Leprosy in an Endemic District in West Bengal, India

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the level of activity limitation, and the factors associated with it, among people affected by leprosy who were reporting at a leprosy referral centre of Purulia, in West Bengal state, India. Method:A cross-sectional study was conducted among 358 individuals affected by leprosy. Persons recruited for this study were above 18 years of age, married, and had been diagnosed with leprosy for at least 1 year at the time of the interview. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to gather information about the respondents' socio-economic and disease status. The Screening of Activity Limitation and Safety Awareness (SALSA) Scale was used to measure activity limitation.Results: Of the 358 respondents, 59% were male, 60% were between 18 and 45 years of age, and 42% were illiterate. About 144 or 40% of the respondents had Grade 2 disability and 60% had disease duration of more than 3 years. There were 229 individuals (64%) who had no limitation in activities, 103 (29%) had mild limitation and 26 (7%) had moderate to severe limitation in activities. There is a significant association between gender, age, occupation, physical disability and disease duration with activity limitation. Conclusion:It appears that limitations in activities among persons affected by leprosy are associated with being a woman, a housewife, an aged person, and with longer disease duration. The physical disability was intrinsically associated with limitation in activities.

Quality of Life Among People with Leprosy-Related Disability In Tamil Nadu: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The variations in prevalence of QOL may be attributed due to geographical variation and differences in the study tools (Questionnaire) used. QOL in the present study had a significant statistical association with low socio-economic status which is similar to the findings reported by Govindharaj et al 18 , Pinto G et al 19 , Umniyati H et al 11 and Costa MD et al 20 which emphasis the role of financial support in assessing quality of life irrespective of the country were the study has been carried out.…”

Assessing independence in activities of individuals affected by leprosy

“…However, the present study did not find a correlation between dependency and gender, unlike some other studies. [7][8][9] The current study did find a significant correlation between employment and independence level, suggesting that involvement in some kind of work improves both activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. These results indicate that interventions developing an individual's engagement and participation in diverse and exciting activities can improve both activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living.…”

“…Govindharaj et al, while conducting a cross-sectional study among 358 individuals affected by leprosy, found more activity limitation in females, the elderly and those suffering from leprosy for a longer duration than their counterparts. 7 In their respective studies of affected individuals in Brazil and Indonesia, Nardi et al and Van Brakel et al reported higher activity limitation in females. 8,9 Several studies reported more activity limitation in low-income affected individuals.…”

Stigma Pada Penderita Kusta Di Komunitas : A Systematic Review

“…Gangguan konsep diri pada penderita kusta dipergaruhi oleh persepsi negatif terhadap diri sendiri (Utami et al, 2017) dengan melabeli diri sendiri dengan anggapan negatif sehingga gagal mencapai self acceptance (Govindharaj et al, 2018). Selain itu penderita kusta juga mengalami kesulitan akibat dari adanya perlakuan diskriminasi dari masyarakat (Kemenkes, 2022).…”

“…Self-stigma menjadikan kondisi kehidupan sosial individu yang terdiagnosa penyakit kusta mengalami kemunduran serta memposisikan individu terisolasi dan menutup interaksi dengan orang lain yang berada di lingkungan sekitar (Govindharaj et al, 2018).…”