The quality of life, mental health, and perceived stigma of leprosy patients in Bangladesh

The quality of life, mental health, and perceived stigma of leprosy patients in Bangladesh

The present study aims to determine the quality of life (QOL) and general mental health of leprosy patients compared with the general population, and evaluate contributing factors such as socio-economic characteristics and perceived stigma. A total of 189 patients (160 outpatients, 29 inpatients) an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social science & medicine (1982) Vol. 64; no. 12; pp. 2443 - 2453
Main Authors: Tsutsumi, Atsuro, Izutsu, Takashi, Md Islam, Akramul, Maksuda, A.N., Kato, Hiroshi, Wakai, Susumu
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-06-2007
Elsevier
Pergamon Press Inc
Series:Social Science & Medicine
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Bacterial diseases
Bangladesh
Biological and medical sciences
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Gender
Human bacterial diseases
Humans
India
Infectious diseases
Leprosy
Leprosy - psychology
Leprosy Quality of life Mental health Perceived stigma Bangladesh
Male
Medical sciences
Mental Health
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous
Patients
Perceived stigma
Perception
Prejudice
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Quality of Life
Questionnaires
Regression analysis
Socioeconomic status
Stigma
Stigmatization
Surveys and Questionnaires
Tropical bacterial diseases
Tuberculosis and atypical mycobacterial infections
Asia
Bangladesh
Leprosy
Perceived stigma
Bangladesh
Mental health
Quality of life
Human
Skin disease
Social perception
Stigma
Chronic disease
Patient
Mycobacterial infection
Infection
Bacteriosis
Perception
Social medicine
Public health
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Summary:The present study aims to determine the quality of life (QOL) and general mental health of leprosy patients compared with the general population, and evaluate contributing factors such as socio-economic characteristics and perceived stigma. A total of 189 patients (160 outpatients, 29 inpatients) and 200 controls without leprosy or other chronic diseases were selected from Dhaka district, Bangladesh, using stratified random sampling. A Bangladeshi version of a structured questionnaire including socio-demographic characteristics—the Bangla version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment BREF (WHOQOL-BREF)—was used to assess QOL; a Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) was used to evaluate general mental health; the Barthel Index to control activities of daily living (ADL); and the authors’ Perceived Stigma Questionnaire was used to assess perceived stigma of patients with leprosy. Medical records were examined to evaluate disability grades and impairment. QOL and general mental health scores of leprosy patients were worse than those of the general population. Multiple regression analysis revealed that factors potentially contributing to the deteriorated QOL of leprosy patients were the presence of perceived stigma, fewer years of education, the presence of deformities, and a lower annual income. Perceived stigma showed the greatest association with adverse QOL. We conclude that there is an urgent need for interventions sensitive to the effects of perceived stigma, gender, and medical conditions to improve the QOL and mental health of Bangladeshi leprosy patients.
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ISSN:0277-9536
1873-5347
DOI:10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.02.014