A STUDY OF HIGH DISABILITY RATE AMONG LEPROSY AFFECTED PERSONS IN GWALIOR DISTRICT

Abstract

Introduction: Even though India achieved the goal of elimination (i.e point prevalence rate of less than 1case per 10,000 population) of leprosy as a public health problem at National level in Dec 2005. Objectives : To determine the prevalence of disability among Leprosy Affected Persons and to determine the factors associated with high disability rates Material & Method: Study Design: Cross Sectional study. Study Population: All registered patients at 16 DDRs in gwalior district. Methodology: The study was divided into two parts. First was the in depth interviews with the study participants, second was detail examination in bright sunlight. Result: In the present study 182 persons were included in the study in which 108 were males and 74 were females. Of these 182 leprosy affected persons, 68 were having no deformity, 38 were having Grade I deformity and 76 were having Grade II deformity Conclusion: The present study hereby concludes that there are multiple factors that determine the disability among leprosy patients. The chances of acquiring disability in leprosy patients increases as the severity of leprosy increases like multi bacillary patients and patients with more number of nerves involved.