Abstract:
Nationally the existence of leprosy type grade II disability at the time of diagnosis
suggests a subtly delayed diagnosis. The goal of this study was to determine the primary
factor influencing the Leprosy Prevention and Control Programme's plan to develop user friendly strategies for effectively implementing the activities of the early detection of
leprosy cases among contacts of index patients in the Sidama region of southern
Ethiopia. The goals were to investigate and describe the perspectives and experiences
of health professionals regarding their involvement in early leprosy case detection, to
describe and critically analyse the causes of the difficulties that professionals face in
leprosy early detection, to evaluate the current state of the health system's early leprosy
case detection implementation and to develop user-friendly strategies to enhance existing
ones of early leprosy case detection among individuals who have contact with index
patients.
The study employed a qualitative, descriptive and phenomenological explorative research
design to answer the research questions. By the use of non-probability purposive
sampling, research participants were identified. During the study, in-depth interviews
were conducted to gather information regarding the experiences of health workers
(medical doctors, public health officers, clinical nurses, health extension workers, health
centre heads and regional and woreda district health office technical and programme
experts). To analyse the qualitative data, inductive thematic analysis techniques were
used. For analysis, ATLAS.ti 8 software was used. The data transcription, coding, display, reduction (theme) and interpretation of the discovered results were the processes
undertaken for the analysis.
The findings of the study revealed that leprosy prevention and control programmes are
still problematic. The current national leprosy strategy use does not facilitate production
of effective leprosy prevention programs because strategy does not address all of the
crucial components of effective early detection activities. Themes that emerged from the
data gleaned from the health workers included: wrong beliefs about leprosy disease in
the community, delay in seeking early healthcare, the practice of the early detection of
leprosy cases and challenges experienced and observed during the implementation of
leprosy strategies. Based on the discovered results, leprosy prevention and control
programme strategies were created. Overall, the analysis of the data revealed five
themes. As a result, the researcher used the findings of the study to create strategies to
improve the early detection of leprosy cases among the contacts of index patients. The
strategies include implementing and strengthening effective community awareness building efforts, maintaining expertise in leprosy, strengthening comprehensive leprosy
training for health workers, carrying out efficient and thorough contact tracing, enhancing
monitoring, supervision, assessment and surveillance, boosting managerial skills,
lobbying political commitment, motivating healthcare workers and reducing
stigmatisation.
