A process report on physical and psychological determiners of social functioning in leprosy patients.

Management and rehabilitation of leprosy patients needs information aoout the social acceptance and its association with physical and psychological problems of the affected person. Ninety three leprosy patients (72 male and 21 female) were selected from outpatient department of the hospitals/clinics and their demographic and clinical informations were recorded. The patients were screened for common menta diseases using GHQ-60 (Bengali version). The social functioning was assessed using SSFI. Mean age was 35.19 +/- 12.5 years, 69.9% of the subjects were from urban areas. Multibacillary cases accounted for 60.2% of the cases, 21.5% of the patients had deformity, 53.8% of the patients screened positive for common psychiatric diseases. Social functioning impairment of mild, moderate and severe level was 9.7%, 82.8, and 7.5% respectively. On Univariate analysis, presence of deformity was the only variable showing significant association with moderate to severe degree of social impairment. Using decision tree (Exhaustive CHAID) analysis, presence of deformity along with urban residence was strongly predicted severe social functioning impairment. The results of the study show the need to formulate suitable psychosocial intervention strategy especially in the context of high psychiatric morbidity.

Psychiatric morbidity among leprosy patients in Teso and Busia districts of Western Kenya.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the magnitude of psychiatric disorders among leprosy patients in western Kenya. DESIGN: A cross-sectional descriptive study. SETTING: Busia and Teso districts in western Kenya. SUBJECTS: A sample of 152 male and female, adult leprosy patients. RESULTS: The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity (PM) was 53.29%. The PM was positively correlated with physical disability and marital status but not with age, sex, education, type of leprosy, or duration of the illness. The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity was lower among Kenyan leprosy patients compared to studies carried out in India (56% to 78%). It was high compared to the rate of psychiatric morbidity in those seeking medical help in primary health care centres in Kenya, which was recently estimated to be 10%. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of PM in leprosy patients in western Kenya was lower than that in studies carried out in India. This could be attributed to de-institutionalisation and re-integration of leprosy sufferers back into their local communities. Since the rate was more than double that in the general Kenyan population and seemed to be related to presence of physical disability, an appraisal of psychiatric services offered to these patients is needed.

[Psychopathologic aspects of Hansen's disease]. / Aspetti psicopatologici del morbo di Hansen.

Hansen's disease is an invalidating disease. The stigma of leprosy causes psychological problems both in the patient and the community. The most frequent psychopathological aspects in leprosy patients are discussed here.

Psychiatric aspects of Hansen's disease (leprosy).

Hansen's disease or leprosy is a major worldwide public health problem that has profound psychological effects on its victims. This paper is the first systematic study of psychiatric patients with Hansen's disease in 30 years and the first to use current diagnostic criteria. Because the incidence of Hansen's disease appears to be rising, the implications of psychiatric diagnosis in Hansen's disease patients and treatment considerations for the future are discussed.

Sixty years of psychiatry at Carville.

The hospital now known as the Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease Center is the only hospital in the United States solely treating Hansen's disease (leprosy). From the time of its establishment in 1894 until 1923, the psychiatric patients presented treatment and management problems that remained unaddressed. Since 1923, however, psychiatric consultants have provided care and treatment for this segment of the Carville population. This paper presents the findings of three of these consultants for the period 1923 to 1985, and outlines similarities and differences in the diagnoses, treatments, and disposition of patients, as well as indications for future investigations.

Psychiatric disturbances among leprosy patients. An epidemiological study.

An epidemiological study was done to determine the prevalence of psychiatric disturbances among leprosy patients. Using a stratified random sampling technique, 540 subjects with leprosy were selected from a total population of 5745 leprosy patients. A mental health evaluation was conducted on 494 of these subjects. Forty-nine of these patients were found to have a psychiatric disturbance, giving a prevalence rate of about 99 per 1000. Depressive reaction was the most common disturbance seen. Those patients who were sick for a longer time and those who developed physical deformities were found to be more prone to get psychiatric disturbances. It is emphasized that supportive psychotherapy is important in the management and rehabilitation of leprosy patients.