The quality of life of people with leprosy-related residual impairment and disability in Malawi--is there a difference between people living in a leprosarium and those re-integrated into their communities?

INTRODUCTION: To compare the quality of life of people affected by leprosy living in a leprosarium and those reintegrated in communities in the southern region of Malawi. DESIGN: A translated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF) was administered among two groups of people with leprosy-related residual impairment and disability living in either a leprosarium (male 47, female 53) or re-integrated into communities (male 41, female 57). The cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted by trained Leprosy Control Assistants (LCAs). Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were used to summarise the data while differences between the groups were evaluated using independent t-test. Level of significance was set at P < 0.05. RESULTS: Demographic data revealed that there were more residents of an older age in the leprosarium. There was no statistically significant differences in the WHOQOL-BREF mean scores between by those affected by leprosy living in the two contexts. Statistically significant differences existed in the psychological, physical and environmental domains when age and gender were used as confounding factors. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that there is need to provide interventions that will encompass age and gender to all those affected by leprosy to improve their quality of life in both contexts.