ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2018
Community knowledge, perceptions and attitudes regarding leprosy in rural Cameroon: The case of Ekondotiti and Mbonge health districts in the South-west Region.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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19 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Community awareness, symptom recognition, and perceived causes of skin neglected tropical diseases in selected regions of Ghana.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- QUALITY OF LIFE AND STIGMA AMONG PEOPLE LIVING WITH LEPROSY IN SOUTHWESTERN AND NORTH-CENTRAL NIGERIA.Annals of Ibadan postgraduate medicine · 2025Article
- Sociocultural and structural determinants of healthcare-seeking of people affected by leprosy in Sierra Leone's Western area: a qualitative study.Tropical medicine and health · 2025Article
- Investigation of community knowledge, attitudes and stigma towards leprosy in Nigeria: a mixed-methods study.Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · 2024Article
- Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards yaws in endemic areas of Ghana, Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Article
- Interventions to reduce leprosy related stigma: A systematic review.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Self-Care Ability and Life Quality of Cured Leprosy Patients: The Mediating Effects of Social Support.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Exploring the well-being of people affected by skin NTDs in Kaduna and Kwara States, Nigeria: a photovoice and scoping review study.International health · 2023Article
- Beliefs, attitudes and practices towards scabies in central Ghana.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
- Awareness of Leprosy in an urban slum of Western Maharashtra Post 35 Years of the National Leprosy Eradication Program (NLEP).Medical journal, Armed Forces India · 2022Article
- The life experience of leprosy families in maintaining interaction patterns in the family to support healing in leprosy patients in Indonesian society. A phenomenological qualitative study.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Article
- Knowledge, attitude, and health seeking behavior on leprosy among urban adults in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu: A Community-based cross-sectional study.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2021Article
- Leprosy perceptions and knowledge in endemic districts in India and Indonesia: Differences and commonalities.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Article
- Impact of common skin diseases on children in rural Côte d'Ivoire with leprosy and Buruli ulcer co-endemicity: A mixed methods study.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2020Article
- The impact of leprosy, podoconiosis and lymphatic filariasis on family quality of life: A qualitative study in Northwest Ethiopia.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2020Article
- Perceptions, attitudes and practices towards scabies in communities on the Bijagós Islands, Guinea-Bissau.Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · 2020Article
- Knowledge of and Attitude Toward Leprosy in a Leprosy Endemic District, Eastern Ethiopia: A Community-Based Study.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2020Article
- Relationship between psychological health and quality of life of people affected by leprosy in the community in Guangdong province, China: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2019Article
- Community knowledge, attitude, and perceived stigma of leprosy amongst community members living in Dhanusha and Parsa districts of Southern Central Nepal.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2019Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlthough leprosy is one of the oldest diseases known to humanity, it remains largely misunderstood. Misconceptions about leprosy lead to stigma towards people with the disease. This study aimed at exploring the knowledge, perceptions and attitudes regarding leprosy in rural Cameroon.
methodsWe carried out a cross-sectional community survey of 233 respondents aged 15-75 years, free from leprosy, and living in two rural health districts of the South-west Region of Cameroon. A questionnaire designed to evaluate knowledge, perceptions and attitudes about leprosy was used. Binary logistic regression was used to determine independent predictors of negative attitudes.
resultsAbout 82% of respondents had heard about, and 64.4% knew someone with leprosy. Information on leprosy was mainly from community volunteers (40.6%), friends (38.0%), and the media (24%). Only 19.7% of respondents knew the cause of leprosy, and a considerable proportion linked it to a spell (25.3%), unclean blood (15.5%) and heredity (14.6%). About 72% knew that leprosy is curable and 86.3% would advise medical treatment. Attitudes towards leprosy patients were generally negative. Only 42% would shake hands, 32.6% would share the same plate, and 28.3% and 27% respectively, would allow their child to play or marry a person with leprosy. Furthermore, only 33.9% approved of participation of leprosy patients, and 42.9% of their employment. Independent predictors of negative attitudes were: the belief that leprosy is a curse; is caused by a germ; and having seen a leprosy patient. The negative attitudes were dampened by: the beliefs that leprosy is a punishment, is hereditary and is due to poor personal hygiene.
conclusionAn awareness intervention using community volunteers and the media, with information on the cause of leprosy, its clinical manifestations and curability, and sensitization messages correcting the misconceptions and beliefs regarding leprosy, could improve the community knowledge and attitudes towards leprosy. This would ultimately contribute to the reduction of leprosy burden in the community.
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