Access and utilisation of leprosy healthcare services in high-burden districts in Ethiopia

A lack of awareness, poor quality of care, and gender inequalities are factors associated with access and utilisation of leprosy services.

This study aimed to identify factors affecting community access and utilisation of leprosy services in high-burden districts of Ethiopia.

A community-based cross-sectional study design was utilised and a simple random sampling technique was used to recruit study respondents. One hundred and sixty-one respondents completed the self-administered structured questionnaire. Data were analysed using SPSS version 26. A logistic regression model was used to identify predictors associated with leprosy services. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

More than 75% (n = 123) of study respondents had limited knowledge about leprosy. However, respondents who reside in urban areas were knowledgeable about the disease (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 8.2; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.6, 42.0). Men were most likely to use health care facilities (AOR [95% CI] = 2.9 [1.2, 7.2]). In addition, those who had better household income were more likely to have examined their family members for leprosy compared to low-income families (AOR [95% CI] = 4.5 [1.6, 12.9]).

General knowledge about leprosy was low in communities. However, persons infected with leprosy who resided in the urban areas had a better understanding of leprosy. Male persons infected with leprosy were more likely to utilise leprosy services.

The results of this study provide early insights into the factors associated with leprosy service utilisation to provide community-centred leprosy care.