TY - JOUR KW - Treatment KW - Buruli ulcer AU - Alferink M AU - Werf T AU - Sopoh G AU - Agossadou D AU - Barogui Y AU - Assouto F AU - Agossadou C AU - Stewart R AU - Stienstra Y AU - Ranchor A AB - abstract = {Author Summary

Delay in seeking treatment for Buruli ulcer (BU) is a major challenge in current BU control. Research to date shows that several factors relate to delay, including a lack of knowledge about BU and its treatment, beliefs in a supernatural cause of the disease, feelings of fear and worry regarding the treatment, fear of surgery, direct and indirect costs, social isolation as a consequence of unbearable costs to the patients' family, a lack of confidence in the treatment, and stigma. This study focused upon the relationship between Illness perceptions and pre-hospital delay by using the Illness Perceptions Model of Moss-Morris et al in a sample of healthy community members living in 3 endemic areas for Buruli ulcer in Benin. We found that a chronic timeline perspective on Buruli ulcer and a higher perceived effectiveness of the treatment were independently associated with pre-hospital delay. The available dominant treatment modality in endemic areas (surgery or antibiotics) did not influence pre-hospital delay, a finding contrary to the previous suggestion that a fear of surgery would be related to delay in presenting to the hospital. This study has identified several individual characteristics which can form the basis of future interventions.

}, BT - PLoS Negl Trop Dis CN - ALFERINK 2013 DA - 01 DO - 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002014 LA - eng M1 - 1 N2 - abstract = {Author Summary

Delay in seeking treatment for Buruli ulcer (BU) is a major challenge in current BU control. Research to date shows that several factors relate to delay, including a lack of knowledge about BU and its treatment, beliefs in a supernatural cause of the disease, feelings of fear and worry regarding the treatment, fear of surgery, direct and indirect costs, social isolation as a consequence of unbearable costs to the patients' family, a lack of confidence in the treatment, and stigma. This study focused upon the relationship between Illness perceptions and pre-hospital delay by using the Illness Perceptions Model of Moss-Morris et al in a sample of healthy community members living in 3 endemic areas for Buruli ulcer in Benin. We found that a chronic timeline perspective on Buruli ulcer and a higher perceived effectiveness of the treatment were independently associated with pre-hospital delay. The available dominant treatment modality in endemic areas (surgery or antibiotics) did not influence pre-hospital delay, a finding contrary to the previous suggestion that a fear of surgery would be related to delay in presenting to the hospital. This study has identified several individual characteristics which can form the basis of future interventions.

}, PB - Public Library of Science PY - 2013 EP - e2014 T2 - PLoS Negl Trop Dis TI - Perceptions on the effectiveness of treatment and the timeline of Buruli Ulcer influence pre-hospital delay reported by healthy individuals UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pntd.0002014 VL - 7 ER -