Profile of persons affected by leprosy residing in a leprosarium: a tool for understanding their challenges

Leprosy is a neglected tropical disease, found in more than 120 countries, and affects over 200,000 people every year in the world. It is directly related to unfavorable socioeconomic conditions and social vulnerability. Because of the permanent and progressive deformities associated with the disease and the fear of the spread of the disease many Persons Affected by Leprosy (PALs) are confined to a leper colony where they face a lot of challenges that affect their quality of life. They should therefore not be neglected by the government and the communities. This work aims to study the sociodemographic profile of PALs at Baptist Health Service in Ogbomoso in order to understand their challenges and the types of help that they may need. A convenient sampling was used in this descriptive study to recruit 29 PALs who consented to the study between March and May 2023 at Baptist Health Service in Ogbomoso. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain the socio-demographic information. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26 was used for data analysis. Almost one-half were married (44.8%) and more than one-half were female (52.7%). The majority of them had no formal education (62.1%), subsistence farming (41.4%) was the main occupation and nearly one- half of them were from Oyo State (41.4%). Therefore, there is a need to understand the profile of the PALs residing in various Leper Colonies, to understand the challenges that they are facing. This knowledge will help the government and the communities have a concrete plan to help them overcome their challenges and improve their quality of life.