The Experiences of Leprosy Clients Attending Self-Care Groups During Community-Based Rehabilitation for Fulfilling Their Health Needs

Abstract

The experience of leprosy clients undergoing treatment in community-based rehabilitation (CBR) needs to be identified more deeply to reduce, prevent transmission and the disability it causes because it will impact the social life of leprosy clients in the community. The non-fulfillment of the needs of leprosy clients in the community will impact the conditions of transmission and disability of leprosy clients. We explored the experiences of leprosy clients attending self-care groups during CBR for identifying their health needs. A descriptive phenomenology study was performed among leprosy clients, families, and healthcare providers. Our study included 16 leprosy clients and their families and six healthcare providers. A triangulation method was performed to compare the third source data. Thematic analysis was used to identify the phenomenon of leprosy during CBR for fulfilling their health needs. We have identified five themes, including leprosy prevention efforts, self-care process and client treatment for leprosy, the needs of clients with leprosy during self-care at CBR, medication, and therapy during the CBR family support during rehabilitation and treatment. Therefore, fulfilling the needs for self-care, medication, and therapy during the rehabilitation period for leprosy clients in the community needs to be facilitated and fulfilled to support recovery. Furthermore, CBR designs that prioritize self-care aspects and are integrated with family care need to be developed in the future. All these approaches should be developed, adapted and validated in different settings with specific needs.