Perceptions on the effectiveness of treatment and the timeline of Buruli ulcer influence pre-hospital delay reported by healthy individuals.
| Autor: | Alferink M; University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Health Sciences, Groningen, The Netherlands. m.alferink@umcg.nl, van der Werf TS, Sopoh GE, Agossadou DC, Barogui YT, Assouto F, Agossadou C, Stewart RE, Stienstra Y, Ranchor AV |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Zdroj: | PLoS neglected tropical diseases [PLoS Negl Trop Dis] 2013; Vol. 7 (1), pp. e2014. Date of Electronic Publication: 2013 Jan 17. |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002014 |
| Abstrakt: | Background: Delay in seeking treatment at the hospital is a major challenge in current Buruli ulcer control; it is associated with severe sequelae and functional limitations. Choosing alternative treatment and psychological, social and practical factors appear to influence delay. Objectives were to determine potential predictors for pre-hospital delay with Leventhal's commonsense model of illness representations, and to explore whether the type of available dominant treatment modality influenced individuals' perceptions about BU, and therefore, influenced pre-hospital delay. Methodology: 130 healthy individuals aged >18 years, living in BU-endemic areas in Benin without any history of BU were included in this cross-sectional study. Sixty four participants from areas where surgery was the dominant treatment and sixty six participants from areas where antibiotic treatment was the dominant treatment modality were recruited. Using a semi-structured interview we measured illness perceptions (IPQ-R), knowledge about BU, background variables and estimated pre-hospital delay. Principal Findings: The individual characteristics 'effectiveness of treatment' and 'timeline acute-chronic' showed the strongest association with pre-hospital delay. No differences were found between regions where surgery was the dominant treatment and regions where antibiotics were the dominant treatment modality. Conclusions: Individual characteristics, not anticipated treatment modality appeared predictors of pre-hospital delay. |
| Databáze: | MEDLINE |
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