This interview survey was carried out on 190 (119 males, 61 females) leprosy patients
at the Chronic Disease Laboratory of Catholic Medical College. The 90 leprosy patients
with regular treatment, who are registered and have been taking regular treatment more
than 18 months, and 100 leprosy patients with irregular treatment, who are registered
and took regular treatment for 18 months after which the treatment because irregular,
were compared in terms of their behavioral patients ; the two groups of active cases
were analyzed with respect to age, sex, occupation, type of the disease, bacteriological
examination, period of treatment, period and reason of irregular treatment, marital and
educational status and confidence in treatment of leprosy.
The results obtained are summerized as follows :
1. The average rate of patients with irregular treatment was 54.3% in males and the
rate in females was 49.2%. The highest rate of irregular treatment wart 85.7% in the
age group of 50 to 59 years in males and 100.0% in the over 60 years group in females.
The lowest rate of irregular treatment was found in the age group of 30 to 49 years.
2. The highest rate of irregular treatment by occupation was among manual workers
(73.7%), the rate of irregular treatment among service workers was 64.7% and 55.9% in
salesmen. The lowest rate was 30.8% among agricultural and animal husbandry workers.
3. The rate of irregular treatment was also related to the type of disease. The highest
rate was 54.8% in L-type male patients and 51.8% in female patients.
4. The rate of irregular treatment in negative cases in bacteriological examination was
54.9% and 53.2% in positive cases in males.
5. By period of treatment in 5 to 9 years the rate was 64.6% in males and the rate
under 3 years was 73.0% in females.
6. In period of irregular treatment the rate of irregular treatment was 50.0% in the
cases who did not coming to get treatment were poverty(21.0%), assumption of complete
cure (19.0%) and no time to spare (17.0%).
7. The single patients were higher in irregular treatment (56.0%). Meanwhile the
married cases were 50.7%.
8. The rate of irregular treatment was 66.7% in males with educational level over
college or university.
9. Seventy-five percent of the patients in irregular treatment thought that getting
regular treatment was not effective for cure of leprosy.
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