Date of Award

January 2016

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

School of Public Health

First Advisor

Alison Galvani

Abstract

Much progress has been made in the global fight against leprosy, as evidenced by dramatic declines in prevalence rates in recent years. However, leprosy has proven elusive. New case detection rates have remained fairly stable, particularly in countries with remaining pockets of high endemicity such as India, Brazil, and Indonesia. In 2012, the World Health Organization spearheaded the London Declaration, which in part aimed for the goal of interruption of transmission of global leprosy by 2020. Aggregating the opinions of experts can supplement existing data to help determine the feasibility of reaching the WHO goals. To obtain the opinions of experts, a cross-sectional survey was sent requesting experts to give probabilistic estimates on the likelihood of achieving leprosy control targets. The survey results showed that most experts do not think the 2020 leprosy control targets will be met. The majority of experts indicated enhanced case finding as the most important measure to undertake to improve leprosy control goal success. The collection of expert opinions highlights the need for continued attention on leprosy from a public health standpoint.

Comments

This is an Open Access Thesis.

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