01966nas a2200277   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653004000055653002000095653001100115653001200126653002900138653001500167653002300182653001400205100002300219700001800242700001300260245010800273856005100381300001100432490000700443050003200450520119200482022001401674       2002                            d  c2002 Jun10aDelivery of Health Care, Integrated10aHealth Planning10aHumans10aleprosy10aNational Health Programs10aPrevalence10aProgram evaluation10aSri Lanka1 aKasturiaratchi N D1 aSettinayake S1 aGrewal P00aProcesses and challenges: how the Sri Lankan health system managed the integration of leprosy services.  uhttps://leprosyreview.org/article/73/2/17-7185  a177-850 v73  aInfolep Library - available3 a<p>At the end of 1999, the Ministry of Health in Sri Lanka took the bold decision to integrate its Leprosy Services within the country's general health system. The integration was completed in February 2001 and is already starting to bear fruit, but implementing the necessary changes has been a challenging task. Many new procedures had to be established, logistics improved, attitudes changed and health workers trained. A broad bridge between curative and preventative health services needed to be built. Integration efforts were supported by an advertising campaign to inform people that leprosy, like any other illness, can be treated at all health facilities. Contrary to the expectation that quality of service would drop following integration, more cases are now detected and an extensive network of government doctors is able to diagnose, treat and manage leprosy patients more efficiently. Prevalence has increased by 36% and the new case load by 41%. A few areas still need more attention, such as integrating MDT supplies within existing systems and improving the flow of information, but nonetheless the ownership of leprosy is shifting rapidly to local health services.</p>  a0305-7518