02638nas a2200217   4500000000100000008004100001260004200042653003400084653001200118653002800130653002200158653002200180100001400202700001500216245014500231856026000376300001200636490000700648520174000655022002502395       2025                            d  bHorizon Research Publishing Co., Ltd.10aCommunity based interventions10aLeprosy10aLeprosy Contact Tracing10aCase Notification10aTreatment Linkage1 aMarrye SS1 aShakwane S00aEffectiveness of Designing and Implementing Community-Based Intervention on Leprosy Healthcare Services in High-Burden Districts in Ethiopia  uhttps://www.researchgate.net/profile/Solomon-Sisay-2/publication/393500108_Effectiveness_of_Designing_and_Implementing_Community-Based_Intervention_on_Leprosy_Healthcare_Services_in_High-Burden_Districts_in_Ethiopia/links/686f7a08b991270ef3028027/Effectiv  a896-9090 v133 a<p>Inadequate contact tracing poses significant challenges to leprosy case notification and treatment linkage activities in high-burden districts. This study aimed to design and implement community-based interventions to enhance leprosy case notification, contact tracing, and treatment linkage services in Ethiopia. A quasiexperimental study design was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Dickoff’s survey list guided the intervention design. A modified checklist served as a data collection tool to gather baseline and end-point data from records and reports of selected healthcare facilities in high-burden districts. Data were entered and analysed using R programming R x64 3.6.1 packages by importing from Excel 2016. The average intervention effect was estimated through propensity score matching analysis. A p-value &lt; 0.05 indicated statistical significance. The propensity score matching analysis showed that the implemented community-based intervention improved case notification for females affected by leprosy (Crud Odd Ratio [COR] (95% CI) = 3.8(1.8, 8.5)), treatment linkage among individuals with multi-bacillary leprosy (COR (95% CI) = 26.7(8.3, 125.8)), and contact tracing services (COR (95% CI) = 2(1.10, 3.8)) compared to healthcare facilities that did not receive the intervention. Therefore, the developed community-based intervention enhanced leprosy case notification, contact tracing, and treatment linkage activities at healthcare facilities in high-leprosy burden districts. The findings of this study will inform policymakers to incorporate these intervention activities into national guidelines to strengthen leprosy control in settings with a high burden of the disease.</p>
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