01993nas a2200385   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001500055653001000070653002500080653003000105653001100135653001100146653001400157653002300171653001200194653000900206653001600215653001000231653003000241653002600271653001700297653003200314653002200346100001700368700001400385700001700399245011700416856005900533300001100592490000700603050003200610520095100642022001401593       2000                            d  c2000 Sep10aAdolescent10aAdult10aCase-Control Studies10aDrug Therapy, Combination10aFemale10aHumans10aIncidence10aLeprostatic Agents10aleprosy10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aNepal10aPredictive Value of Tests10aRetrospective Studies10aRisk Factors10aSensitivity and Specificity10aTreatment Refusal1 aHeynders M L1 aMeijs J J1 aAnderson A M00aTowards an understanding of non-compliance. An assessment of risk factors for defaulting from leprosy treatment.  uhttp://leprev.ilsl.br/pdfs/2000/v71n3/pdf/v71n3a18.pdf  a369-760 v71  aInfolep Library - available3 a<p>Within the Eastern Leprosy Control Project of Nepal, a retrospective case control study looked for simple factors that might be used operationally to predict non-compliant behaviour in patients. Patients with these factors would then become the targets of measures such as intensified health education messages and home visits in order to reduce the risk of defaulting. A study of 1442 patient cards (half defaulters, half treatment completed) revealed occasional small but significant demographic and clinical differences, but none was of a sufficient magnitude to be operationally useful. Review of the attendance of patients in the first few months of treatment suggested that eventual defaulting was strongly associated with irregularity from the commencement of treatment. It is possible that an early indicator based on attendance over the first months can be used to target patients who are in danger of non-completion of treatment.</p>  a0305-7518