02025nas a2200409   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653001500055653001000070653002300080653003000103653001100133653001100144653002300155653001200178653000900190653001600199653002900215653001600244653002300260653001700283653002100300653002200321653003100343653002200374653003000396100001400426700001200440700001300452700001200465700001100477245017600488300001400664490000700678520091600685022001401601       2008                            d  c2008 Apr10aAdolescent10aAdult10aAttitude to Health10aDrug Therapy, Combination10aFemale10aHumans10aLeprostatic Agents10aleprosy10aMale10aMiddle Aged10aNational Health Programs10aPhilippines10aPrimary Prevention10aRisk Factors10aRural Population10aSocial Perception10aSurveys and Questionnaires10aTreatment Refusal10aWorld Health Organization1 aHonrado E1 aTallo V1 aBalis AC1 aChan GP1 aCho SN00aNoncompliance with the world health organization-multidrug therapy among leprosy patients in Cebu, Philippines: its causes and implications on the leprosy control program.  a221-9, vi0 v263 a<p>The success of current World Health Organization (WHO) key strategy for leprosy elimination (ie, multidrug therapy [MDT] regimen) depends largely on the efficiency of health care delivery services and patient compliance. A high rate of noncompliance with this regimen has serious implications for the leprosy control program because it can set the stage for the emergence of drug resistance, eventually resulting in treatment failure and failure of the program. A community-based descriptive study using pretested interviews conducted in 12 leprosy endemic areas in Cebu, Philippines, showed that the noncompliance rate with the WHO-MDT regimen among 233 study subjects was 30%. The causes of noncompliance are drug-related, health care provider-triggered, or patient-inducted, or some combination of these. Recommendations on strategic interventions to obviate the cause for noncompliance are presented.</p>  a0733-8635